Major car park firm that dished out 1.9 million tickets in a year fined £473,000

A firm that handed out almost1.9m fines to motorists in a single year has itself been fined almost half a million pounds in a UK first. Euro Car Parks, one of the UK’s biggest private parking companies, is picking up a bill for £473,000 after falling foul of regulator rules.

The Competition and Market Authority (CMA) said it imposed the penalty as the company had failed to provide information to the regular. It said the firm failed to respond for three months to seven requests for information, including by registered post, emails and hand-delivered letter.

This is the first time the regulator has issued a penalty under new fining powers. The CMA added Euro Car Parks went to the High Court to seek an injunction to stop it from being named, but the application was refused earlier this week.

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A number of drivers have accused the company of unfairly demanding money for supposed infringements of car park rules. Euro Car Parks did not respond until it was told by the CMA that a fine was being proposed.

It then responded and began to provide information, telling the regulator it had blocked its emails as it believed they were fraudulent and scam attempts. The CMA said it “did not consider this a reasonable excuse” so it imposed the fine in December last year.

Hayley Fletcher, senior director of consumer enforcement at the CMA, said: “We are an evidence-based authority, and information notices are essential tools that help us understand the facts and get to the bottom of potential infringements of the law. It is a legal obligation to comply with them. They are not optional.

“This is the first time we’ve used our new powers to fine a company for failing to respond to such a notice. It sends a clear message: firms that don’t reply to our requests or refuse to comply risk facing penalties like this one.”

Lisa Webb, of consumer group Which?, said private car park companies are “often perceived to be the bane of motorists’ lives”. She said: “We frequently hear from those engaged in disputes with private parking companies who feel frustrated, confused and stressed out by what they consider to be a nightmarish ordeal.

“If these companies want to improve this perception, it’s essential they offer transparency to both consumers and the regulator.” The CMA said it does not have a consumer enforcement case open against Euro Car Parks “at present” and “no assumption should be made” that it has infringed consumer law.

Press Association analysis of Government figures shows Euro Car Parks handed out nearly 1.9 million tickets in the 12 months to the end of September 2025. Euro Car Parks was approached for a comment.