In a Scottish Parliament Members Debate the Scottish Government have indicated that they could be forced to regulate the private parking industry if operators don’t clean up their act.
In response to Murdo Fraser’s call for the industry to improve its conduct, Derek Mackay, the Minister for Transport, stated that “if the approach continued to be unsatisfactory (from the industry), I may well have to regulate.”
Murdo has welcomed this call to action and believes an independent appeals process could be one of the measures to help the industry win back confidence from motorists.
Commenting, Murdo Fraser MSP said:
“I was pleased to see cross-party support in my Holyrood debate for stronger action to be taken against rogue car park operators. The tactics some of these companies is nothing short of appalling.
“I was pleased to hear that the Scottish Government takes this issue seriously, and will consider regulation if operators don’t improve of their own accord.
“The current system whereby car park operators sign up to the British Parking Association code of conduct is clearly not working and Government regulation may well be required to enforce these rules.
“Above all motorists are calling for fairness and transparency, private car parks provide a vital service but far too often they are abusing their responsibilities and duping motorists into paying overly expensive fines.”