Today I parked my car in a private car park in Scotland, which had a sign on entering warning that all cars belonging to people not using the restaurant would be clamped (with a release fee of £50). Needless to say I just abandoned my car in that car park anyway as it was empty, and I am also aware that clamping in Scotland is completely illegal.

On returning to my car about 10 minutes later there was a man (from the restaurant I assume) demanding that I move my car immediatly, and that if I ever returned to the car park he would clamp me. I just told him to f*** off, shove his clamp n try me, to which he responded saying he would have my car clamped immediatly the next time the cars parked there.

I would like to know whether it is legal for him to have signs up in his restaurant car park threatning to clamp, givin that the con of clamping is illegal in Scotland, and also whether my approach of telling him where to stick his clamp was the right approach.

I will never eat in his restaurant again, but I will of course park in his car park again!

Today I parked my car in a private car park in Scotland, which had a sign on entering warning that all cars belonging to people not using the restaurant would be clamped (with a release fee of £50). Needless to say I just abandoned my car in that car park anyway as it was empty, and I am also aware that clamping in Scotland is completely illegal.

 

On returning to my car about 10 minutes later there was a man (from the restaurant I assume) demanding that I move my car immediatly, and that if I ever returned to the car park he would clamp me. I just told him to f*** off, shove his clamp n try me, to which he responded saying he would have my car clamped immediatly the next time the cars parked there.

 

I would like to know whether it is legal for him to have signs up in his restaurant car park threatning to clamp, givin that the con of clamping is illegal in Scotland, and also whether my approach of telling him where to stick his clamp was the right approach.

 

I will never eat in his restaurant again, but I will of course park in his car park again!

You could probably report him to trading standards as the sign is totally bogus and deceptive.

If he can clamped your car in the future you could probably get him arrested for extortion and sue him in to the bargain.

I really hate clamping as a remedy and I'm envious of the Scottish rulings. That said I can understand the restaurant owner not wanting his car park being used by non-patrons. I can't condone his actions or his signs but I guess I can understand his reaction and yours as well.

I'd say you'd be asking for trouble if you park in his car park again. He might not clamp you but he could do something like blocking you in for a few hours. Just to **** you off.

Is parking there really worth the aggro?

Well parked there again today, and had no problems!! Even had time to show the c**t my middle finger on leaving the car park (very mature I know...)

However if he had chosen to block my car in then I may have ended up calling the police for obstruction, as apparantly a car park is a public area, where it is illegal to block somebodys vehicle in without permission (or something like that). And I am tempted to inform trading standards about this, quite simply cos the guys a pure tool.

Scottish law is really great in banning clamps completely!

I will never ever have sympathy with the clampers but I do have some sympathy with the odd landowner. If a restaurant owns a car park "for patrons only" and you are not a customer then common courtesy should dictate that you don't make a point of parking there.

I rile against officiousness and usually stand up for the underdog but it strikes me that you are the one doing the bullying here. Yes, it does seem rather silly for the restaurant to put up signs for [illegal] clamping but it may be an inappropriate [but understandable] response to provocation.

However if he had chosen to block my car in then I may have ended up calling the police for obstruction, as apparantly a car park is a public area, where it is illegal to block somebodys vehicle in without permission

I doubt the police would agree that the land owner blocking you in whilst parked uninvited in a private car park would be seen as illegal. What makes you think that just because the resturant has a parking area for patrons that it suddenly becomes a free public carpark automatically?

I agree with Barnsley Boy on this one and think your actions are dispicable when you have no intention of using the resturant. It is regretable to say that it is the actions of drivers like you that no doubt contributes to the proliferation of the number of PPCs that exist today.

Givin that the restaurant is closed for refurbishment I can see absolutly no issues with parking there, and to be honest if the guy had put up a sign saying no parking then I would probably comply with the request. However the fact that he has the arrogance to threaten people with what is an illegal act in this country makes me determined to wind the prick up, until he takes down the sign. And if, the first time I parked there he had been reasonable with me, I would be more reasonable with him.

However I'm quite an argumentitive person, and am not one to give up.

However I'm quite an argumentitive person, and am not one to give up.

You're also morally in the wrong and would deserve any bad karma that should come your way whilst parking on his private land, such as a small brick wall falling on your car as a result of the refurbishment work being carried out.

here mate dae a sound like eh kinda person who is into that karma shhhhhite or all this morals pish? naw!

n for a wall to collapse from the restaurant where the refurbishment works are goin on all the way over to the other side of the empty car park would be blatant vandalism.

.... as oppose to blatant trespass.

I read somewhere it only becomes extortion or illegal if the land owner asks for money to remove the clamp. A factory just down from my house recently put up signs saying anyone parking there will be clamped.