What can you do when non-customers block your EV bays?

Agree access rules and a named parking-enforcement route before opening your charging bays. Signs should explain who may park, whether active charging is required and what charges apply. In England and Wales, section 54 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 restricts clamping and removal without lawful authority [S1]. Check your arrangements with a solicitor. Checked October 2026.

Last checked 17 October 2026

What should you do when a car blocks access to the chargers?

Start with a safe reporting route that your staff can actually use. Ask the operator to provide the bay identifier, the parking contact and an escalation procedure. Tell reception staff who can authorise action, rather than leaving them to improvise when a customer complains.

Record the incident through the agreed system and ask the parking manager to handle it. Proposed records should distinguish a vehicle not charging, a failed charging attempt, a driver waiting to connect and a driver who cannot move promptly. These situations deserve different operational responses even where the written parking condition is the same.

For private land in England and Wales, section 54 prohibits immobilising or moving a vehicle without lawful authority in the circumstances it specifies. Do not authorise staff to clamp, tow or block a driver in as an improvised remedy. Have your solicitor review lawful options for your site; do not apply this statute as a UK-wide summary. [S1]

Can you reserve the chargers for customers?

Decide your intended audience before signing the host agreement. Possible operating proposals include charging for customers during trading hours or public access during stated periods. Ask whether the commercial offer depends on wider access than you are willing to provide.

Customer-only parking does not necessarily make the chargepoints private for the public charging regulations. Their scope includes qualifying customer car parks and restricted opening hours. Confirm the classification with your solicitor. [S4]

Write the same access arrangement into the contract, signs, booking instructions and public information. Ask who updates each item if opening hours change. A tariff or map listing that invites access you have not agreed should be corrected before drivers arrive.

Read the host-agreement negotiation guide before granting bay rights. State whether your business may change the parking layout, close the site temporarily or reserve spaces for a scheduled event.

What should charging-bay signs say?

Request a sign plan for the entrance, parking area and individual charging bays. Proposed wording should separate permission to enter, the parking condition, the electricity tariff and any overstay term. Ask the parking contractor to explain how drivers can read and accept the applicable terms.

Schedule 4’s notice provisions include bringing the specified parking charge adequately to the driver’s attention. A painted symbol does not describe your proposed contractual charges. Ask your solicitor to review the wording and evidence before enforcement begins. [S1]

Will ANPR show that a driver was charging?

Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) records registration marks using cameras. Entrance and exit records should not be treated as proof of the whole charging session. Ask a bidder to demonstrate how its evidence distinguishes time on site from time in a particular bay.

The ICO requires a justified, proportionate approach to ANPR, with clear signs, appropriate retention and accurate matching. Its guidance is under review. Agree the data controller, complaint route and deletion arrangements before deploying cameras; check the legal position with your adviser. [S2]

Request a review process for mismatched records, charging failures and authorised exemptions. Test the proposed customer experience on paper: a visitor queues, cannot start a charge and leaves. Ask what evidence the system produces and who can prevent an inappropriate notice.

Can idle fees stop petrol cars and non-charging EVs?

An idle-fee proposal needs a defined start event, a notification method and a process for faults. Ask whether it begins after charging stops, after a permitted parking period or after a stated grace period. Do not describe a proposed grace period as a statutory entitlement.

An electricity-account fee cannot, by itself, collect payment from a petrol car whose driver never started charging. Keep the parking-enforcement route separate and ask who handles each kind of complaint.

For public charging, DfT guidance distinguishes charging-price disclosure from separate parking fees charged by a third party. Ask the operator to explain how every proposed fee is displayed and calculated. Check the charging and parking terms together with your solicitor. [S3]

Who enforces the rules and pays for customer disputes?

Schedule 4 concerns recovery of private parking charges, including contractual charges or damages. Treat that process separately from council penalties. Ask your solicitor to check the proposed enforcement basis. [S1]

Negotiate a written allocation between your business, the chargepoint operator and the parking contractor. Include patrols, reports, evidence review, appeals and correction of errors. Ask for an escalation route that does not require a customer to repeat the same complaint to every party.

For fully funded, part funded and self funded offers, request the enforcement costs and deductions separately. Use the revenue-share guide to check whether these costs reduce the amount on which your share is calculated.

Measure lost access as well as technical faults. Ask for a report of blocked-bay incidents and their duration; do not infer usable parking from a network uptime headline. Compare the proposed layout using the site checker before allocating scarce spaces.

Pre-signing checklist

Put these questions to the installer or operator:

• Who may use the bays, and during which hours?
• Must vehicles be actively charging, and how is that evidenced?
• Who approves the signs and any later changes?
• Who handles blocked bays when your reception is closed?
• What evidence supports a parking notice or overstay fee?
• How are charger faults and authorised exceptions handled?
• Who reviews appeals, corrects mistakes and controls camera records?

What should you do next?

Bring your parking plan, access hours and existing enforcement agreement. Ask for a single written operating plan covering chargers and parking. Read how we work and get matched with an installer that covers your area.

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