Rogue firms face huge fines and even jail in a crackdown on wheel-clamping.
The Government will unveil plans this week to make it a criminal offence to clamp or tow away cars on private land.
Cowboy clampers rake in £55million a year from motorists.
The new law due to come in early next year will see them fined up to £5,000 by JPs.
Repeat offenders will be clobbered with unlimited crown court fines. If they refuse to pay they could be put behind bars.
Home Office Minister Lynne Featherstone told The Sun: "For too long motorists have fallen victim to extortion and abuse from rogue clamping companies.
"I have been outraged by cases of drivers being frog-marched to cash points late at night or left stranded by rogue operators.
"This Government is committing rogue clampers to history and putting an end to intimidation and excessive charges once and for all."
Official figures show some 500,000 cars are clamped each year on private land. It costs drivers an average £112 to free their vehicle but some have been forced to fork out up to £500.
Ministers also plan to tighten up regulations for dishing out parking fines on private land to stop cowboys from simply switching tactics.
The measures will not affect the police or official bodies like the DVLA who will still have the power to clamp or tow away untaxed cars.
Last night a driver who beat car clampers with a 30-hour sit-in hailed the plans as "excellent news".
The Sun – which has exposed a string of rogue clampers – told last August how Haroon Zafaryab, 27, became the people's champion when he refused to budge from his clamped Toyota Prius for more than a day.
Clampers plastered his car with 40 orange "fine" stickers and the bill mushroomed to £4,000. But the stand-off ended when they caved in.
Mr Zafaryab – who had failed to spot a tiny "no parking" sign on private land in Wembley, North West London, said: "Mine was a single victory for the little man. This is a giant victory for the whole motoring nation.
"Drivers have been held to ransom by these parasites for years."
Article courtesy of
and www.policeoracle.com
2 comments:
This is the one thing I do agree with this government about!
I hate these clampers, they should be stopped.
I know someone who was clamped and he had to go to the bank and get £80.00 to pay them and what was so annoying, there was just a little sign about no parking, he didn't see it.
thye must be stopped.
For every three reasonable firms you will get at least one rogue company. My grandmother lives in a cottage which is in a private lane. She requires the opportunity for a meals on wheels or district nurse vehicel to park close to her home. However, there is a coterie of, apparently well-to-do people judging by their cars, who insist on parking in this private lane and walking to the railway station rather than paying the car parking fees. Polite requests have been met with derision and so the residents arranged with a car clamping company to deal with the problem. Perhaps Annette or the Old Plod could suggest a compromise - something the car owners refused to discuss.
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