This is what I thought too but it'll cost £150 to find out from the freehold management company who the landlord is!! Is it safe to assume the management company acts on behalf of the landlord and therefore shares equal responsibility? Just been to get quotes for damage to my car during the unlawful towing incident - £256.54!

I have emailed my local MP who is a keen campaigner against PPCs and is he is already aware of the goings on around our site. I have also contacted the Manchester Evening News to see if they are interested in running a story. Thanks for the advice so far, just working on the LBA!

We have a management company that runs the site so do I jointly sue them with TGS or the landowner? It'll cost me money to find out who the landowner is according to the freehold company for all I know it could be Joe Bloggs. He then employs a management company to look after the land for him. So do I need to find out who Mr Bloggs is or will the management company hold equal responsibility in the eyes of the law? They, after all, supposedly hold a contract with TGS (which no one has ever seen).

Sorry, here's the sign! Surely they can put what they like on the sign? The money I paid does not reflect loss of revenue to the landowners!

The witnesses couldn't confirm 100% at the time of the towing the identity of the tow vehicle but when I went to collect the car, the Gregory Sharp character was displaying an ID. I'll be pursuing this with the police when I have had a quote for the damage to my car during their illegal tow this week. At the very least witholding my car without proper cause to do so and demanding cash to get it back is blackmail!

Hi Cardiff Devil I checked out the SIA website, the licence number comes up for a "Gregory Sharp" but the company do not appear on the register of approved contractors. I'll look into this further. Also a few months ago a new managing agent, S&S Estates took over the contract to manage the site. So do I sue them now? Or Scanlans because it's their rules? Or both? Cheers

Here's the censored receipt in case it is of any help to anyone:

The letter above from Scanlans Property Management clearly states that towing can only be approved for abandoned cars. In this case there is no doubt that my car was not abandoned! The police were quick to quote "civil matter" at me I will phone them tomorrow to pursue my case in light of my payment under duress to get my car back. I don't expect much, this is a democracy after all!

Thanks, Sailor Sam, I might give the police a call tomorrow because the police officer said at the time that he was willing to vouch for the damage to the road surface caused by my car being towed away. Additionally several of my neighbours were quick to appeal to the TGS operatives to stop the towing when they heard the car scraping along the ground. I would like to thank them if they are reading this!! The time gap between the "invoice" and the towing is 21 minutes, about the time it took me to drive from my site to their depot, so presumably, it was the same time for the tow truck to make the journey the other way!! So they apparently proved my guilt in the millisecond it took them to call the tow-truck. No chance to pay the third ticket if I were guilty. They have clearly towed in breach of the terms laid down by the management company, they have damaged my car, they have towed on the premise that I was driving on the occasions that the "tickets" were issued, they have verbally confessed to towing due to non-payment of alleged "fines", how many more things?!?! I am a little concerned about the situation with the management company. No longer is this about who parked the car (I don't recall who it was), but now it's about who to get my money off! I'd appreciate any feedback (via PM if sensitive) to protect my case against these scumbags. I don't care who was driving the car now, the fact is the money came from my bank account and I want it back. The new management company have taken over very recently and act on behalf of the landowners. So do I sue the management company or the landowners?

Thanks for the feedback so far. I am busy researching other cases. We have recently had a change of management company who have offered no communication to the contrary of what the letter above states. Additionally I have an email from the previous management company stating that cars will NOT be towed unless they are abandoned. Mine was not abandoned. In the heat of the moment one of the operatives towing my vehicle was overheard saying to my girlfriend "well pay your [f-ing] tickets then". Clearly this is an admission that the car was towed due to unpaid invoices.

I have taken a photo of the damage caused to the underside of the front bumper as it scraped along the floor. They claim to have taken photos of any damage but have not backed this up. The police made enquiries when I initially phoned them to report the car stolen and the officer vouched for the marks on the ground but couldn't intervene any further because it's a "civil matter". If you have seen any of my other posts regarding TGS you'll have read that they only take cash! The guy on the phone was quite rude when I asked why I couldn't pay such a sum on a card and he inferred it was because "smartarses like you [me] do chargebacks". Invoice for total amount paid to recover my vehicle is only made out to my car and not to me or anybody else. Several people are insured on my car and any one of them has driven it with varying degrees of regularity since I have lived at the property.

Precisely!! I don't know who left the car on the occasion any of the supposed infringements. All I know is that I have to work tomorrow and have handed in a load of cash under duress. Their third "ticket" was issued 21 minutes before the car was towed. Fair? They've caused damage to the front of the car and there are several witnesses (thanks to it being a sunny afternoon!) as well as scrape marks on the ground. I need to now take this up with the management company, please can anyone help!

Hi guys, After much protest at our parking restrictions in the car park to my flat my car has been towed away, in front of witnesses. Some of my neighbours were kind enough to come and find me to let me know that it was happening but the guys with the van had no ID and nobody could identify the van as being from our parking company (which none of us wanted, by the way!). I have therefore reported my car as stolen until I know otherwise. I have checked the documentation I have from the management company and I have not infringed the terms of the parking company's contract. As you can see from the letter towing is only to be done when the car has been abandoned - mine was not. The management company has since changed but no new guidelines about parking have been issued since. During the removal, my neighbours said that damage had been caused to the car by the front bumper scraping along the floor as they removed the car. I am waiting to hear from the police but if their conclusion is that the parking company took the car can anyone please help me as to what to do next? They only take cash and only from Monday to Friday, 9-5 (of course). Thanks!

Nope! Never heard of Paul Christopher. Are they Scanlans?

That's good news. Scanlans have decided to approach my concerns by ignoring my emails and since they're off now, I'm going to hassle the new management company on the phone. No one can seem to provide a contract with TGS parking to "validate" their right to ticket on the site, but I want to be able to link the landowners with the PPC in case anyone gets clamped and we need to go to court to recover the costs. Bit stuck with what to do next really! Flyering neighbours sounds like a good idea though.

I personally found Scanlans a bit tedious to deal with. They were slow to respond to any communication and quick to shirk any responsibility for goings on with the site. Waste of a service charge without doubt. Al27 - How did you deal with the clampers on your site? Did you manage to get Scanlans replacement to listen to residents' concerns?

"Troy"'s banter in that email made me smile, thanks for posting that link! Looks like there could be a speedy abolition of the clampers then. I see the SIA was canned in the recent quango-cull. Don't really know what they did anyway so good riddance. Thanks for the updates all. It looks like the second reading of the bill takes place on the 12th so I'll keep my eyes peeled.

In August it was announced that there were plans to ban clamping in England sometime in November. I know it's only the 4th but I haven't heard anything more about it. I haven't seen any anarchy, or vast unruly mobs raping and pillaging as predicted by the PPCs so I can only assume it hasn't taken place yet. Anyone know anything?

Looks like they are trying to raise funds thanks to no one falling for their [problem]! Result.

Thanks Steve Picton for your advice which goes overwhelmingly against all other advice ever posted on this forum since the beginning of time itself! You must think I'm a right idiot! I won't be paying. Just posted the TGS ticket for info as these cowboys have just started patrolling my private car park so hopefully will serve as notice to my neighbours that they are of no threat whatsoever. I'll update as and when I receive their junkmail.

I received a (well, I don't know what it was because it's just a scrap of paper with some details written on it) the other day in the private car park associated with my apartments. Especially surprising given I was not the driver at the time! Thought I would put the "ticket" up here for everyone to see. The sign: I'm especially amused by Part 8 of their T&Cs. "This parking charge has been lawfully issued and the collection procedure will be processed in accordance with the administration of justice act 1970." Lawfully issued??!!? How? I'll keep you posted with any developments.

Don't worry about SIP - you can safely ignore. I speak from experience!!

So did I! Another one for the list...

I would suggest the "ignore" rule is still the best way forward. Plenty on Parking Eye on this forum so I would follow that advice. It has worked for me! Bon appetit!

Despite numerous complaints to our management company, and letters to our local MP, TGS Parking Services are patrolling our private car park for my block of apartments. They have been quick off the mark - issuing several tickets in the first morning. The other day their signs went up all around the car park (making it look like a B&Q) and I was wondering what everyone thought about their approach. There seem to be several things that stand out: Black & White boundary (like police signs??) "Parking Charge" Extortionate release fees Cash only No landline - just mobile numbers Anything else stand out to the more experienced CAGgers? It's all going into a letter to the management company...