According to the Government, next year clamping firms on private property will have tougher rules after a meeting in London in which ministers, motoring groups, and parking firms will convene to discuss fines associated with parking on private land.
Last month the councils of Maidenhead and Windsor voted to consider how to stop clampers that are considered to be ‘overzealous.’
Alan Campbell, the crime reduction minister said that during 2010 drivers that fall prey to clampers on repeated occasions will be charged a more ‘reasonable’ amount, and be given a fairer amount of time to pay up, before their vehicle is towed.
Campbell also promised that next year a new fair appeals process will be initiated that requires claming companies to sign up for a new code of practice, otherwise they will not receive a license. What is more, if they do not follow the code they can risk losing their licensing privileges.
In Scotland private clamping is outlawed, but in Northern Ireland cars that do not have licenses may still be clamped. Throughout the rest of the UK public roads and car parks parking restrictions are already under regulation through the law.
In 2005 a self regulating system was formed that included a code of conduct, but most clamping firms did not sign up to follow it.
The AA believes that clampers do not follow the code due to the fact that often they impose extremely high fines for offences that are only deemed to be minor, and overcharge for towed cars.
Clamping the Clampers
