Excel Parking: Sheffield firm sparks complaints and a petition amid soaring profits

Sheffield company Excel Parking has doubled profits amid complaints, a petition and a looming clampdown on the industry.

The company’s ‘profit before tax’ rocketed from £2m to £4m last year, annual results show.

The firm sends £100 demands to drivers for allegedly breaking car park rules. Last year it requested 207,220 addresses from the DVLA, up 42 per cent on the year previous.

The results also show boss Simon Renshaw-Smith was paid £240,000, plus dividends of £413,000 - a total of £653,000. Wife Karen Gillott is company secretary.

Over the last year, The Star has reported the stress, financial hardship and misery of motorists sent disputed demands by the firm, as well as ratcheting costs and threats of debt collectors and court action.

The government is working on a Code of Practice to crack down on the industry. Announced in 2019, it has triggered a rise in ‘fines’ issued, set to hit £1.5bn this year. 

The code would cap 'fines' at £50, protect drivers from 'unfair and extortionate charges' and introduce an independent appeals service. Announced in 2019, it was shelved in 2022 when parking firms mounted a legal challenge.

Pensioner Stanley Luckhurst, aged 85, beat Excel Parking in court and launched a petition urging government to launch its long-awaited clampdown.

He accused ministers of "dragging their feet" over a new Parking Code of Practice while a record 13m 'fines' - worth £1.3bn - are set to be issued in 2023/24 - ten years earlier than forecast.

Parking appeals expert Lynda Eagan said firms were engaging in a "feeding frenzy" in anticipation of new kerbs, with the number of 'fines' rising 16 per cent a year.

Last year, Sheffield MP Clive Betts, urged government to "get a move on."

Excel Parking demands £100 for breaking its rules, twice as much as Sheffield City Council's charges.

At car parks, including Broomhill Rooftop, the firm has been criticised for densely-written sign boards that take four minutes to read fully, while giving drivers 10 minutes after arrival to pay.

Motorists also claim machines are often faulty and the payment app is slow, which sees them go over the deadline.

In January 2023, the firm apologised after The Star revealed it sent dodgy £100 demands due to a fault at Broomhill. The same issue was reported 13 years ago.

In the same month, Jane Walker received a £100 demand for 'non-payment'.

She fought it all the way and in February 2024 was victorious in court. A judge dismissed the case against her due to shoddy evidence.

She criticised Excel Parking for “contempt of the court process” and accused the company of “wasting public time and expense” after the “farce” at Sheffield’s County Court.

At Berkeley Centre on Ecclesall Road, Excel had a secret 10-minute time rule until it was highlighted by The Star and scrapped. The company has since been removed from the site and complaints have halted.

At Newcastle Avenue in Worksop, disabled pensioner Derrick Walker received a £100 demand after being given zero minutes to buy a parking ticket.

It came after widow Sandra White said she was selling her car after receiving three 'fines' in a week from the same site - two for breaching the five-minute time rule which she was unaware of. Her appeals were rejected.

In another case, Excel subsidiary VCS ignored the pleas of the landowner it was working for - Broomhill Methodist Church - and refused to cancel a penalty issued to choir singer Christine Ayres.

As well as Stanley Luckhurst, Excel has taken drivers to court for mis-typing a registration number and - in a case brought by VCS - stopping for 30 seconds in a medical emergency. It lost them both.

Karen Bennett made a keying error while paying £3.20 on the Sheffield company’s payment app at a car park in Halifax. 

Excel said she had broken its rules and the penalty was £100. The amount jumped to £170 while she unsuccessfully appealed. Eventually it climbed to £280 amid threats of debt collectors and legal action.

Finally, in a last ditch attempt to avoid a trial, the firm said it would accept £200 as settlement. But if she refused it would 'bring this letter to the court’s attention and seek further costs of £220' - a total of £500.

A judge at Bradford County Court dismissed the case and denied Excel’s request for costs stating they were disproportionate and it had failed to justify them.

Excel Parking is a member of trade body International Parking Community, which runs the Independent Appeals Service. The IPC is funded by parking firms including Excel and Excel boss, Simon Renshaw-Smith sits on the IPC steering committee.

Excel Parking is based on Europa View in Tinsley. A spokesperson said they supported the new single Code of Practice.

They added: "The vast majority of parking operators follow an existing Code of Practice with either the IPC (the International Parking Community) or the BPA (British Parking Association) and have processes in place for motorists to appeal should they consider that a parking charge has been issued unfairly.

"The new unified Code will adopt many elements of the existing codes which will further improve consistency and clarity for motorists, landowners and parking operators.

"We understand that parking can be an emotive subject, not only for those who receive a parking charge but also for motorists who are negatively impacted by those who park irresponsibly as well as those who blatantly abuse private land.

"A recent survey undertaken by our Trade Association, the IPC, found that 99.77 per cent of motorists comply with private parking."

A DLUHC spokesperson said: "We are carefully considering the responses to our recent Call for Evidence on the Private Parking Code of Practice and next steps will be set out in due course. "The government continues to work with the industry and consumer groups to reissue the code as quickly as possible."