Car clamping and towing to be outlawed

For years British motorists have been bearing the wrath and unfair clamping and towing fines that incur when parking on private land. As there are no current rules to how much a clamper can charge, rates are from £50 - £400 and another few hundred if your car is towed away. For the time being, you need a licence to be able to clamp cars but as most people know clampers rarely show you their badge number and some are rogue clampers that do it to con innocent victims out of hard earned cash. Licences for clampers will now be null and only the police, council and DVLA will be allowed to clamp and tow away vehicles.

In 1992 when towing and clamping cars parked illegally was introduced, Scotland was the only place in England that had the practice banned within 6 months of it being put into place nationwide. In Scotland clamping cars is illegal on private land, only the police have that power.

As this is a great victory for many, there are some people who will be greatly affected by this as it will mean there is no power to control parking. Small businesses that have private car parks will be forced to introduce new measures such as electric gates or barriers and even CCTV and their own fines issued. If vehicle owners do not pay the fine, then they can be taken to small claims court to make them pay the fine for parking on private land.

Anyone who is found to clamp and tow cars will be fined and in repeated cases, they may find themselves serving time behind bars. A tow truck cannot tow your car if you are in it, so if you ever find that your car is being towed on private land then get in and call the police. There have been many motorists who have faced a standoff with tow trucks when they refuse to get out the car, in most cases they have won.

Towing and clamping will still be enforced on public highways as there are still laws that need to be adhered to such as no parking on a bend and no parking on red lines. So if you see a traffic warden, they are just doing their job as they are regulated by the council and clamping and towing on public roads is still legal.