Nexus has published a guide for fleets on appealing private parking fines as it also publicly pledges its support to a bill to clamp down on the industry.

Nexus has created an online guide to combating unfair private parking penalties.

The corporate vehicle rental provider says 2.6% of all its daily business car rentals incurred parking penalty charges in the first eight months of 2017 – this compares to 1.4% in 2012.

The firm has now become the latest in a number of major names in the motor sector to lend its support to a private members bill that aims to end the issuing of unscrupulous parking fines by rogue operators.

Tabled by Conservative MP Sir Greg Knight, the Parking (Code of Practice) Bill 2017-2019, which is due to have its second reading in Parliament on 2 February, aims to make private parking companies more accountable, as well as demanding a fairer appeals process for drivers. This includes calling for an end to the unfair and sometimes illegal practice of private parking firms issuing automatic fines, sometimes even via CCTV – a practice known as ‘ghost-ticketing’. This will rarely take into account factors such as unclear signage or faulty parking meters.

Figures released earlier this year by the RAC show the number of drivers given fines by private parking firms rose by 64% over the last year.

As a result of the findings Nexus has created its ‘Glovebox Guide to Parking Penalties’ – a step by step guide that can be printed and kept in a rental car should business drivers need to challenge penalties from rogue operators.

David Brennan, CEO at Nexus Vehicle Rental, said: “As a major operator supporting UK business drivers we’ve experienced first-hand the unfair and sometimes unavoidable fines issued by private operators who, according to recent reports, are now handing out charges UK-wide every seven seconds.

“We hope our guide will directly support those business drivers facing unfair penalties but stress drivers should only appeal against any parking ticket (public or private) if they feel they have valid grounds to do so, and always substantiate a claim with evidence.”For more of the latest industry news, click here.