Clamping & Towing

mistermhill

Hi,

It has been a long time since this happened to me but I have just found out that someone else had managed to get their money back.

I parking in a McDonalds carpark in the early hours and while sleeping my car was being clamped, then towed away as I had not come back to it. As i said I was sleeping at home and did not know that this was happeneing.

I realised in the morning that my car had gone so called the number on the lampost, yes it had been towed away. I live in Reading and it had been towed to Swindon. It cost nearly £500 to get the car back.

How long can I leave it before I can claim this back or is it far too late.

I can't post links as a new user but you can google "Car clamp campaigner is refunded every penny"

Any info would be great.

Thanks

Inflatable_Armadillo

First, do you mean this case?

http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/s/2049895_car_clamp_campaigner_is_refunded_every_penny

If so, then there is one thing that strikes me straight away!

Mason Phillips, I would assume, is the managing agent for the Freeholder and it was them who returned the money to Mr Penny and not PPS, the clamper. They did this after Mr Penny wrote to his MP and his MP wrote to Mason Phillips. The is clearly a platitude from Mason Phillips and as they and the Freeholder are 'possibly' on kick-back from PPS they just coughed up because of the bad publicity.

If you really wanted to try and get your money back now, assuming there are no time limits (anyone?) then you would have to sue PPS and to be honest, even if you successfully get a County Court judge to agree with you (we don't have enough details to actual advise you yet, but we all know how clampers work) then they would have to actual pay up instead of ignoring the CCJ. I would be interested to see if they if they have outstanding CCJ against them? Any bets anyone?

The article also ends with this -

However, just two weeks later motorist Malcolm Marshall from Sonning was refunded £325 after being clamped by PPS in the same car park in January 2008. He disagreed he should be left £90 out of pocket by going to Swindon by taxi to get back his Vauxhall Carlton.
PPS refunded the £200 towing fee plus VAT and £90 taxi fare.

I wonder if he actually got his money back? This would suggest that he did but equally, they might just have ignored that CCJ too?

mistermhill

Yes thats the one

mistermhill

There are others too

Coupon-mad

We know there are other cases. You have years to reclaim your money in Small Claims (up to 6 years) but the sooner you act the better because the evidence you have will die away once clamping is banned soon; the company and signage will no longer be there. And yes, you have to sue both the clampers and whoever contracted them; never ever sue just a clamping firm alone as they won't pay you even if you win in Court.

But it strikes me as odd that you left your car all night in a McDonald's car park? Why? Were you aware of the possibility of being clamped?

What were the signs like, did you see them before or after? Take pictures of the signs, plot a map of where they are, was there one at the entrance and at regular intervals in the car park? Do the signs clearly state the risk and the amount, specifically, for clamp release? Is the writing large enough to read, not too high up a lamp-post, is the signage lit?

Did you get a receipt and do you still have it?

All of the above evidence could be used in Court if you feel that you never 'agreed' to the risk of being clamped, or that the amount was extortionate = an unlawful penalty clause, rather than a fair contract. £500 seems a lot, was that including your travelling costs to get there or is that what you had to pay them? Which scumbag clamping firm was it, how long ago and did you pay cash?

Put the full information and pics of the signs and receipt on a new topic on pepipoo here:

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showforum=60

You will have to take their advice but you must tell them more than you said here, show them some pictures and stop pointing out other cases where people reclaimed clamping money. We know, and pepipoo posters know that it can be done and the only relevant things in your new thread should be your own case details.