MSE News: Wheel clamping to be banned on private land

bromsgrovebarry

The police are there to achieve targets not uphold the law. There needs to be a major culture shift and better training for all serving officers about the law especially the difference between criminal and civil law.

Driver8

Crown court for this bunch of low life's;


http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2010/08/19/six-sent-for-trial-over-wheel-clamping-probe-97319-27091517/

How i do hope they are eating porridge on Christmas day. Crown Court? Hopefully they are.

How any one can speak in the defence of pure scum like that ought to give their head a shake.

bigturnip

RosieLee wrote: »

if your land is so important to you it's worth spending a little to protect it, you can get a fold down parking post on the net for about £40 so i dont see what all the fuss is about.
if its a wider area go to the local wood yard or pallet yard for cheap offcuts and build yourself a fence, again not expensive to do.

But people keep telling me blocking cars in like this would be illegal.

bigturnip

AlexisV wrote: »

Read back over this thread and you will see many of us have offered advice and solutions.

Yep, but I haven't seen one that would work yet other than blocking cars in, but people say this illegal. Many things have been tried before, clamping is the only solution that I have seen to work.

Coupon-mad

Are you deliberately missing the point of fold-down posts? They can be used individually, one for each free space - not to block each car in but to protect an empty space until a customer/staff member arrives and the post in front of that parking bay is lowered (by key usually).

Like I said on the last page, as a customer it would not bother me if I had to beep my horn, press an intercom on arrival or pop into the reception area to ask them to lower a bollard to allow me to park. Takes seconds and harasses no-one, also your unsociable non-customers simply cannot park there.

bigturnip

Coupon-mad wrote: »

Your involvement has ended up being as someone just 'defending clampers' though (and before you say it - yes I have followed every single post on this thread because I have been a regular poster for ages in encouraging people to take clampers and landowners to Court).

The reason you come across as just 'defending clampers' is because you have rejected out of hand every solution suggested - all of them lawful - bleating that the only thing that works in your opinion is something along the lines of highway robbery which is now, rightly, to be banned.

So you are a landowner who has been relying on a very murky dark grey area of law(lessness) to protect your car park until now. Count yourself lucky your firm who contracts the clampers has presumably never been sued as jointly and severally liable for an unlawful clamping situation. I've never seen a case reported on here or pepipoo forums where any clamping firm got it all right in terms of clear, contractual, adequate signage and paperwork and a fair, representative release fee IMHO so your clampers must have been one in a million if you reckon they did.

I do care about small businesses, most people here have probably worked for or know someone who works for a company with private parking. I used to manage a customer-facing service with just 3 private spaces - including what purported to be a disabled bay - very near a shopping centre and next door to other services/shops with busy spaces, but we never resorted to clampers.

We just put notes on a car asking them not to park there again if we got an 'abuser'. The same people/cars didn't repeat it 99% of the time.

I recall just one serial abuser who we just decided to nip in the bud by looking out for her after a few weeks of her unsociable parking. I deliberately waited 20 minutes after she'd parked in 'our' bay and then followed her into the neighbouring gym and got them to announce her reg number out. Neighbouring businesses understood the importance of car parking spaces just as well - if not better - than any 'parking enforcement' firm!

The woman 'parking space nabber' had to emerge into the reception area all sweaty from her gym class and I just sternly 'instructed' her to move her car as one of our disabled elderly clients needed it for an appointment with us - and no doubt they would block her in if she didn't move immediately. I also said the person in question was known to us as not being a great parker and had been known to hit the wall before, let alone other cars...;)

Said lady was very embarrassed in front of other people, she moved the car and never did that again.

Obviously it's not always practical for a staff member to run out and face the unsociable parker, but I reckon a well-worded polite sign would do the trick just as well in most cases, and if not then notes on cars would see off others. And I fail to see why a removable chain across a free bay would be an issue in most small car parks. It certainly wouldn't bother me if I were visiting a shop and had to stop outside and 'beep' my horn, press an intercom or pop in and ask for the chain to be undone so I could park.


P.S. Yes we are EXTREMELY happy to be rid of the leeches known as clamping firms.

I have never defended the clampers as a whole, just the principle of clamping, the one post where I did come to the individual clamper's defence was because of the poor example given, I could find many worse examples that are indefensible.

I've already said that while I don't like what the clampers do, it is a much preferable option to me than having a car park blocked all day due to inconsiderate parking.

Not everybody has access to such means of public humiliation, like in your example with the gym.

As for the chain being up and only let down when customers arrive, there are three reasons why this is an impractical solution in my case, firstly on a National Speed Limit A-Road you can't expect cars to stop, beep their horn and wait for somebody to come and let them in. Secondly, most people just wouldn't bother stopping if they see the chain, there goes all the passing trade, exactly what is lost when people park all day and go off to work. Finally you have to have somebody to keep an eye or ear out for when somebody arrives and then they have to go and let them in, this isn't always practical.

My only concern is to protect business, I have no interest in the clamping companies other than their ability to remove cars that are blocking land which is needed for customers. I have no financial incentive to use a clamping firm, but there is a huge financial incentive to the business in stopping unauthorised cars from parking. Trust me if there were a better solution to clampers in my case, I would have found it by now.

In a small village clampers only come when you call them, they aren't waiting to pounce or doing the rounds like they are in towns and cities. Therefore they are only called once one of the shop owners is happy that it shouldn't be there, cars don't get clamped/removed for petty reasons.

I'm not suggesting clamping is the solution in every case, but sometimes it seems other options just aren't available.

bigturnip

Coupon-mad wrote: »

Are you deliberately missing the point of fold-down posts? They can be used individually, one for each free space - not to block each car in but to protect an empty space until a customer/staff member arrives and the post in front of that parking bay is lowered (by key usually).

Like I said on the last page, as a customer it would not bother me if I had to beep my horn, press an intercom on arrival or pop into the reception area to ask them to lower a bollard to allow me to park. Takes seconds and harasses no-one, also your unsociable non-customers simply cannot park there.

And where do these customers stop and wait? On a main A Road with a National speed limit? Because of the nature of the road, I suspect most people wouldn't bother stopping once they saw the post, I know I wouldn't, because I know the road.

Because of the nature of my business, customers come and go all the time, it's just not practical.

Coupon-mad

OK, let's see if there are any solutions because clamping isn't lawful (or won't be).

Do your actual parking spaces lead directly off the A Road (no driveway/entrance?). If so can 'individual space' small bollards be placed a couple of feet in from the front of the space (i.e. so that when they are let down they will be well under the car, let's say level with the front wheels?).

So your customer/staff member arrives, drives partially into a space so they are off the road then the bollard is unlocked and lowered by key to let them completely park.

If there's an entrance or even a car-sized small driveway then a customer pulls in off the road and beeps the horn to get the space freed (a notice could tell customers this)?

If none of these are going to work in your case then I guess put up a clear notice 'parking for customers of xxxxx only 24 hours a day, trespassers will face legal action' (even though they won't, most people don't know it) and an appropriate note plonked on any car that is seen to offend.

peter_the_piper

I get the feeling that despite all the possible options offered the BT's problem will never be solved short of clamping.

bromsgrovebarry

bigturnip wrote: »

And where do these customers stop and wait? On a main A Road with a National speed limit? Because of the nature of the road, I suspect most people wouldn't bother stopping once they saw the post, I know I wouldn't, because I know the road.

if the road has the national speed limit, I am sure it will not be in a built up area where parking issues are a problem or am I missing the point?
I can sympathise with anybody whose business is affected by selfish car park abusers but clamping is not the answer.