Cap ‘pay later’ parking and toll penalties, and require a pay-on-exit option

Many tolls and car parks now require drivers to remember to pay later online. If they forget, they can receive mammoth penalties for an original charge of only a few pounds. We believe this punishes forgetfulness, not dishonesty, and disproportionately affects busy people, carers, parents and those with attention or memory difficulties. Operators should be required to provide pay-on-exit options and to limit penalties to reasonable administrative costs so genuine mistakes are not treated like deliberate non-payment.