Wheel clampers face private land ban


The practice was banned in Scotland in 1991



Wheel clampers are to be banned from operating on private land in England and Wales, the government is expected to confirm later.
Minister Lynne Featherstone said some firms operated a "sort of entrapment".
Drivers faced unclear signs, vehicles being towed away and extortionate release fees, she said.
Under legislation likely to come in next year anyone clamping a vehicle or towing it away on private land will face penalties.
These could include fines or even jail terms.
The planned legislation, expected to be announced by the Home Office later, will be introduced in the government's Freedom Bill and could be in place by early next year.
Continue reading the main story “Start Quote

For a long time this has been nothing but an unregulated racket operated mainly by unscrupulous cowboys”
End Quote Nick Freeman Lawyer
More than 2,000 existing clamping licences will be revoked as a result, with towing away also set to be outlawed.
Only police or councils will be allowed to immobilise or remove a car in exceptional circumstances, such as a vehicle blocking a road.
Wheel-clamping on private land has been outlawed in Scotland since 1991, but will remain legal in Northern Ireland.
Some critics of the plans fear drivers could exploit the move by parking without thought on other people's property.
But speaking on BBC TV's The One Show on Monday, Ms Featherstone, the Equalities and Criminal Information Minister, said: "This is the right answer, an outright ban.
"It's come about because of the level of complaints... motorists find they didn't even know they were parking on private land."
Lawyer Nick Freeman, who specialises in motoring law, said: "For a long time this has been nothing but an unregulated racket operated mainly by unscrupulous cowboys, with some people making a lot of money from the misfortune of others.
"For motorists who fall foul of this unfair practice, they have no choice but to pay an extortionate release fee and they have no redress other than through the county court, which the vast majority of people don't pursue."
Motoring groups welcomed the news as long overdue.
AA president Edmund King said the ban was "a victory for justice and common sense".
However, Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, warned that getting rid of clamping would not end disputes about parking on private land.
There needed to be a fair system with a proper regulatory framework - that found the right balance between protecting motorists, who were currently being treated outrageously, and landowners, who also needed their interests protected, he said.
He said some operators had already turned to issuing penalty tickets rather than using clamps and the law needed to recognise a "growing form of enforcement".
He said in one case on Monday, a nurse had been clamped while visiting a patient and told to pay £350 to get her car released, with another £50 charge for every hour she delayed payment.
Kelvin Reynolds, director of technical services for the British Parking Association, told the BBC's Radio 4 programme the trade body would support the wheelcamping ban, but "it may not be as productive as the government would like it to be".
The driver of a car would not always be the same person as its keeper, he said, and "proper regulation" was key.
Currently wheel clampers and the directors and supervisors of clamping companies must hold a licence granted by the Security Industry Authority (SIA).


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10993473