CMA targets Euro Car Parks in UK private parking sector probe

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has opened a formal investigation into Euro Car Parks to determine if it is fair to issue parking charges to drivers queuing for petrol pumps or using car washes. The regulator is simultaneously scrutinizing the company's broader appeals process for potential breaches of consumer protection law. The probe is currently in the evidence-gathering stage and is scheduled to run until Spring 2027.

Euro Car Parks operates more than 3,000 facilities across the UK and Ireland, managing over two million vehicles daily. This specific investigation forms the centerpiece of a wider CMA crackdown on the private parking sector, which has aggressively expanded its ticketing volumes. Research by the RAC indicates that the number of tickets issued at retail parks, supermarkets, gyms and restaurants more than doubled over six years to reach 14.4 million.

For market participants, the CMA's intervention represents a material regulatory risk to a business model dependent on high-volume enforcement. Charging drivers for the time spent waiting at a fuel pump strikes at the core of how forecourt parking is monetized. The regulator has written to the broader sector and issued specific warnings to individual operators, flagging systemic complaints regarding unclear signage, faulty apps and broken ticket machines.

The CMA also expressed concerns that some operators are improperly handling appeals or improperly layering additional fees on top of standard parking charges. "Costs are high and often unexpected which is difficult when people are budgeting carefully," said Emma Cochrane, the CMA's executive director of consumer protection. "Parking companies must treat motorists fairly at all stages — and a clear and consistent appeals process must be at the heart of this."

"It's time for all private parking operators to comply with consumer law or risk action from the CMA," Cochrane added. The regulatory overhang is expected to intensify as the UK government prepares its response to a consultation on reinstating a withdrawn Private Parking Code of Practice. Simon Williams, head of policy at the RAC, described the CMA's action as a "major step forward in ensuring drivers are treated fairly by private parking operators."

"The CMA has shone a much-needed light on the appeals process and found major problems that need to be addressed," Williams said. He argued that the current system, which relies on two separate trade association appeals bodies, is flawed. The industry is now waiting to see if the forthcoming government code will mandate a single independent appeals body to standardize dispute resolution across the sector.