I have been looking at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) which has acquired significant new powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act), which came into force on 6 April 2025.
This is going to be a valuable new tool in our armoury against these unregulated companies and their supposed "independent" arbitrators. The CMA can now directly enforce consumer protection laws through administrative proceedings, eliminating the need to initiate court actions. This enables the CMA to:
• Issue infringement notices to businesses suspected of violating consumer laws.
• Impose fines of up to 10% of a company's global annual turnover or £300,000 for individuals involved in breaches.
• Mandate corrective actions, including compensation to affected consumers.
The CMA has indicated that its initial enforcement efforts will focus on:
• Aggressive sales tactics targeting vulnerable consumers.
• Hidden fees and lack of pricing transparency.
• Unfair contract terms and misleading information.
• Practices that have previously been subject to enforcement actions.
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act) gives the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) stronger enforcement powers to protect consumers. While unregulated private parking companies are not directly named in the legislation, many of their practices fall squarely within the scope of the CMA's new powers — particularly in relation to consumer protection.
This would include POPLA and the Independent Appeals Service (IAS), which, despite their official-sounding names, are private entities contracted by parking trade associations (BPA and IPC respectively). They are not statutory tribunals and not impartial authorities, and the DMCC Act can be used to scrutinise their conduct.
At present, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) does not provide a dedicated portal specifically for complaints under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act). However, it does accept consumer protection complaints through the established route — via Citizens Advice, which triages issues and passes them to the CMA where appropriate.
Unfortunately, I have no faith in Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) to even begin to understand civil contract law as it pertains to private parking operators. I suggest you try sending the following directly to the CMA:
To: consumer@cma.gov.uk
Subject: Complaint under DMCC Act 2024 – POPLA / Flexible Resolution Services (FRS) – Systemic Denial of Consumer Redress
Dear Consumer Protection Team,
I am writing to submit a formal complaint under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 regarding Flexible Resolution Services Ltd (FRS), the regulated ADR provider operating the POPLA appeals process for parking charge notices issued by members of the British Parking Association (BPA).
This complaint concerns a systemic failure of consumer redress and fair process, which I believe falls squarely within the CMA’s expanded remit under the DMCC Act. The issue is not isolated, but a structural problem affecting a significant number of motorists who use POPLA in good faith expecting impartial adjudication.
Summary of Issues
1. POPLA Decisions Are Final and Irrevocable — Even When Legally Flawed
FRS admits that its assessors sometimes misinterpret the law (e.g. the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012) or misapply the Private Parking Single Code of Practice (PPSCoP). However, there is no mechanism to review or reverse a decision, even when a legal or procedural error is acknowledged.
2. No Oversight of POPLA's Conduct or Outcomes
2. While FRS is approved as an ADR body by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), CTSI has stated it will not intervene in individual cases, including those where FRS has accepted the presence of error. The BPA, as a trade body, also refuses to act unless an opaque internal complaints process is first exhausted — and has no power to overrule POPLA’s decisions in any event.
3. Consumers Are Misled About the Independence and Authority of the Process
POPLA presents itself as an "independent appeals service," and consumers are routinely told that decisions are binding. However, these decisions are only binding on the parking operator (in theory), and are in practice used to justify enforcement — including the escalation of disputed charges to debt recovery or litigation. Consumers are left with no recourse if POPLA's judgment is flawed.
4. Unfair Imbalance of Rights
Parking operators retain the ability to reject appeals before they reach POPLA, to submit further evidence to POPLA at any time, and to proceed with enforcement if the appeal fails. Consumers, by contrast, have no right to correct assessor error, introduce new evidence post-decision, or escalate their complaint to a neutral regulatory authority.
Breach of Consumer Rights under the DMCC Act 2024
These failures amount to:
• Misleading commercial practices (Schedule 18) – especially where POPLA’s authority or independence is overstated;
• Denial of effective redress, which undermines consumer trust and protection;
• An imbalance of power contrary to the consumer protection principles underpinning the DMCC Act;
• Unfair practices by an ADR provider, effectively operating without accountability or oversight, despite formal approval.
Request for CMA Investigation
I respectfully ask the CMA to:
• Investigate the structure and practices of Flexible Resolution Services Ltd and its administration of POPLA decisions;
• Assess whether the lack of recourse or review violates the DMCC Act’s provisions on unfair or misleading practices;
• Determine whether consumers are being systematically disadvantaged in this process, particularly when errors are admitted but cannot be corrected;
• Recommend regulatory reforms to ensure genuine oversight of ADR bodies operating in consumer law contexts — especially where civil contract disputes are adjudicated in lieu of court access.
I am willing to provide documentary evidence of a case in which an error was acknowledged by POPLA but no remedy was offered. I also know of other motorists in similar situations and can supply further examples upon request.
Yours sincerely,
[Your Full Name]
[Postal Address]
[Email Address]
[Telephone Number (optional)]
