Clampers should not be allowed to charge these outrageous sums

10:08am Thursday 30th October 2008

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I WAS completely sickened by the treatment of that poor man at the hands of the clampers in Wanstead (Guardian, October 23).

I’m fed up with reading about motorists being taken advantage of by clamping firms like this.

An investigation needs to be launched into how parking fines are calculated because this man was asked to pay more than most people earn in a week just for parking where this firm claims he was not supposed to.

Did this company simply make this fee up out of thin air? It certainly seems that way because it is hard to see how that amount could be broken down into justifiable charges. There is no way that this company’s overhead costs for clamping and towing can come anywhere near £465 a time.

If they are clamping ten cars a day at this spot, then they are making about £32,550 a week just in Wanstead high Street. Most people don’t make that amount in a year!

Like most reasonable people, I have nothing against drivers being fined for parking where they should not, particularly if they are causing an obstruction.

What I do object to however, and I feel this is a view shared by most fair minded people in this country, is people being held to ransom by bullying clamping firms for fees which have absolutely no relation to the offence they have committed.

There needs to be proper regulation of parking enforcement on private land to stop people being taken advantage of in this way, and it would be nice to see Trading Standards officers getting involved in this case to see if this firm has behaved appropriately in this particular case.

Julie Campbell Bressey Grove South Woodford