WARNING Avoid Changegate Car Park, Haworth. Notorious for Clamping

A question about : WARNING Avoid Changegate Car Park, Haworth. Notorious for Clamping

This is a warning about the UK's most notorious car park, run by Car Stoppers in Haworth, W. Yorkshire.

The company has a well documented reputation for clamping for a wide range of trivial and ridiculous reasons and charging disproportionately excessive fines. Their agressive working methods are widely reported by the local media. After clamping Betty Boothroyd, last October (for displaying her ticket the wrong way round), their activities are currently being discussed by MP's.

After falling foul of their clamping methods last week, my mum and I staged a day's protest on Bank Holiday Monday, leafleting unsuspecting car park users to warn them about the risks. We received a huge amount of gratitude and support from local residents and traders as well as car park users, many of whom decided to park elsewhere.

So, if you are planning to visit Haworth, I would suggest you give this car park a wide berth and head for one of several council owned car parks in the town.

Thanks, Zany

Best answers:

• i was clamped 2 weeks ago for displaying my ticket on the dashboard as opposed to sticking it in the window, they said once the clamp had been issued i had to pay Ј78 then appeal for it back (which i just know i will never get) as i have sent 3 letters to 3 different addresses all recorded which non were signed for and there is no contact number. did this matter get any further, complaing is not an option as they have been robbing people for years, THEY NEED CLOSING DOWN!
  Quote:
• Wish I had read this thread earlier, I just parked in that car park and some kind person gave us a ticket with 8 hours left on it but because it says not transferable on it we got clamped and had to pay Ј78 to be released. We had our 3 year old with us too, luckily I had my credit card on me so lord knows what would have happened if we hadnt. A very expensive day out, I dont know how they sleep at night, surely a ticket is a ticket we were only taking up the same space as the car that left, it is ridiculous.
• I went with my family and had a lovely day out, ruined by the crazy man which own this car park. I got a ticket from somebody who was leaving and for that I had to pay Ј75 cash. The owner - a Mr. Farnell - appears to be a demented and frumpy old man, who believe that we comitted "fraud" and "deception". I paid my money but know that I will not get it back. The owner is unprofessional and spends all day checking the vehicles - every 10 minutes as I can tell. People I spoke to in the area wish he was gone. Frankly this car park needs to be shut down.
  We need to get word out about this car park..perhaps put up signs in the area warning or directing people. As well as on as many websites/twitter as possible so this shows up on Google.
  The best way to close him down is to take away the custom.
• Here is a programme of the scumbags who do it. It's the full programme and you will feel like putting your boot through the TV when you watch it. I hope i see that Rolls sometime.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8ETVnDkO2s
  Pure scum of the earth they are.
• Yet another conman trying to make himself look respectable by giving a donation to charity. Didn't the Kray Twins do the same thing?
• A quite like Ted Evans - he's a Dick Turpin who doesn't wear a mask, lets you know under what circumstances he will take cash off you, doesn't take your car and only robs you of Ј75.
  How many other clamping companies can say the same?
• We had a similar experience in this car park this weekend and paid dearly for it. I have been a bit surprised by the number of people who have also been 'given' tickets with hours left on them, this happens occasionally everywhere but the 'users' of this car park seem to be particularly generous.
• I got a ticket from a fat lady who drove a BMW and then spent a long time to find a cash machine to pay 75 pounds cash for releasing from clamp. There are two evidences which show this is a trap.
  1. the clamper knows that a BMW women gave me the ticket, if he've seen this, at least I deserve a warning instead of a 75-pound fine, obviously, it is too much as a clamping fee.
  2. At the same time, a group of old ladies whose car was also clamped told me the same thing : a BMW women gave them a ticket valid till midnigh.
  don't say that some KIND person gave you tickets, they are all together to cheat you, at least I don't believe somebody would buy an all day ticket while waiting in car park to give someone at noon.
• Complain to Trading Standards, some do take this sort of behaviour seriously and some are useless. Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Portsmouth TS have all sent rogue clampers to jail in recent months. It can be done and you never know till you try - maybe they are already being investigated. Chances are TS will be useless but I'd still contact Consumer Direct if it were me (the first stage of getting put through to a local TS office).
  As soon as I read the old posts on this thread it was clear that the 'kind person' with the spare ticket could easily be a plant by the landowner. And you've confirmed it.
  You could also complain to your MP, the press, the OfT and the Police to see if you get any joy with the scammers being investigated. You can't complain about the scam of private clamping too much and you can never report them too much either - go for it!
  As far as getting your money back is concerned, this can be done by taking the landowner and clampers to Small Claims. You should win but may have to go back to take pictures of the signs and a pic of that woman and/or that BMW if they 'happen' to be there again (but watch out you are not seen or clamped again!).
  If you want to take action to get your money back then post for advice on pepipoo.com here:
  https://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showforum=30
  HTH
• I got clamped here yesterday as I sat in my car taking a phone call just prior to buying a ticket. I came out of a love for the work of the Brontлs but will now never come back. Emily Brontл's Wuthering Heights is the story of a bitter and resentful man frustrated by his position in society. Through spiteful and punctilious application of English law, he becomes wealthy but destroys himself and those around him. Only in his final moments, on the threshold of death, does he come to realise to what extent he has alienated his community and his own family and that he has for many years been simply a hollow husk of a man, devoid of soul.