Being Charged £335 to Retrieve My Car After Being Clamped an
Discussion
Hi All,
This morning, I parked my car on a road outside of a Royal Mail collection point to pick up a delivery I had missed.
I walked into the Collection Point and noticed a sign saying that the Clampers operate on the road I had just parked on. There were no yellow lines and I hadn't noticed any clamping signs before I parked, if I had, I wouldn't have parked there. On seeing the notice that Royal Mail had put up, I turned around to go back to my car to move it. That's when I realised the clampers were already on my car, and someone else's.
I ran over and tried amicably reasoning with them - surprise surprise, it didn't work. In fact they accused me of being aggressive (I really wasn't) and they then told me that on those grounds, they were going to tow my car. This also meant that the initial charge of £130 had now rocketed to £250! The lorry arrived literally 5mins later to take my car away and they refused to tell me where they were taking my car.
I was eventually given a phone number to call in order to find out where my car was being taken and I was told that i should come after 11.30am to pick it up.
I arrived at the Compound at 12:20pm to find that they had already closed for the day. The man I spoke to on the phone was still there and I asked him if he could release my car. He refused, saying that I should have arrived for my 'appointment' at 11.30am. I had my phone on loud speaker when I rang him earlier and he clearly said come after 11.30am, confirmed by my Dad who had come to pick me up. There was no mention of booking an appointment. The guy also advised me that I would now have to pay an additional £80 (plus £5 credit card charge) as 2 day's storage fee.
As I said, I ran back to my car, meaning it could have only been clamped for a minute at the most. I was prepared to pay the initial £130 to have the clamp taken off my car but they seemed set on towing my car no matter what I did or didn't do.
It turns out the road I parked on is privately owned by one of the other businesses in the area, and even though that business isn't open at weekends, they still allow the Clamping Company to operate.
I was NOT given the Clamping Company's SIA License Number.
I see no other way but to pay the £335 charge to get my car back. Trusting that the compound don't decide to charge me even more on Monday morning, I've got a horrible feeling they will though.
I'm gutted this has happened, it's completely ruined my weekend and my car is now locked up almost 20miles away in a dodgy looking area with less than satisfactory security... The whole thing comes across as a well oiled sting, and they are going to screw you for every penny you have.
Can anyone tell me where I stand in this situation or give me any advice on what to do now?
This morning, I parked my car on a road outside of a Royal Mail collection point to pick up a delivery I had missed.
I walked into the Collection Point and noticed a sign saying that the Clampers operate on the road I had just parked on. There were no yellow lines and I hadn't noticed any clamping signs before I parked, if I had, I wouldn't have parked there. On seeing the notice that Royal Mail had put up, I turned around to go back to my car to move it. That's when I realised the clampers were already on my car, and someone else's.
I ran over and tried amicably reasoning with them - surprise surprise, it didn't work. In fact they accused me of being aggressive (I really wasn't) and they then told me that on those grounds, they were going to tow my car. This also meant that the initial charge of £130 had now rocketed to £250! The lorry arrived literally 5mins later to take my car away and they refused to tell me where they were taking my car.
I was eventually given a phone number to call in order to find out where my car was being taken and I was told that i should come after 11.30am to pick it up.
I arrived at the Compound at 12:20pm to find that they had already closed for the day. The man I spoke to on the phone was still there and I asked him if he could release my car. He refused, saying that I should have arrived for my 'appointment' at 11.30am. I had my phone on loud speaker when I rang him earlier and he clearly said come after 11.30am, confirmed by my Dad who had come to pick me up. There was no mention of booking an appointment. The guy also advised me that I would now have to pay an additional £80 (plus £5 credit card charge) as 2 day's storage fee.
As I said, I ran back to my car, meaning it could have only been clamped for a minute at the most. I was prepared to pay the initial £130 to have the clamp taken off my car but they seemed set on towing my car no matter what I did or didn't do.
It turns out the road I parked on is privately owned by one of the other businesses in the area, and even though that business isn't open at weekends, they still allow the Clamping Company to operate.
I was NOT given the Clamping Company's SIA License Number.
I see no other way but to pay the £335 charge to get my car back. Trusting that the compound don't decide to charge me even more on Monday morning, I've got a horrible feeling they will though.
I'm gutted this has happened, it's completely ruined my weekend and my car is now locked up almost 20miles away in a dodgy looking area with less than satisfactory security... The whole thing comes across as a well oiled sting, and they are going to screw you for every penny you have.
Can anyone tell me where I stand in this situation or give me any advice on what to do now?
750turbo said:
LukeSi said:
Pay by credit card and then get the company to do a charge back, you were paying under duress afterall.
Can this actually happen though, or is it an interweb myth?Josh147 said:
I heard about this to. I've spoken to my CC Company already and they've told me they can't action a charge back. They can however open an investigation... What good that will do, who knows!
You need to call them back again. They will do it, but they don't like doing it for obvious reasons. If the person you talk to won't do it, ask to speak to their supervisor.stick100 said:
was the car on a public hiway?
I thought it was at the time... I didn't see any signs and there aren't any yellow lines...I've included a street view image of where I was parked (including some crappy labeling). The Post Office is just off screen to the bottom left of the image, about a 30second walk).
I don't know if this link is going to work but if you want to have a look for yourself, here it is:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=royal+mail+staines...
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