Ray Massey from the Mail Online reports today: Cowboy clamping companies that fleece motorists through ‘legalised mugging’ have failed to clean up their act and will now be rooted out, parking bosses will be told today by ministers and motoring champions.
Transport Minister Sadiq Khan will warn vehicle immobilisation firms to their face that the days of ‘disreputable operators’ ripping off motorists are over and that the Government intends to ‘root out the rogues, combat the cowboys, banish the bullies and put a stop to their wholly unacceptable activities for good’.
And AA president Edmund King will tell delegates to a special ’summit’ of the British Parking Association that they are in the ‘last chance saloon’ noting: ‘You have had your chance to clean up your act but have failed.
‘Self-regulation has failed. We have reached the end of the road on reining in the antics of unscrupulous wheel clampers whose immoral excesses are reported to us almost daily.’
The broadside comes in the wake of a notable victory for the Daily Mail after ministers pledged to back a four-point initiative by this newspaper to crack down on the unregulated cowboys whose antics in England and Wales have been condemned as ‘legalised mugging.’
In Scotland clamping on private land is outlawed as ‘extortion and theft’.
The AA Mr King will tell delegates that the problem is not just a few isolated one-man band clampers, but that ’several of the established’ companies who are themselves members of the 650-strong British Parking Association are also failing to abide by their own code of practice.
He says a 64 per cent rise in clamping over the last 12 month is down in part to the fact that many are trying to ‘cash in’ now before tougher regulation drives them out of business: ‘The dramatic increase in clamping is due to the fact that the cowboys know they are drinking in the last chance saloon and are trying to cash in before regulation drives them out of town.’
Attacking the ‘bully boy’ tactics of unregulated clampers imposing unfair and ‘draconian’ punishments, Mr King says parking firms and clampers have wasted a chance to clean up their act – because many have refused to do so.
Mr King will tell the London conference of the British Parking Association which represents 650 members: ‘You have had your chance to clean up your act but have failed. It is not just the one-man band clampers that are out of order but several of the established companies. Self-regulation has failed. ‘
The AA has told the Home Office that their proposed new regulations on clamping will fail without an independent regulator and independent appeals process.
The AA highlights has compiled from complaints a catalogue of ‘cowboy’ clamper tactics including:
* Parking decoy cars to ‘encourage’ people to park
* Hiding signs by parking the clamp van in front of them
* Making up and adding extra charges such as ‘tow truck called’ fee, swear box fee, ‘police called nuisance fee’
* Clamping drivers still in the vehicle who have pulled over to check a map or make a phone call
* Deliberately targeting ‘vulnerable’ motorists
Motorists deserved a fair and proportionate response to minor breaches of rules ‘rather than extortion, threats and profiteering,’ he says.
Penalties and appeals for off-street parking should be similar to those for on-street infringements and demanded an independent appeal against a clamp, removal or ticket.
Mr King noted: ‘We have reached the end of the road on reining in the antics of unscrupulous wheel clampers whose immoral excesses are reported to us almost daily. Licensing has not worked as, in many cases, it has simply legalised the cowboys.’
He cites charging pensioners £370 to recover their car after a minor parking error or leaving an 18-year-old female alone overnight in a city because her car was taken and not given back until the next day.
Mr King will tell parking delegate that ‘toothless’ licensing of the industry in 2005 became a ‘licence to print money’ for many.
‘Some ever resourceful rogue clampers often tacked on spurious charges, even having the audacity to impose extra ones for calling the police or swearing.’
Clampers routinely charge a clamping release fee and removal charge taking the cost to more than £500 – even if a tow away never takes place.
If the Government’s planned crackdown does not work then clamping on private land should be outlawed as it was in Scotland in 1992.
Mr King highlighted a report by insurer LV which said the number of motorists who have been wheelclamped has risen by 64 per cent in the last 12 months with private clamping firms taking £58million.
In response to the scale of the scandal unveiled by a Daily Mail investigation last month, Home Office Alan Campbell, responsible for drawing up new legislation to crackdown on abuses, agreed to act on the Mail’s four-point action plan to:
* limit the size of penalties dished out by firms
* regulate towing practices
* put in place an effective and fair appeals process
He is currently thrashing out with civil servants the means of making such an appeal system fully independent.
Ministers are also investigating ways to curb the incentives given to clamping firms by land owners, which has seen clampers offering to work for free for landowners- paying them a £50-per-car bounty for each one clamped.
But Transport Minister Sadiq Khan has already said that the Government’s aim would be to make the appeals system ‘independent’.
Home Office Minister Alan Campbell said: “We are currently looking to introduce a compulsory licensing scheme for all wheelclamping businesses.
‘We need to limit the size of penalties dished out by firms, regulate towing practices and put in place an effective and fair appeals process. Alongside this, we will also look at the issue of incentives given to clamping firms by land-owners.’
The Home Office is to publish of draft legislation in the Policing, Crime and Private Security Bill in the Queen’s Speech on November 18.
Even the British Parking Association said it recognised weaknesses in the current regime.
A spokesman said: ‘The British Parking Association, which has an Code of Practice for its members, has been calling for and would welcome legislation that improves standards and fairness within the parking industry, and in particular that calls time on the cowboys.’
Chief executive Patrick Troy added: ‘We are confident that the majority of people around the table have the same aim as us – to ensure parking is regulated in a fair and transparent way.
‘This is the reason why the British Parking Association called the summit – with all attending looking forward and working together to generate ideas and find solutions to make parking fairer for all.’
Training and licensing for individuals who actually do the clamping has been a legal requirement for several years. beSmart Training regularly runs courses for individuals who wish to get a Security Industry Authority License for vehicle immobilisation. The licence allows individuals to clamp, immobilise, block or tow vehicles who contravene parking regulations on private land. Please go to our website for more information.
