The private parking industry is being urged to “come clean” over the likelihood of a driver getting an unfair ticket withdrawn.
Boosting transparency would either show how bad the situation is or give drivers confidence that complaints are dealt with reasonably, the RAC said.
Analysis by the motoring service company found the two appeals bodies used by unhappy drivers only publish very limited data, some of which is out of date.
Parking on Private Land Appeals (Popla) is yet to publish its annual report for the year to the end of September 2024, while the Independent Appeals Service (IAS) has released its 2024 report but fails to reveal how many appeals were allowed or refused.
The last time the IAS published this information was in 2021/22, when 94 per cent of cases were found in favour of parking operators, according to the RAC.
Recent analysis found UK drivers were handed a record 14.4 million parking tickets by private companies in the year to the end of March.
That was a 13 per cent increase from the 12.8 million during the previous 12 months, and more than double the 6.8 million in 2018/19.
Each ticket can be up to £100, meaning the total daily cost to drivers may be near £3.9 million at the current rate.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “The industry claims there isn’t an issue with tickets being issued unfairly as drivers can get them overturned when they appeal.
“But while stories of drivers being treated poorly are all too common, data on the true number of complaints and successful appeals isn’t available.
“We believe the industry should have to publish this information.
“In the meantime, we urge them to come clean and publish all their complaints data voluntarily.”
The government is consulting on a long-awaited legislation-backed code of practice for the private parking sector.
Local growth minister Alex Norris said earlier this month that “too many people are being unfairly penalised”.
The IAS handles appeals against tickets issued by members of sector body the International Parking Community, which said in a statement it is “committed to improving the transparency and accountability of private land parking practices”.
It urged the RAC to “work constructively with us” to “explore what can be achieved together”.
It went on: “It is worth reminding the public just how often they are able to park without any difficulty or disruption.
“That is the clearest sign that the sector is working, when parking is smooth, accessible, and uneventful.”
Popla, which processes appeals against tickets handed out by members of the British Parking Association, has been approached for a comment.
