A new scheme to drive out rogue companies who issue parking tickets on private land was announced today.

Companies will have to comply with a new code and will only be able to impose standard charges of #75.

Companies, some of whom have been charging as much as #200, will also be banned from escorting motorists to cash machines to get the money for fines. They will also have to meet the terms of the new code in order to obtain details of parking offenders from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).

Transport Minister Stephen Ladyman said the initiative would assist "the clampdown on unscrupulous people who abuse the system to make money out of innocent drivers",

DVLA’s external and corporate services director Richard Kitchen said: "This is a positive step in meeting Mr Ladyman’s call for a more robust system."

But the RAC Foundation said the new code of practice does not go far enough.

The new code will be enforced by the British Parking Association (BPA). The association’s chief executive Keith Banbury said today: "This collaboration is a long time coming. Now that we have launched the code and announced our approved operator scheme, the public can look forward to a fairer, more transparent and regulated regime for parking on private land.

"There are companies operating in ways that are unacceptable, and the public is both confused and concerned. Our aim in extending our regulatory role in the parking industry is to reward good practice and drive out bad, leaving only legitimate companies undertaking fair and proper enforcement."

But RAC Foundation chief executive Edmund King said: "Without an independent appeals body to ensure fair play, this code will do little to save motorists from the misery of exorbitant fines and misleading signage.

"The BPA proposes that member companies will continue to sit in judgment on appeals against their own tickets, and says that it will not get involved as an independent adjudicator. The parking industry must get tougher on rogue operators if motorists are to believe that this clampdown is genuine."