BROMLEY: Family in sit-in protest against car clampers (From News Shopper)
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BROMLEY: Family in sit-in protest against car clampers
5:35pm Thursday 2nd September 2010 in
A FATHER-of-three was today battling with a clamping company to prevent his car being towed.
Steve Appleby parked in the privately owned Ringer Road car park in Bromley to go shopping for school shoes with his wife and oldest daughter.
His original ticket expired before they had finished so he bought another one to cover the remaining period.
But when they finally returned to his car he found it had been clamped and a tow truck was already there.
Mr Appleby, of Queensway, Coney Hall, left the ticket on the outside of his vehicle, as the car keys were in his wife's handbag.
He said: "I had put the new ticket under the windscreen wiper.
“I got back just before it expired but it wasn't there, and they had put a clamp on.”
The police were called to the car park to keep the peace and began investigating what had happened to his second ticket by reviewing CCTV footage.
He initially refused to pay the £350 charge to remove the clamp and told his wife and daughter to stay in the car so it could not be towed away.
But after a two hour protest the 46-year-old man agreed to pay so he could drive to collect his two other children from their first day back at Wickham Common School, West Wickham.
He added: "If I had been here by myself I would have stuck round here forever.
"This thing is going to be made illegal and it is diabolical that they can do it.
"I’m definitely going to appeal.
"The police are trying to prove that we walked down here by looking at the CCTV from TK Maxx."
A representative of the clamping company SEC and Associates dismissed claims it has acted unfairly.
He said: "If he puts a second ticket on the outside of the vehicle and it blows away or gets taken then it's his responsibility.
"All we know is that the ticket that was on the car was expired by over an hour.
"If the CCTV can prove he put the ticket on then he has the right to appeal."
Comments(33)
jca111
says...
9:05pm Thu 2 Sep 10
Muppet if you did - anyone could take it (including a dodgy clamper mannot saying they did tho!).
It would only take 5 secs to open the door and put inside.
MAMA98
says...
9:44pm Thu 2 Sep 10
DrDBexley
says...
9:53pm Thu 2 Sep 10
Locked and Loaded
says...
10:24pm Thu 2 Sep 10
Clampers are scum, so why be fool enough to let them give you the shaft.
More fool you Appleby.
MAMA98
says...
11:15pm Thu 2 Sep 10
alas
says...
11:49pm Thu 2 Sep 10
If you don't like the conditions don't park there. Park on a meter or in the Glades or at Waitrose.
And as for putting the ticket on the outside .... it just makes no sense. You know what the penalty is yet you leave it on the outside and go away for an hour? You don't just go and get the keys and come straight back?
No one disputes the clampers are scum, but why give them the opportunity to prove it?
mainman
says...
12:05am Fri 3 Sep 10
mainman
says...
12:10am Fri 3 Sep 10
typecastboy
says...
12:44am Fri 3 Sep 10
mainman wrote:Is he stlll around, haven't heard about him for years.
you could have called angle grind man. He would remove the clamp free.
Make Life
says...
8:04am Fri 3 Sep 10
porkpie
says...
9:42am Fri 3 Sep 10
Make Life
says...
9:46am Fri 3 Sep 10
porkpie wrote:thats the way to do it, i like the thinking on using the money on the xmas party.
Did he not have a mobile phone to ring the wife. I do like how most people blame the clampers. They didn't make the laws did they. Also if someone parked on my land with out paying or causing an obstruction I would have them clamped. Years ago I worked for a small firm that had it's own car park. The public would park in it often, so we had our own clamp...... All the release money went to the Christmas party fund. Good old days.
AGW98
says...
1:24pm Fri 3 Sep 10
I am close to this family and I understand this situation very clearly ,
Steve was shopping for the eldest daughter's school shoes, the ticket ran out so he got another one but he realized that his wife had the keys.
His phone had run out of battery so he couldnt contact his wife.
He put it securley underneath the wind screen wipper as you can see on the CCTV.
It can't have blown away as he made perfectly well that it was stuck.
The clamper people must have taken it off.
I don't think that it is very fair to make him pay £350 because he brought another ticket instead of leaving it and which they are soon going to find on CCTV. And also he has 3 children to pay for and you can't just pay money out like that. He is the only one working for his famiyl so I say he gets his money back!!!
In the end he had to pay £300 and I say "GET HIS MONEY BACK"!!!
"GET HIS MONEY BACK" !!!
"GET HIS MONEY BACK" !!!
"GET HIS MONEY BACK" !!!
join in if you agree!!!!
Thanks.
MAMA98
says...
1:28pm Fri 3 Sep 10
Make Life
says...
1:54pm Fri 3 Sep 10
AGW98 wrote:What CCTV can we look at? If there is CCTV of the car park then this will show him putting the ticket under his wiper and then the ticket somehow dissapearing. Why isnt it fair to make him pay £350? The ticket isnt there so he has to pay until it is proved the the clampers "removed it". having a family to feed isnt an excuse, I have a family to feed and look after but if i receive a parking fine, speeding ticket then I try my luck and contest it once and if i fail then i pay it.
Thats a bit harsh , I am close to this family and I understand this situation very clearly , Steve was shopping for the eldest daughter's school shoes, the ticket ran out so he got another one but he realized that his wife had the keys. His phone had run out of battery so he couldnt contact his wife. He put it securley underneath the wind screen wipper as you can see on the CCTV. It can't have blown away as he made perfectly well that it was stuck. The clamper people must have taken it off. I don't think that it is very fair to make him pay £350 because he brought another ticket instead of leaving it and which they are soon going to find on CCTV. And also he has 3 children to pay for and you can't just pay money out like that. He is the only one working for his famiyl so I say he gets his money back!!! In the end he had to pay £300 and I say "GET HIS MONEY BACK"!!! "GET HIS MONEY BACK" !!! "GET HIS MONEY BACK" !!! "GET HIS MONEY BACK" !!! join in if you agree!!!! Thanks.
DrDBexley
says...
2:15pm Fri 3 Sep 10
I mean, seriously, did he really walk away thinking:
"The ticket will be fine under the wiper; there wont be any ambiguity and I've done everything I can to ensure my ticket is displayed until I return to my vehicle"??
jca111
says...
2:29pm Fri 3 Sep 10
I don't see what the issue is. This driver was at fault really for not putting a ticket on properly. If he can prove he had one he can appeal.
I hate clampers, but its private land - so they can (currently) do it.
Why don't you park in one of the council or NCP car parks or on one of the many many meters in Bromley - hoping to save a couple of quid? Its come back to haunt you!
I think the clampers are being quite reasonable here - if you can prove it all - appeal.
Also - what has the statement "he has 3 children to pay for" got to do with it. So do I - but I wouldn't expect special treatment for it. I struggle at the end of most months etc. So what?
Enigma
says...
5:36pm Fri 3 Sep 10
apak24
says...
10:14pm Fri 3 Sep 10
Everybody hates clampers, but if they did not do there job then we would have people parking there cars and vans wherever they liked, and that would cause more problems. If you over park or park somewhere you should not park then you deserve what you get.
madras
says...
11:34am Sat 4 Sep 10
Couldn't someone legislate these people and perhaps suggest a max £50/day fine?
briancooke104
says...
2:01pm Sun 5 Sep 10
Make Life
says...
8:09am Mon 6 Sep 10
madras wrote:Its not extortion because you agree to the terms and conditions when you buy the ticket. If he didnt like the cost of the clamp, extra charges etc then he was well within his right to get back in the car and park elsewhere.
Impose a fine for breaking parking restrictions, fine. But this clamping and massive 'fines' are nothing short of extortion. Way in excess of what would be 'reasonable'. Couldn't someone legislate these people and perhaps suggest a max £50/day fine?
HayesMum
says...
12:57pm Mon 6 Sep 10
next time maybe he'll park in the glades where you don't have to pre-determine your time needed.
BUT he should be paying for the wasted police time looking though the cctv - they've got better things to do than this.
MAMA98
says...
5:33pm Tue 7 Sep 10
apak24
says...
10:00pm Tue 7 Sep 10
MAMA98 wrote:He must be, he was told if he could prove he put the ticket on his car he would get his money back. Does he need to have it drawn in colour pictures for him to understand? all he wants is to have 5 mins of fame in the paper, but its back fired, its made him famous ok, he is now known as the FOOL of the village.
He isn't a Prat or thick.
ho_ho_ho
says...
3:43pm Wed 8 Sep 10
Make Life
says...
3:54pm Wed 8 Sep 10
ho_ho_ho wrote:wow, your tough
Clampers = Scum. I can only wish pestilence and poverty on these evil scum and their family. They will have to get a real job soon and if any ever darken my doors for a job, the response will be Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo Oscer Oscer Foxtrot you C U Next Tuesday.
meldrewman
says...
11:01pm Fri 10 Sep 10
for gods sake examine how women shop they randomly just walk into shops 'in case they may have something I like'.A man will only go into a shop to buy something and once bought leave immediately.If Appleby hadnt taken his wife along he would be £300 richer.
It's Me again !
says...
12:11pm Sun 12 Sep 10
apak24 wrote:Yep he has made himself look like a right idiot ha ha ha
MAMA98 wrote: He isn't a Prat or thick.He must be, he was told if he could prove he put the ticket on his car he would get his money back. Does he need to have it drawn in colour pictures for him to understand? all he wants is to have 5 mins of fame in the paper, but its back fired, its made him famous ok, he is now known as the FOOL of the village.
alas
says...
5:58pm Tue 14 Sep 10
ho_ho_ho wrote:Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo Oscer Oscer Foxtrot ?
Clampers = Scum. I can only wish pestilence and poverty on these evil scum and their family. They will have to get a real job soon and if any ever darken my doors for a job, the response will be Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo Oscer Oscer Foxtrot you C U Next Tuesday.
OOF?
Not meaning to be picky, just made me laugh.
Make Life
says...
3:22pm Thu 16 Sep 10
PengeLiberal
says...
12:46pm Tue 21 Sep 10
Lakeside & Bluewater have tens of thousands of FREE parking spaces, no clamping extortionists, no expiring tickets to worry about, no ques for ticket machines oh and all the upmarket stores that deserted Bromley when the rot began to set in a few years ago, where are they now? remind me again....
OK you spend an extra tenner in petrol getting there and back but give me that any day next to a criminal £350 clamp removal fee, You can buy bolt-cutters and an angle grinder and still have change from £350
MADNESS
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Steve Appleby and his family staged a sit-in protest against the clampers
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It's Me again ! says...
5:49pm Thu 2 Sep 10
"All we know is that the ticket that was on the car was expired by over an hour.
"If the CCTV can prove he put the ticket on then he has the right to appeal."
As much as I hate the clampers that is a fair enough statement