Blocked me to clamp me

System

lovinituk wrote: »

Actually he didn't do anything illegal as he had not attached a clamp yet.

He had because he had blocked the vehicle in. POFA says that is a criminal offence as well I believe

pramsbottom

On the other hand if it was council land and he was working for council it isn't illegal. More info would be needed such as location for instance behind my local sainsburys are high street shops at that land is owned by council and they regularly ticket.

lovinituk

!!!!!! wrote: »

He had because he had blocked the vehicle in. POFA says that is a criminal offence as well I believe

So he should report that to the police rather than illegal clamping (which didn't actually happen).

Herzlos

pramsbottom wrote: »

On the other hand if it was council land and he was working for council it isn't illegal..

If he was working for the council he'd not have blocked the car in, wouldn't be waiting on a larger clamp and would likely be in a council marked van or have ID.

If he was council, he'd be waiting on a recovery vehicle, I don't believe any of them use clamps now when they can just impound it.

The whole thing reeks of some scammer trying to extort money out of people, and as said, the blocking in part on it's own is illegal too.

bazster

!!!!!! wrote: »

He had because he had blocked the vehicle in. POFA says that is a criminal offence as well I believe

Correct. Immobilising a vehicle by any means other than a fixed barrier, with the intention of preventing it being removed, is illegal.

Good luck with getting PC Plod interested though.

lovinituk

bazster wrote: »

Good luck with getting PC Plod interested though.

I've often wondered what would happen if someone illegally applied a clamp and the clampee phoned the police. Is it one of those 'illegal' things that the police say they won't get involved in? Would it mean having to pay the fee and then go down the civil route to extract a refund?

esmerobbo

He wasn't a bailiff was he? Do you owe a legit fine or the like? Outstanding finance on vehicle (court repossession) ?

They don't need to be at your home to clamp you!

However if he was clamping for trespass then that's illegal as stated.

pogofish

pramsbottom wrote: »

On the other hand if it was council land and he was working for council it isn't illegal. More info would be needed such as location for instance behind my local sainsburys are high street shops at that land is owned by council and they regularly ticket.

Not just any council land though - it would need to be properly regulated land with an appropriate TRO/CPZ/ in force and all signs and markings up to TSRGD standard. Which should be easily verifiable via the council website.

Half_way

wiltsguy wrote: »

Came back from shopping at Sainsburys this afternoon to find my car blocked in by a van, asked the guy to move it and he informed me that he is awaiting a larger clamp as his ones didnt fit my car wheels(22 inch)and that i was illegally parked? I explained that i thought it was part of sainsburys car parked and the guy smuggly pointed out a sign stating otherwise, ok i apologised and asked him to move-he declined. Fair enough i got in my car(Range Rover) raised the air suspension to off road and drove forward over the kerb/shrubs on my merry way home...laughing at the clown in his silly little van! The not so cocky guy ran after me at the lights shouting that i would receive a fine in the post and was really aggressive, so i got out and read him his fortune!! Now im not worried about any of these 'inviations' to pay coming thru the post as i will just bin them. But my concerns are can they legally do this? what if i didnt have a 4x4 or was scared of him like some people might be??

Two things spring to mind here:
1: the OP ( as above) is making this all up and the story is no more than that - a story
2: the OP has fallen/nearly fallen victim to some nasty sounding scammers

To give the OP the benefit of doubt, assuming the story is true then the following questions should be answered:
What is the exact location of the car park, and where about in the car park did this happen?
Has the OP got any outstanding debts for things such as real council fines, or DVLA tax issues that have progressed on to debt collectors/bailiffs? there is a possibility that it could be bailiff action, or DVLA clampers who have tracked down the OPs vehicle
If they were genuine scammers then the OP should consider a complaint to the landowner to alert them to this criminal activity on their land, and to the Police, as this is no longer a civil matter.

Herzlos

Bailiffs would also identify themselves, and wouldn't shout about getting a fine in the post.