MSE News: 'Ban the wheel clampers'

Former_MSE_Guy

This is the discussion thread for the following MSE News Story:

"Wheel clamping should be banned and parking ticket issuers need to be properly regulated to protect vulnerable motorists, says the AA.

The call backs MSE's view that tickets issued on private land are usually unfair, while towing and clamping by private firms is often carried out illicitly ..."

Read the full story:
'Ban the wheel clampers'

Harry_Hurst

I think the Police should have got a grip of this in the first place, this is making unwarranted demands with menaces! had they done so, none of this would be needed.
Also there is the offence under s70 of the Road Safety Act of 1986 of tampering with a motor vehicle without just cause or excuse, theonus being on the clamper to prove!

mr.mat21

I remember watching a program back last year i think it was about illegal clampers, it is appauling and the police, goverment and local authorites should be working together to stop this happening.

Majority of people would probably just pay not realising that either they are illegal or could use the guide on this site and fight it.

It is utterly disgusting.

Mat

tomstickland

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/aug/22/observer-panel-wheel-clamping-just

Spartacus_Mills

Harry_Hurst wrote: »

I think the Police should have got a grip of this in the first place, this is making unwarranted demands with menaces! had they done so, none of this would be needed.
Also there is the offence under s70 of the Road Safety Act of 1986 of tampering with a motor vehicle without just cause or excuse, theonus being on the clamper to prove!

The Police are spineless when dealing with these sort of people. They do not want to know. It's a civil matter Sir. Pay up and appeal Sir. If you touch that clamp you can be done for criminal damage Sir.

Do the Police care about s70 RTA 1986. Do they !!!!!.

The police are spineless scum who propogate this problem.

Coblcris

Clamps can be removed without damage in many cases. This leaves the clampers with nothing and i slegal as long as you don't keep the clamp. there are also circumstances where cutting the clamp off is perfectly justified self-help.
I agree the police are mostly useless in this regard, they are only programmed for the law that enable then to arrest and hand out FPNs and even then not always well programmed I am sorry to say.

bonzer

What amazes me is the number of different organisations, including clampers, that have access to DVLA records. The DVLA seem prepared to sell on your home address willy nilly to anybody. I fail to see why anyone other than the police needs access.

According to this FOIA request, between April 2008 and March 2009, clampers (and other parking companies) requested home addresses of drivers a staggering 740,000 times, eclipsing all other request types. That's probably an under estimate because the figure only includes "electronic" requests and doesn't include manual requests made by phone for which the figures aren't broken down by type of requester.

http://www.dvla.gov.uk/foi/Disclosure/~/media/pdf/foi/foi_13072009.ashx

The DLVA also makes several million pounds out of flogging on your personal data to clampers.

trisontana

bonzer wrote: »

What amazes me is the number of different organisations, including clampers, that have access to DVLA records. The DVLA seem prepared to sell on your home address willy nilly to anybody. I fail to see why anyone other than the police needs access.

According to this FOIA request, between April 2008 and March 2009, clampers (and other parking companies) requested home addresses of drivers a staggering 740,000 times, eclipsing all other request types. That's probably an under estimate because the figure only includes "electronic" requests and doesn't include manual requests made by phone for which the figures aren't broken down by type of requester.

http://www.dvla.gov.uk/foi/Disclosure/~/media/pdf/foi/foi_13072009.ashx

The DLVA also makes several million pounds out of flogging on your personal data to clampers.

As I said on another thread, the DVLA has prostituted itself for material gain.

Coblcris

The DVLA is a registered business (it is actually a name used by the Department of Transport). As are all government departments, councils, police forces and the courts.

I am not condoning the DVLA in any way, far from it in fact.

tomstickland

They can request details of the registered keeper. But they have no way of finding out who was driving at the time.

KC21

let's seek advice from the AA Legal Department or similar qualified advice. These responses are completely irresponsible!!

Rickbonar talks about a car bomb threat (making hoax bomb calls usually ends in a prison sentence!)

in a town near me an enterprising motorist phoned the tow compound (who were employed by the local council) and stated that a decoy car was booby trapped with a bomb and that he would remotely detonate it causing not only damage to workers but other vehicles which would leave the tow company to repay all damaged vehicle owners a considerable amount of money

Spartacus_Mills is just offensive ....

The police are spineless scum who propogate this problem

Coblcris is completely wrong!!! Unless you have the key I defy anyone to remove a clamp without damaging it. It just isn't possible ..... Even Police Officers who have tried to remove clamps from their unmarked vehicles illegally parked struggle on this one ..... There are no circumstances where you could cut the thing off justifiably .... alright - the next building is on fire and you need the car to save a life ......

See BBC news - search AA and Kent on line about the cops filmed on u tube trying to remove clamps with bolt cutters and risking prosecution ....


Clamps can be removed without damage in many cases. This leaves the clampers with nothing and i slegal as long as you don't keep the clamp. there are also circumstances where cutting the clamp off is perfectly justified self-help.

I see that the advice of MSE.com is ..... One reason private companies use clamping or towing is to ensure you hand over money if you want the vehicle released.
Regardless of the situation there’s a stark warning ..... don’t try and remove the clamp yourself as any damage could be considered criminal. If you’ve been clamped or towed away it’s likely you’ll need to pay the charge first to get your vehicle released, then if it's unfair, seek a refund. If that’s the case, when you pay..... always state you’re paying under protest and, if you can, write "paid under protest" on any document retained by the clamper