RAC urges private parking sector to publish full complaint and appeal data
- Perry Richardson
- Aug 2
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 3
The RAC is urging private parking operators to release complete and transparent data on complaints and appeals, following concerns that drivers are being left in the dark over how often parking charge notices are successfully challenged.
At present, the two main trade bodies in the sector, the British Parking Association (BPA) and the International Parking Community (IPC), do not disclose how many complaints their members receive or how many tickets are later cancelled.
There is also little clarity over the second-stage appeals process. The two appeals bodies, funded by the trade associations, offer limited public data. Some of it is outdated or lacks core details such as the percentage of cases that are allowed or refused.
The BPA’s appeals body, Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA), has yet to release its 2024 annual report, covering the year ending 30 September 2024. Meanwhile, the IPC’s Independent Appeals Service (IAS) has published its 2024 report, but without any figures on how many appeals were upheld or rejected. The last time such data was provided by the IAS was in 2021/2022, when only 6% of appeals were allowed.
POPLA provides more detailed figures in its most recent report from 2022/2023. It shows that 42% of appeals led to cancelled charges. This includes 25% cancelled by the operator before adjudication and 17% cancelled through a formal decision. Of the cases that went to adjudication, 22% were upheld in the motorist’s favour, while 78% were refused.
The RAC is calling for consistent and transparent reporting to support claims that appeals are often successful. Without this, drivers remain uncertain about their chances of overturning unfair tickets.
Analysis by the RAC of government data published in July 2025 shows a record number of DVLA data requests from private parking companies. In the 2024/25 financial year, firms made 14.4 million keeper detail requests, equal to nearly 40,000 per day.
RAC Head of Policy, Simon Williams, said: “After we predicted that private parking companies were on track to issue 14.5m tickets in the space of just a year, the industry claimed there wasn’t an issue with tickets being issued unfairly and drivers are often successful in getting them overturned when they appeal.
“While stories of drivers being treated poorly are all too common, data on the true number of complaints made to operators isn’t available. Even the information published by the industry’s two appeals bodies in their annual reports isn’t that revealing due to it either being out of date or scant.
“With the Government now consulting on what should be in the official Private Parking Code of Practice, we wanted to draw attention to the current lack of data about complaints. We believe the industry should have to publish the volume of complaints made to operators, including the reasons tickets were issued and the nature of the complaints, and whether or not they were cancelled.
“In the meantime, we call on the private parking industry to voluntarily publish full and transparent complaints and appeals data. We also urge POPLA to publish its 2024 annual report as soon as possible and for the Independent Appeals Service to update its report with the percentage of appeals that it allows and refuses.”
