The association says that while Communities Secretary Eric Pickles is reining in local authorities who over zealously use CCTV, private parking operators now rely heavily on this technology and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) to watch drivers and issue tickets through the post when they put a foot wrong in parking areas.

As a result, there has been a surge in parking charge notices issued by private firms through the post.

Recent cases include an AA member in London who was threatened with a £160 parking ticket that breached the £100 maximum recommended by the British Parking Association's code which the enforcement firm was signed up to. She was so scared she paid up rather than taking the case to the new independent appeal service POPLA (Parking on Private Land Appeals).

The AA adds that POPLA appears to be struggling to cope with appeal demand, with its website warning of high demand and a backlog. Latest statistics show that 13,611 appeals were registered up to late August with only 6,913 decided. Of those parking firms won more than drivers, standing at 3,361 and 2,856 respectively.

Edmund King, AA President, said: ‘It seems many of the notorious clampers have moved their sharp practices to private parking enforcement. Others seem to have adopted strong arm tactics to threaten drivers into paying tickets that are often unjust and set at an unreasonable level compared to those issued by regulated local authorities.’

He added: ‘With the new independent appeal system apparently bursting at the seams it is clear many drivers feel unfairly done by but are finding it hard to get a result. We are very concerned about POPLA's difficulties, which they assured us they could overcome with additional staff some months ago and we hope meltdown can be avoided.’