My car was clamped and towed despite being in my friend's private space - must I pay the penalty? | Ask Honest John

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My car was clamped and towed despite being in my friend's private space - must I pay the penalty?

My car has been towed away by a private firm. It was parked on private land. I parked it at 22:30 and it was clamped at 22:39, and towed at 23:05. On their website it says vehicles will be towed that have been “left unattended for a considerable length of time”. I think we can argue that 35 minutes does not fulfil this criterion. Furthermore, it was in my friend's designated bay. They are charging an extortionate £445 for this “service”. Whilst I am prepared to play a clamp fee, I cannot accept the towing without viewing it as an excuse to charge a further £185. Any advice would be fantastic.

Asked on 3 March 2012 by LO, via email

Answered by Honest John

They were licensed to do this by the last Labour government. From October 2012, when clamping will be banned under the Protection of freedoms Act, some of the same people will be licensed to extract much more money in smaller bites as Civil Parking Penalties from the registered keepers of cars parked on private land. There will be an appeals procedure set up by the British Parking Association, but that won’t be in place until October. In the meantime, anyone aggrieved by the behaviour of a private parking enforcement company should use www.britishparking.co.uk/AOS-Enquiries

Tags: legal advice parking clamping

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