Car clamped in own space!!

alir

Hello,

First time on any forum, but here goes:

Had a very tearful phone call from my daughter on Saturday saying that her car had been clamped on her allocated parking space outside her flat and the "man?!" was sitting in his van watching her and said she had to pay £180 to have it removed or within 1 hour it would be towed away and would cost her £450 to reclaim.

Now the slight problem is, she has a parking permit, which was in her car but for the first time since she moved in ( three months ago) it wasn't displayed in her windscreen. I have spoken to CAB and they said it is a difficult one. Unfortunately I don't see it like that - I am incandescent with rage.:mad:

This is her first flat, she has just started an apprenticeship, so is on a relatively low wage and works evenings doing bar work and private functions to make ends meet. She had worked the previous night until the early hours of the morning (which her boss is only too happy to confirm) and had arrived home exhausted and gone straight in to bed. She and her brother pay £700 for this two bed flat and always pay on time.

When she showed her permit to Mr Clamper and asked if he could please remove it, he replied he could not unless she paid the £180. Now she genuinely did not have this money and he replied, sarcastically, that it could be "paid by any credit or debit card anywhere in the world"! After all those years of trying to drum into our kids not to get into debt.

Because I was too far away to get there and she needed her car to get to work and she was so upset I payed the £180,over the phone by credit card which consisted of £150 (which I believe to be the maximum recommended amount) plus £30 VAT. I have been reading your forum and she has written a letter of appeal which I intend to post today by recorded delivery, as she only has 7 days to appeal.

Are the following points likely to help with her case?

1) Although the operative has signed the receipt, it is not legible.
2) It states that the vehicle was immobilised because it was "without a valid permit" doesn't mention displaying it.
3) It is issued by a Ltd Company, but nowhere on the receipt is there a persons contact name or a full address, only a PO Box. There is a mobile no of " Mr Clamper" and an 0800 no which states (no appeals or enquiries will be discussed by phone). Also A REPLY WILL NOT BE SENT (to your appeal) UNLESS YOU INCLUDE A PHOTOCOPY OF THIS RECEIPT AND A SAE.

It does , however have an SIA licence No on it.

Sorry for banging on but my final questions:

Where can I check that the SIA No is valid?
Is it safe to send a recorded delivery letter to a PO Box No?
Is there a hope in hell of getting my money back?
As a MSE fan and a Mum who has always tried to instill good values in all her kids, "am I right to feel soooo angry??"

Rant over, thanks for listening.

GlynD

I'd be inclined to speak to the building management company. A genuine error has been made here but the clampers are there to assist the huilding management in keeping spaces clear for tenants/owners. Your daughter parked with a complete right to do so. After he was shown the correct permit that bloke should have removed the clamp in my opinion. He's not there to terrorise genuine space owners.

alir

Thank you, my sentiments exactly. We will follow your advice.

AlexisV

Ok, first of all, there is no right of appeal. There certainly isn't a time limit. You will never get your money back from the clampers, but the management company is jointly and severally responsible for the action of their agent.

Clamping comes down to two things - the person has to consent to being clamped ie. by reading signage which may state parking is forbidden, or it can be used as a remedy to trespass.

The idea of a permit is that it identifies who is trespassing. Your daughter owns a permit ie. written permission to park. She can't be a trespasser.

So did she consent to being clamped by not displaying a permit? If it fell off the windscreen for example, that wouldn't amount to consent.

Now all this assumes that the clampers even have a right to interfere with her parking space. What does the flat's lease say? Often the management company and clamping company have no right to clamp if the lease grants the use of the space. In this case she wouldn't even need a permit. Why would you need to display permission to park in a space that has been granted for your use in the lease?

Often a management company will just steamroller over the residents' legal right and employ these clamping firms. They are often unaware that they are legally responsible for their clampers.

You will need to bring a claim in county court against whoever employed the clamping company (if you just sue the clamping company you will not get your money even if you win because they have no assets and don't care about CCJ's).

You have 6 years to bring a claim.

So don't write or 'appeal' to anyone yet. First job is to get hold of the flat's lease. If your daughter is renting she will need to ask the landlord or find another owner-occupier in the same development. If there is a Facebook group for the development, you can usually track down an owner-occupier that way.

esmerobbo

You can check the SIA licence here!

https://portal.the-sia.org.uk/web/start.swe?SWECmd=GotoView&_sn=6opfE-XuMc6KDLgKB0erS8flsKqMq1PwqPtJUhqfCYU_&SWEView=LDL+Licence+Query+View&SWEHo=portal.the-sia.org.uk&SWETS=1313426858

alir

Thank you AlexisV, that was so helpful, I had been thinking today that we need to go through her lease.

Apologies if I take a while to get back to members, but I live in the sticks and can only get dial up.

We will persevere!

swimsink

I could be completely off the mark but i thought private clamping was no longer allowed?

Superbiatch

I've seen the same happen in my car park, they're right nasty !!!!!!s to deal with too. Some of my neighbours have resorted to ringing a local guy who will remove the clamp with a whizzer for a small fee

Why wasn't the permit being displayed if you don't mind me asking?

Sirdan

swimsink wrote: »

I could be completely off the mark but i thought private clamping was no longer allowed?

Yes you are off the mark , that law has yet to be passed in England & Wales although it does apply in Scotland.

alir

Just tired out and forgot after working into early hours!
Unfortunately it did state that you would be sued for criminal damage if you interfered with the clamp and anyway the guy stayed there the whole time so I think she was also feeling quite intimidated.

Thanks though.

Kite2010

As you paid the cowboys with a credit card, phone your card company up and demand it be refunded as you paid under due distress to release the vehicle, maybe you will get lucky and the credit card provider will do a charge back.

Failing that, write a letter before action to both the clampers & whoever instructed the clampers (if any) saying you would like the money back or else you will take both of them to court, then take both of them to the smalls claims. Roll on the clamping ban.