yesterday i arrive home from work to find my car clamped at the train station, for which reason i dont know why yet, but then called clamping company only to find they were closed and got redirected to some payment centre, now they told me the clamp would not be removed until today but also if it got to 24 hours they would remove my car to a pound and charge me further so i decide to leave it until ive spoken to someone, so ring a mate whos an ex clamper an he says can we remove it without damaging it, i said yes as its only chained through my lower arm and as luck would have it or through sheer laziness i hadnt changed the one i bought a while ago an was still in my boot to which he replies ok im on my way with tools, an hour later the clamp was removed with my old lower arm still attached, my mate said we had to leave the clamp where they clamped me otherwise they could have me nicked for theft if i removed it which i did (also took pics of undamaged clamp next to my fully mobile car) rang clamping company this morning and as soon as i said i had removed it they hung up and now wont even talk when i ring,
trouble is it was a few yrs ago my mate was a clamper and wondering if law has changed and if im likely to be in the shit for said actions
any info would be good
thanx
liam

 

I wouldn't worry about it. You can be sued if you damage, or steal the wheel clamp - but there is NO law against actually removing it. I'd be wary of leaving it at the roadside, incase someone else steals it.

 

I'm sure you will be fine!
Well done!

 

it was late last nite when i left it at the car park and i phoned first thing to tell them where it was, as said got pics of it there and undamaged, cheers dan

 

you should have taken the clamp in to the train station and left it at the lost property

 

lol i didnt think of that, would have been a good one lol

 

and if they hadn't claimed it in 3 months it would have been yours roflol
then you could ring the wheel clamp company and offer to sell them their wheel clamp back

 

lol icing on the cake

 

dont think they can do you mate as long as you havent damaged it

 

I would still wont to know why i got clamped in the first place

Steve

 

yeah i do but as they wont talk to me on the phone and there was no parking ticket on my car just a sticker on the window and the clamp i have no way of knowing atm

 

yes as said if clamp can be removed without damage to clamp then they can't do you for that but like said i too would want to know

1.) why i was clamped in first place
2.) if its rainway property do they have a clamping contract from the rainway company
3.) if they have the contract for clamping where there signs up on walls in and around area that could be seen as you parked

the clamper may just have like your car and decided that he was going to clamp with a view to removing it to pound and then trying to charge you excessive amount for release (to which you maybe couldn't afford )

 

I would get pics of the place you parked

Steve

 

ill look into it more when im home from work, i doubt he was after my car its a t reg st24 lol i wouldnt leave the cab in a car park, and no there was no signs and all the railway company said was that apcoa manage their carparks and apcoa are saying the sub their clamping out in this area so just seems to be buck passing at the moment

 

You shouldnt have even bothered saying you removed it.

Fair play to doing so

There are youtube vids of a guy who removes them and knows all his rights etc. Worth a watch

 

well i thought i would and i recorded it just so if anythin does come of it they cant say i didnt inform them i left the clamp there and charge me for it

 

wouldnt worry about it at all. Clamping is soon to be outlawed on private land hence why most clampers are being cunts as they will soon be on the dole

round my way all the previous small car parks with clampers are being fenced in with barriers to control access otherwise it will be a free for all in town centres.

 

no damage no bill !
i removed 4 over kingston way and well sod then even had one put on the car while the mother was in after abuse they moved it !

 

a clamper once tried to clamp our van. it was parked on the kerb with all the welding plant in the back, we were on an extension cutting some stairs down with the gas axe.
my brother saw him and asked him what he was doing as the clamper replied my brother started to light a cig with the gas axe.
the clamper turned round and skulked back to his van.
he must have thought we would remove the clamp ourselves. perish the thought.

 

was not a baliff clamp was it?

 

If it was they'd have answered the phone!!!

 

duh. true true!

 

Unless they have evidence that you stole the clamp, quite frankly you didnt steal it.

 

not a bailiff clamp, was a clampin firm, cheers fellas feel bit less dubious about it now

 

Should have kept the clamp and then contacted them telling them they could have their clamp back one they'd paid a £50 release fee plus £5 a day storage.

 

that might actually work - someone should try it lol

 

Good on you for shifting the clamp

Just be careful of Railway Byelaw 14.4 part II (Contrary to Section 219 of the Transport act 2000)

http://www2.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/legi...aysbyelaws.pdf

Having said that, unless it is properly signposted as per Byelaw 14.4 part IV then I wouldn't worry

 

I dont see any reason why it shouldnt work as there is no such thing as a "fine" which is why it is called a "removal fee" which can go both ways.
Remove Clamp with out damaging it as send the firm an invoice for the Removal and £3 a day Storage until it is collected

 

Take the clamp in and weigh it in for scrap. Guaranteed that the law will never pursue you then

 

well im still none the wiser as to why i was clamped in the first place, think ill just leave it there an see what happens

 

top action for removing it!

cant you now chain it to a lamp post with a notice saying what your release fee is etc?

thats what id do, or better still take it back to where they are based and give it back via the biggest window they have, without opening it first!

 

I did it in a car parker with the clamping bloke present, he rang the police. They turned up in about 4 seconds while I was still removing the clamp. Again it was between the bottom arm, and i only had the wheel brace. As look would have it the bottom ball joint was the same size as the wheel nuts. Undid it and removed the clamp.

The police said I still had to pay after doing some checks on their radio's. I asked why and they said its criminal damage as i'm parked on their land and its their clamp. So by simply moving it i'm breaking the law.

I couldn't be arsed with the hassle so I paid up in the end on the spot. Never looked into if they fed me bullshit or not just forgot about it.

 

so how do you know they won't simply clamp you again when you go and park there the next time?

 

As per usual the police dont know their laws correctly.

the only clamps that are illegal to remove are council, DVLA or court ordered ones. Any others can be legally removed without damage and you have NOT committed any criminal offence.

All the police can do is act to prevent a "breach of the peace" and nothing more. They cannot legally assist you or the clampers. Its a civil matter.

Strangely the police seem to help scumbags a lot on such things. Often they help debt collectors when they have no legal mandate to help them and even in court ordered evictions can only prevent breach of the peace, nothing more. Takes further court orders to allow the police to evict someone from private land or allow baliff access by force.

 

I expected as much to be honest. Next time i'll just remove it.

I was parked in Jessops buying a new camera which was half price. They shut at 12 and it was 10 to. I parked in the "Jessops loading bay" thinking they wouldn't be ar5ed on boxing day and they didn't have a car park.

Me and another bloke came out. Both of us were clamped, we'd both done the same thing.

 

because im not going to park there again, the car is due for the big scrap heap in the sky next week, cant seem to sell the fuckin thing and i dont want to run it anymore so will be a different car there next week lol