Bexhill MP calls for change in law around parking fines
Drivers whose ticket has fallen off the dashboard would benefit under the new rules
Drivers fined because their parking ticket has fallen off the dashboard would benefit under proposed reforms to consumer law, the Commons has heard.
Senior Conservative MP Huw Merriman wants to end the practice where customers are fined or charged again for a transaction they can prove has already been purchased.
He described it as a "blackhole of consumer legislation which needs a fix".
Among those who would be helped by Mr Merrimen's Consumer Protection (Double Charging) Bill would be "the driver who parks their car on a local authority car park, puts their annual season ticket on the dashboard, they close the door, and the ticket slips down and is not displayed correctly," he said.
"Despite being able to prove that they have a season ticket registered to their car, they have not displayed the pass and it is this which delivers them a Ă‚ÂŁ60 fine."
Also benefitting would be a "rail passenger who prints out their Trainline documentation" before finding out "the ticket barrier cannot read the QR code", Mr Merrimen said.
He said: "Despite the documentation demonstrating proof of payment, it is technically not a ticket and they get charged a penalty fare at the barrier despite the fact the ticket machine which could print the ticket is 10 metres the other side of the barrier."
Mr Merriman, who is chairman of the Transport Select Committee and MP for Bexhill and Battle, added: "Why is it that local authorities fine drivers for not displaying a ticket when an easier and hassle-free alternative is for a parking attendant to be given the technology to check the vehicle registration against the season ticket database?"
He said consumers are being offered efficient ways to purchase services but these are not always matched by efficient ways to prove purchase.
Mr Merriman said: "This Bill would seek to ensure organisations catch-up with this century's technology."
He asked for his Bill to be considered at second reading on March 18, although it is unlikely to become law due to a lack of parliamentary time.