Tickets doled out private firms do not have official legal status
Many are in fact issued unfairly and without
the proper legal authority
AA president Edmund King says many use 'scare
tactics and bullying'
Drivers cannot be compelled to pay unless a
court order is granted
‘Cowboy’ parking squads hired by High
Street firms are hitting hundreds of thousands of drivers with £100 ‘fines’ and
using threats to make them pay up.
The companies – employed by fast food
chains, retailers and railway operators – issue what appear to be official
penalty notices, similar to those used by council traffic wardens. They
then extract huge sums from drivers who are sometimes just a few minutes late
in returning to their cars.
However, the tickets do not have the
same legal standing as official fines.
Many are being issued unfairly and – in
some cases – without proper legal authority.
