Warning

A question about : Warning

Hi all!

I am posting/starting this thread to warn drivers of action I saw a member of APCOA staff take today.

APCOA - Who run my local train station parking placed a ticket on a car, and then walked off, when I returned and was waiting in my car for someones train to come in, a plain white van pulled up in front of the unattended car that received a ticket and pulled up close in front of him to box him in, even though he was not in/by his/her car, I can only think they did this to prevent anyone who came back driving off.

A bloke then got out of the car with a bit of paper and the ticket bloke came over.

The member of APCOA staff signed a sheet of paper and then the guy opened the back of his van up and proceeded to CLAMP ALL FOUR WHEELS.

He was there a good 10-15 minutes fixing wheel clamps to all his wheels and then placed a 'DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THIS VEHICLE' Notice to the windscreen.
He then drove off!

It would appear that he did not have a ticket of any kind, although I have double checked and the station is NOT covered my the Railway by-law, therefore appears APCOA are attempting more intimating tactics.

On passing the train station again this evening, I looked as I went past and the car is still there, so appears the owner is yet unaware.

I wanted to warn others that APCOA appear now to be clamping cars, although there parking 'invoices' are completely UNENFORCEABLE!!!!!!

Drivers beware!

Best answers:

• I wonder if they charged for the removal of four clamps??!! lol
• ""I'd advise anyone who gets into this kind of problem to ring the Police""
  Sorry Sir, but its a civil matter"" will be all you get. The best thing to do is to put a ticket on the car with this and pepipoo's web address. At least the poor b***erd will stand a chance of getting their money back. I'd love to see someone send an NBA to a rail company.
• So how do you get the clamp off without causing damage - unless of course, you are a master locksmith
• They are fixed with a padlock, however you would be in line for a criminal damage charge if you broke theirs. However replacing a Ј40 (high quality) padlock is cheaper than their release fee
  Remember that it is a release fee. If you know a locksmith who is not intimidated by these clowns I am sure his costs would be lower than theirs.
  In addition there seems to be plenty of unknown faceless strangers roaming the streets nowadays with battery angle grinders.
  Short of dropping the suspension, there isnt much else you can do, if you CAN drop the suspension yourself then for the comedy value alone its best to have a policeman standing by as you do it in front of the clampers ...no damage and obviously no release fee!
• No, you simply let your tyre down enough to pull the top of the wheel clamp off - doesn't work for all of them but some it will!
  You need to only allow enough air out of the Tyre to be able to drive off with, but there made from steel and are weak at the top, pulling it will give you some room to play with.
  Failing that, the padlock, simply use a lump hammer, that will cause the locking pin to fail - quite often the padlock is only a Yale, which you can replace for little under Ј20 cash!
• On removing clamps without damage, it depends on how they attach them to the car. If it is a metal chain wrapped around the lower wishbone and/or track rod end on front wheels, then you can undo those and often have enough room to remove the chain. Much easier to target the padlock though.
  BTW I noticed Yale padlocks are currently on sale in Homebase.
• If you do damage the wheel clamp, take it with you a
• did the car in question actually have a valid ticket on display?
  if the car park doesnt say clamping in operation, the clamps are vandalism and the police can intervene.
  if the clamps are from the licences company running the car park and its all above board, he is screwed!
  but if its not a council run car park, bolt cutters for the padlocks, clamps in the nearest skip, and drive away!
• It was a private car park, it does state they issue tickets/invoices but not clamping hence my warning.
  Do take the clamp with you if you remove it with your special big key as leaving it behind can cause all sorts of problems
• So you appreciate the ticket is not worth the paper it is printed on yet you are glad that the company will get their "unenforceable" invoice paid?????
  What are you on about?
  You freely admit the ticket is worthless scrap paper but are happy that by clamping the car that the clampers will get their money?
  Yet you agreed on another thread that clamping is essentially theft.
  I would call troll, but surely a troll would be more consistant.
• What about vans ? As I mentioned my brother got a ticket for using two bays, he had no choice the van is twice the size of a car, there is restriction on vehicle size in car parks, if there was you should have barriers preventing entry, now what damned right do the scammers have in restricting my brother or anyone in a like vehicle from shopping in their local supermarket ?
  On that what happens if you are towing say a caravan or trailor or driving one of those campervans, aren't they allowed to shop with the said vehicles ?
  Really these companies use any excuse to issue tickets, and they cause more damage to a shop's reputation than anything else, they allow scammers to harrass their clientele and then bury their heads when someone complains, I am still waiting for Sainsbury to reply!
• Ah, so you were sarcastic about clamping being akin to theft. Thankfully the courts round my way were not sarcastic about it and have deemed it as such. As your laws are being updated to mirror this stance (bit behind however you get there in the end) will your beliefs still hold?
  Funny how private parking companies wish to have complete control for where, how and for how long you park, whilst fining anyone using "their" car parks outwith their own fluid rules, YET they will still refuse to accept any liablity for damage incurred in said areas.
  One of my vehicles is larger than the average car, when I am driving it I know of many shops I will not go to as the spaces are too small, and others that I will park further away from the entrance in the empty spaces.