Clamping down on cowboys
Published: 23 September, 2010
Is the end in sight for clamping on private land? And if it is, what other enforcement measures can centres take?
The government announced last week that wheel clamping on private land, which has been outlawed in Scotland since 1991, will now be banned in England and Wales, forcing shopping centre car park operators to think about alternatives.
The ban will come into action shortly after the Government’s Freedom Bill in November and once in place, anyone found clamping or towing away vehicles on private land will face “severe penalties”, including possible fines or even jail sentences.
The ban is designed to put a stop to clamping companies operating without a license and charging unreasonable fees.
As Home Office minister Lynne Featherstone, explained: “The government is committed to ending the menace of rogue private sector wheel-clampers once and for all.
“For too long motorists have fallen victim to unscrupulous tactics by many clamping firms. Reports of motorists being marched to cash points or left stranded after their car has been towed are simply unacceptable.”
After the ban, only police and councils will be allowed to immobilise or remove vehicles and only then in exceptional circumstances.
Gemini Parking Solutions (GPS) operates in car parks in the Blenheim Centre in Bromley and the Market Place in Romford. Despite half its revenue coming from wheel clamping, the company has welcomed the ban.
However, GPS operations manager, Ryan Jackson, points out that wheel clamping is a far more effective than parking tickets because while people can ignore tickets they can’t move their vehicles without paying the fine.
“We recently started wheel clamping at the Blenheim shopping centre,” he said. “They had a lot of problems with people blocking delivery doors and not taking any notice of parking tickets. Once we started work there, there was a significant amount of wheel clamping and the problem improved.”
Unlike GPS, National Clamps does not welcome the ban. The company operates in about 3,000 sites across the UK, clamping about 10,000 cars every year. Chairman and founder Trevor Whitehouse, described the ban as “ludicrous.”
Instead he suggested putting a £100 cap on the release fee with no escalating charges and a time limit before vehicles are towed away. He also suggests that cars should only be towed away as a last resort if it is blocking an emergency exit and only then if there in no way of moving it to another location on the site.
“The government says that the clamping ban in Scotland is a success but how do they know? I would be interested to hear from proprietors, managing agents and councils and ask them if they would be interested in using wheel clamping again if it was done properly.”
Whitehouse is forming an action group against the ban and has written letters to MPs across the country. He said that three high-profile MPs are interested in taking up the cause.
And Patrick Troy, chief executive of the British Parking Assocviation has called for a full review of the private parking sector. “We want to see higher operator standards and a fairer deal for motorists when they fall foul of the rules,” he says. “But the Government must be accountable for protecting landowners’ interests if ticketing is ineffective and drivers continue to park unlawfully.”
