Call for Evidence
Introduction
Registry Trust is the non-profit organisation which runs the public Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines under contract to the Ministry of Justice. We are independent from government, and from industry, operating on the periphery of both the financial and credit information sectors. Registry Trust holds judgment records spanning the UK, and that data serves to support responsible lending.
Registry Trust information is used in over 200 million lending decisions every single year.
Access to the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines is open to all. This allows anyone to check the information on any business or individual, once they provide the correct details and payment of the fee. Users and customers of the Register include (but are not limited to) individuals and small businesses who want information when they have been refused credit; small businesses who want to check potential clients; credit reference agencies who support lenders for the underwriting of debt, and making of informed credit decisions; employers who wish to check on present and potential employees; and anyone seeking to perform some sort of due diligence prior to making a decision.
The Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines contains details of all county court judgments (CCJs), or equivalent, for the British Isles and Ireland. An estimated 10%* of the records held on the Register relate to parking fines. As a result, we welcome the opportunity to respond to the call for evidence on the Private Parking code of conduct, with a view to providing independent thoughts on the possible impact on the civil justice system.
Questions
Section 1: Questions relating to cost assumptions [For private parking industry respondents]
This section is not relevant to Registry Trust
Section 2: Questions relating to the impact of this intervention on small businesses (private parking operators and debt recovery agencies) [For private parking industry respondents]
This section is not directly relevant to Registry Trust.
While we publish the public Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines, we do not receive the claimant details which form part of the judgment. This means that we are unable to unequivocally state the number of percentage of judgments that relate to parking fines. This omission has negative effects for individuals, businesses and policy-makers. We note that the Call for Evidence itself requests details of the following over the last 10 years:
- How many cases were taken to court.
- Of all claims submitted, how many were accepted.
- Of those accepted, how many cases resulted in CCJs.
- Of those CCJs, how many were default CCJs.
- How many parking charges were paid as a consequence of legal action,
- including paid pre-CCJ or prior to hearing, and paid after hearing or paid after
- being granted a CCJ.
Sadly, Registry Trust are not able to fully assist in answering this question, as we do not get sent claimant data by HMCTS. Our internal analysis indicates that a minimum of 10% of the judgments on the Register relate to parking fines. We can only provide a minimum percentage, as some parking fine companies will submit judgments directly, where others use a firm to do so on their behalf. We believe that the companies responsible for managing Parking Fines are becoming an increasingly significant part of the overall CCJ landscape – they get their data through the KADOE Service which only provides name and address data from the DVLA. For context, the Register holds an average of 5.5 million records at any point, so 10% represents a significant number of fines.
Section 3: Benefits to motorists, parking operators and landowners [For all respondents]
An unintended consequence of removing the Debt Recovery Fee could be to increase litigation, with consequences for the efficiencies and smooth running of the court service. Should parking firms feel they are left with no alternative debt recovery method, they will resort to the court service, leading to further pressure on an already overburdened court system. Thought also needs to be given to whether this step may then disproportionately affect vulnerable groups.
It would be useful to see and understand potential increases in the number of court cases that are likely to arise as a result of the proposed change, and to understand how the court service would propose to meet that further burden.
Section 4: Questions relating to behavioural change [For all respondents]
4.5 Would you agree or disagree that lowering or removing debt recovery fees would lead to more county court claims? If so, to what extent? Please provide further evidence to support your response.
Registry Trust would be keen to understand the anticipated reduction in the overall supply of car parking spaces and anticipated changes to parking costs that might result. This would enable a clearer picture of any consumer harm that might occur; as well as providing more insight into the anticipated impact on the courts service.
Section 5: Miscellaneous [For private parking industry respondents]
This section is not relevant to Registry Trust
Section 6: About you
Please use this section to tell us about yourself.
For further information on how we use and process your personal data, please see our ‘processing of personal data’ statement in the next section.
If you would prefer to provide an anonymous response to this consultation, then do not complete these questions.
What is your name or name of organisation on behalf of which you are responding?
Registry Trust - www.registry-trust.org.uk
I am responding primarily as a:
Other (please specify) – We are the non-profit organisation, which runs the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines. As such, we see the outcome of unpaid parking fines, in the form of CCJs appearing on the public Register. We are also directly affected by the efficient running of the civil justice system.
* Registry Trust are only able to provide an estimate of numbers, as they do not receive details of the claimant. The figure of 10% is drawn from internal analysis, and represents the minimum percentage known to be from parking fines.