End of private wheelchampers?

[youngmafbog]

Looks like private wheel clamping is set to go, private towing too. Is this a good thing or will land owners now struggle to clear theeir land of the ignorant and arrogant ?

[R1Geezer]

As usual for this sort of thing, it's a double edged sword. The problem is that clampers just got out of hand and failed to regulate themeselves, got infiltrated by extorting thugs who employed all sorts of underhand tactics. The other side of the coin is that if you don't park where you shouldn't you won't get clamped so I guess it's now going to be a parking free for all with private land owners having little redress.

[hc4361]

I think the government will make it easier for private parking companies to enforce their penalties through the courts. So there will still be a financial penalty, but no clamping or towing away.

[rov1200]

Why do we have to wait until next year before it will take effect?

[cc1]

Surely there can be a solution somewhere between the thugs who run many of these companies and a free for all to park on private land.
I once dropped my OH at the door of a store as it was chucking it down, then went and parked on the far side of the car park, going over to collect some dry cleaning across the road. Five minutes later, I came back to find I'd just been clamped, they were still there. The store manager eventually spoke to them, to no avail, my husband had just spent over £300 in there, and it was only when we called the local paper and TV station where we have contacts that they relented and removed it. Their manner was threatening and arrogant, had I not sat on the floor infront of their van they'd have driven off, thank god for 60's demos!

[New Judge]

In no other way are landowners allowed to extort money from people who have sinned against them by impounding goods and belongings.

By all means landowners should have the right to prevent people and vehicles entering their property, and have the right to ask them to move when required. On open land the law of trespass, which is a civil matter, becomes a criminal matter when the miscreants refuse to leave when asked. So there is adequate redress within the law and landowners are able to seek civil damages through the courts where they have incurred losses.

In many of the instances where people have had their cars clamped the landowners have made no effort to keep unwanted vehicles from their land, they suffer no losses when vehicles park there, and are simply using clamping companies to generate revenue.

The release charges are usually out of all proportion to any losses the landowner might have incurred (which is often nil) and out of all proportion to fines imposed by criminal courts for far more serious transgressions.

No, drivers should not leave their cars on private land. But if they do they should not have severe penalties imposed upon them which are enforced by retention of a valuable asset.

Banning the practice is long overdue.

[youngmafbog]

Perhaps though an alternative would be to set maximum limits? This woudl protect the landowner and rid us of the opportunist cowboys. That together with a minumum sign size that is huge and unobscurred.

[Zeuhl]

Agree with that youngmafbog.

If the councils and their parking enforcement contractors can make profit on c. £60 parking fines why can't a clamping firm? It would remove the incentive for opportunistic cowboys and the added nonsense of unnecessary (but lucrative) towing away but still enable people to protect their spaces.
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[New Judge]

The flaw in the argument is that the landowners (allegedly) do not want people parking on their land, but pay contractors to ensure that the offending vehicles cannot be moved

[tamborine]

Methinks it should be banned instantly, why wait till next year. Our 2mile street high street has just had 8 police CCTVs installed and the jobs-worth cops were out in force today ticketing cars.

It seems the proposed revenue lost is rapidly being harnessed now before the new laws are in place.

[boxtops]

That's on the road, though, tambo? this is talking about private land. I understood from the radio today that private landowners can still charge for parking on their land, but it's the clamping which is illegal.

[tamborine]

Landlowners can put up barriers & gates to deter parking.

[roger]

sorry tambo it's only private clamping that's being banned - your jobsworth cops will still be in business. Happily secondhand denver boots will be worthless scrap, let's hope they cost a lot when the clampers bought 'em !