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Wheel Clamping Charge?
Having watched Martin’s article on Tonight with Trevor MacDonald regarding over-excessive bank charges it sort of got me thinking about something which may be similar in nature.
About three weeks ago my car was clamped for parking in a permit only zone. At the time I failed to see the sign indicating that the area I parked was a permit only area. After parking my car for 30 minutes I returned to notice that my vehicle had been clamped. This prompted me to look for the sign which stated that the area was permit parking only – I found it. The sign stated that a release fee of £100 + VAT would be charged for any vehicle being clamped.
To say I was annoyed is a big understatement so I rang the company which clamped my vehicle and told them to release the clamp immediately.
5 minutes later one of their guys comes round and says a charge of £117.50 is needed to release the clamp. I paid this and asked for an appeals form immediately. The guy stated that there was 2 ways I could appeal. The first way would be to send an email to his companies email address stating all the necessary details and why I am appealing against the charge. The second was to put the appeal in written form but this would carry a charge of £10 for administration costs.
The guy who released my clamp stated that if I appealed there would be a chance I could reclaim 70-80% of my money back as my car was parked illegally for 30 minutes only which even he admitted that a cost of £117.50 was excessive.
I emailed my appeal on the same day I got clamped and also sent another 2 days after being clamped as I did not hear anything. A few days had passed so I decided to ring them up regarding the appeal process and one of their guys stated that it takes a few weeks for appeals to be addressed as there was quite a few in the system.
I waited a couple of weeks and still heard nothing. I rang up again regarding the status of my appeal and was told that their email server had been down for the last couple of weeks and that they probably won’t have the emails anymore. I was then told to put my appeal form in written format – I did this but clearly stated in the letter that I would not be paying the £10 admin fee as it wasn’t my fault their email server was down.
To summise, a charge of £117.50 for a guy to turn a key in a padlock and release a clamp of my car wheel I think is excessive to say the least especially for parking 30 minutes illegally. I accept the fact that I was parked where I shouldn’t have been but is there something I could do to find out how this company justify charging £100 + VAT to turn a key in a padlock? I am considering getting in touch with the British Parking Association and the Security Industry Authority but is this the right thing to do?
Any response would be most appreciated.
About three weeks ago my car was clamped for parking in a permit only zone. At the time I failed to see the sign indicating that the area I parked was a permit only area. After parking my car for 30 minutes I returned to notice that my vehicle had been clamped. This prompted me to look for the sign which stated that the area was permit parking only – I found it. The sign stated that a release fee of £100 + VAT would be charged for any vehicle being clamped.
To say I was annoyed is a big understatement so I rang the company which clamped my vehicle and told them to release the clamp immediately.
5 minutes later one of their guys comes round and says a charge of £117.50 is needed to release the clamp. I paid this and asked for an appeals form immediately. The guy stated that there was 2 ways I could appeal. The first way would be to send an email to his companies email address stating all the necessary details and why I am appealing against the charge. The second was to put the appeal in written form but this would carry a charge of £10 for administration costs.
The guy who released my clamp stated that if I appealed there would be a chance I could reclaim 70-80% of my money back as my car was parked illegally for 30 minutes only which even he admitted that a cost of £117.50 was excessive.
I emailed my appeal on the same day I got clamped and also sent another 2 days after being clamped as I did not hear anything. A few days had passed so I decided to ring them up regarding the appeal process and one of their guys stated that it takes a few weeks for appeals to be addressed as there was quite a few in the system.
I waited a couple of weeks and still heard nothing. I rang up again regarding the status of my appeal and was told that their email server had been down for the last couple of weeks and that they probably won’t have the emails anymore. I was then told to put my appeal form in written format – I did this but clearly stated in the letter that I would not be paying the £10 admin fee as it wasn’t my fault their email server was down.
To summise, a charge of £117.50 for a guy to turn a key in a padlock and release a clamp of my car wheel I think is excessive to say the least especially for parking 30 minutes illegally. I accept the fact that I was parked where I shouldn’t have been but is there something I could do to find out how this company justify charging £100 + VAT to turn a key in a padlock? I am considering getting in touch with the British Parking Association and the Security Industry Authority but is this the right thing to do?
Any response would be most appreciated.
0
Comments
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It is steep is that charge, well done you for admitting that you were parked where you shouldnt have been though!
I would certainly be challenging that if it had happened to me. What sort of area was it - was it a private housing area or upmarket area of a town etc?Weight Loss - 102lb0 -
It appeared to be a housing estate right next to a town centre. If I had seen the sign when I parked I wouldn't have done so in the first place.0
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