£265 clamp fine for 120 seconds parking - HELP please

[gonnagetthemback]

hello,
My husband just paid £265 for a fixed penalty notice clamping fine. The guy kept threatening him that he would tow the car if he didn't get cash...he said he wouldn't accept card/cheque payment. My husband had to walk to the cashpoint only to find out it wasn't working. The guy then threatened to clamp the car and tow it away when he returned without the cash. In the end my father in law turned up with the cash!
My husband said there was a small sign up but he thought he'd chance the two min pizza collection!
I spoke to the clamper on the phone and asked him nicely if we could come to some agreement, but he wasn't having any of it, threatening further charges. I called the police, but they didn't give a damn!
All my husband has is a ticket which says WARNING, THIS VEHICLE HAS BEEN CLAMPED FIXED PENALTY NOTICE by REGIONAL CLAMPING SERVICES LTD. another thing I've just noticed is that they have written the following on the ticket: " The fixed penalty is £265. Payment must be made in full prior to the removal of the clamp. All vehicles left UNATTENDED will be towed away immediately at a cost of £170 plus £95 clamp fee, total £265" My query with this is that the clamper put an immobiliser on the car, my husband was back at the car within 2 minutes so why did he charge the tow van costs?
They also have an additional £50 charge for abusive/aggressive behaviour!!! Can you believe it? This all happened at 6.15pm on a quiet Sunday evening!!!

Please let me I can reclaim this money, I mean this has to be illegal, we are hard working law abiding people with two young children!

I will write to the land owner and Hounslow Council, but can anyone help me devise a letter to the clamping company, or give me some legal facts???

Thanks very much for reading

[gonnagetthemback]

one point - we weren't aggresive/abusive, so he spared us the £50 charge for that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If I was there I would have killed him!

[gonnagetthemback]

has anyone used the many sites on the web that charge £15 for templates?

[Zamzara]

1) Did the receipt give his SIA licence details? A clamper must be licensed and must provide licence details on the receipt.
2) What was the exact wording of the sign?
3) Did the release fee exceed the amount shown on the sign? This is a big no-no.

If the clamping does not comply with the law it is blackmail and you should persist with the police. There is precedent for this.