Hi. New to the forum - discovered while searching for clampers. Leaving the house this morning i discovered my car was clamped with a sticker on drivers window, attached below [ATTACH=CONFIG]47466[/ATTACH] It relates to a supposed unpaid parking ticket from westminster council. I believe I may have already paid this months ago but I am still looking for the paperwork and online receipt. The ticket is £202 and the bailiff fee is £240, total £442 being demanded in cash. I have not received any paperwork through the letterbox nor did the bailiff make attempt to knock on my door. Advice gratefully received!

Basically my car is going through a court case because I was unlucky enough to buy a car that broke down after a couple days of driving :/ (another long story). The tax ran out and I declared SORN on the car and left it in a road where the bottom of the road is a place for the residents to park. (Where I thought was private) I am a resident so I am free to park there and I even spoke to my local council and the highways agency and they told me as long as you declared SORN it should be fine. Then I find out a couple weeks later that DVLA have clamped the car and told me that only the right side of the road there is private, the rest of the road is public. I told the lady on the phone (from the car pound) that the council said it was perfectly fine for me to leave the car there with SORN declared, so she told me that she will speak to the council and see what they say and that she will give me a call back and tell me the result, whether I have to pay or not. After this conversation I called up everyday as she never called me back and she told me she was still waiting for the council as the car is on a query it won't be towed away. Yesterday I decided not to phone as she told me she will call me back when she has found out the result. This morning I found out the car had been towed away and rang the pound immediately where I found out that there IT systems went down and she lost all the notes so she couldn't call me back and as a result I had the car towed away. Also I was told the place where I left the car is a public road and can't be left there. I went back to the council and they told me they couldn't do anything as it was up to DVLA to judge whether the car was on private or public road. So to sum it up I had been given the wrong information by the council and had the car wrongfully towed away as I had been told it won't be towed until I get a call back. If I knew that the council told her it was a private road I would of just reluctantly paid the fee to get rid of the clamp and get the car moved to the private side. Where do I stand, can I appeal? I reckon I might be able to appeal against there IT systems going down as that is not my problem but can I appeal against the council and high ways agency for wrong information? Also can I appeal the whole fine? Sorry for the long post, any replies will be great Also I need to tow my car back, does anyone know of any good towing services in London? I'm thinking to use this, total car recovery service but I didn't know whether to trust it or not.

Hi, Desperate for some advice. My sister has my old car (still in my name!) Apparently I had a Parking fine and its been passed to these bayliffs who have clamped the car. My sister rang the courts and they have no record of a fine for me or this car. They want 400 to release the car. where do I stand with this one? urgent help as my sister is stuck and I do not have 400 to pay it

Hi everyone, I hope I'm posting this in the correct place as I wasn't sure if it should go here or on the Motoring Group forum. I woke up this morning to find my van had been clamped for non payment of a council parking charge. I'm not too worried about the parking charge as I am in dispute with the council and am currently going through their formal complaints procedure - I realise now I should have just paid the fine and tried to claim everything back afterwards - you live and learn! However, I am concerned with how I was forced to make a payment to the bailiffs in order to get my van back. Whilst my van is personally owned its signed up with the company name, logo and contact details and I use it for deliveries. When I explained to the bailiff I use it for my sole use in my business doing deliveries and am unable to carry out any deliveries without it I believed it was covered under Section 89, 1 of The County Courts Act as the vehicle was essential for my business and I needed it this afternoon for my deliveries. The bailiff said the Act doesn't count and he should know as he's been doing this job long enough - Is this correct ? Also, when I asked why hadn't I need notified he said a letter was sent out 10 days ago giving me 7 days to pay or the would take this action - I didn't receive the letter but have no proof and similarly they cant prove it was sent but said the fact their computer says the letter was issued that's good enough for the courts. In order to get my can back so I could do my deliveries I paid the following: Original fine and fees - £93.20 Bailiffs attendance costs - £61.94 Attendance to remove/removal - £175.00 VAT - £49.63 Total - £379.77 plus £1.00 debit card fee Is there any way I can find out if they are allowed to charge these amounts ? Plus, and this just gets better, I've just realised I've paid too much VAT as 20% of £236.94 (£61.94 + £175) is actually £47.39 - is this fraud or a HMRC matter ? (would love to start a VAT investigation!) Is there anything I can do about the over charge ? When I made the payment I explained I paying under duress as I had no alternative and was looking to mitigate my losses, in that they were phoning to a tow truck to remove the vehicle. I have since faxed a copy of this statement to Marstons as the bailiff refused to sign my statement to confirm I had made him aware. (I also wrote this on the receipt just in case) I've tried speaking to Marstons and requested their complaints procedure only to be told there isn't one, you simply fax or email a complaint and they will deal with it when they get round to it - I though anyone working on behalf of a local council had to have a written complaints procedure ? I've also telephoned my local council's corporate compliance complaints team and they have taken details and said they will look into the matter but it's normally something I would have to take up with the bailiffs firm first. Any advice anyone could give me would be appreciated - I don't mind dragging these guys through the courts or causing as much fuss as possible as I'm happy the original fine will be cancelled by the council once they have dealt with my original appeal. Many thanks in advance

Hello My motorcycle was clamped for not having a valid tax disc on display. The thing is I have declared the motorcycle on SORN back in March 2013. I checked the same on DVLA's site and it says (with other vehicle information) "SORN not due", which I think means the SORN is valid and not due yet. (Please correct me if I am wrong) Now comes the tricky bit. I have always kept this SORNed motorcycle (I have two and I haven't used the SORNed vehicle since it was SORNed) on the sidewalk. Today someone must have moved it. Bottom line is, it was clamped whilst on a side road. To be honest I don't need the motorcycle, as I don't wish to keep it. I have just not been able to get around to disposing it off. My question is what happens if I don't pay to have my vehicle released? There was a leaflet left on the motorcycle which says and I quote Since I don't want the vehicle, what happens if I do not pay? Will there be further fees or penalties? What is the best course of action? Thank you very much for reading and your help.

My car was clamped by a bailiff today.I bought it 4 days ago, so logbook has been sent to DVLA, but not processed. Bailiff said car was in a company name before I bought it, and I'd have to prove I was the new owner (can't do cos don't have log book) or pay the debt. He started saying total debts were £3000, but wouldn't tell me which authorities it was owed to. he then said he'd "do me a favour" and let me off paying only one debt,of £577. I paid it by credit card , cos he said otherwise he'd take the car away. He never got my signature, but left me a receipt,made out to the old owner's name and address. What are my rights here? Should I have fallen for his psychological tricks? He said if I proved i was the new owner i could write in and get my money back, but I doubt he was telling the truth.

Hi, my first post and quite a long story... I purchased a car privately last month. It was taxed until 11/12 (end of Nov)... or so i thought. Whilst driving thru a small country village where i work when a DVLA van taps on the window. They inform me my car is not taxed. I tell them it is and show them the tax disc which says end nov 12. They inform me that when i purchased the car, the tax disc had been refunded in may - I had the receipt from the car purchase on me and tried to use it as proof. as i had to return to work, they followed me and clamped my car, telling me it was £100 to have it released. When I asked about timescale he told me that he was working in the area until 5 or 6 so he would come and release it once I had paid. I phoned at approx 3:45pm, paid £260 and was told it would be released in approx 1 hour, maybe 2 at 5:30 i was worried i hadnt heard anything so phoned them back - they said they had one car left on their system - mine - and it wasnt being released until tomorrow morning. Now I work 30 miles from home and in a rural surrounding. I had no way of getting home - as you can imagine I am now livid. The guy on phone at DVLA said he is the only one there and can't help. He told me the people who release the car stop at 4 - implying the other two i had spoken to were lying. this has been a huge inconvenience - anyone know my rights? can they tell me they are going to release my vehicle, then just not do it even after I have paid? Plus what about the part where I never knew about the Tax (DVLA said they didnt need to surrender the tax disc upon refund as they could say it was lost etc...) PS someone mentioned that they clamped the passenger side which isn't allowed - is this true? Thank you

Had a cycle penalty from 2011, sent a £30 cheque which was sent back with a blank letterhead from HMCS. Then went to court, but couldn't attend and requested more time. Had correspondence with HMCS till March 2012. Was out of the country end of last year then at Christmas, had a call from Marston Baiiffs asking for money. Sent a form back to HMCS but have not heard back. Last week Monday, had a bailiff knock the door at 6am demanding £575. Asked till Friday to resolve. Then had death in the family on the same day and asked for one week extension which the bailiff agreed to. Was waiting for the court to come back to me or I would have called the bailiff to try and make an arrangement. This morning found my car had been clamped. Won't remove clamp without £575 payment. What can I do?

Hi there need some advice desperately, I have a vehicle which the tax disc has been expired and no mot. The vehicle was clamped late last night friday evening. Notices have been left with usual information, CRIMINAL OFFENCE TO REMOVE. They also give a contact number to call if you want it removed and amounts to pay for 24 hours and more, the problem is they closed over the weekend and state on the page if clamped outside of office hours please contact the pound. Well the number given for the pound is the same for office hours between monday to friday. So whats the use of that its the weekend and I could now go and have it mot and do my taxed, but can't get them to remove clamp. I feel that they do this late on fridays after hours as they know they closed the weekend to get more cash. I feel like removing it myself and taking the car to have an mot and get it taxed. Any help would be appreciated should I go ahead and remove it and what would the consequences be of that, or leave it and pay extra to the clampers and take off work monday and loose pay to sort it out. Thanks in advance for any help.

Hi, hoping someone can advise. My car is not running at the moment and has been parked up my drive on SORN, I had to move it out last week to get access to my drive. So I parked the car outside my house and put the battery on charge. Was supposed to put it back on the drive at weekend but didn't and of course this morning a road tax van spots it and clamps it. I went out to explain, but they were having none of it. Clamped it and said it was being impounded unless i paid £260, or i could collect it from impound for £260 + £21 per day. I had to pay the £260 there and then. I know my fault, but just wanted to check a couple of things: 1) To insure the car and get its tax would be more than the £260 - so if I do nothing and lose the £260 is that the end of the matter? I have now moved the car onto the drive again (and confirmed it is still sorn) 2) as the car had no insurance will the police become involved and fine me through the post? Any help appreciated

Hi I am new to this forum so not too sure if this is posted in the correct place or not? This morning just about to take the kids to school when I noticed a big yellow clamp on my husbands van which was parked on our driveway. Sign in the window gave us a telephone number to contact which we did. The bailiffs said it was for an unpaid PCN issued to us more that 12 months ago. We were not aware of this PCN nor have we received any of the 5 letters they said we had been sent. The bailiffs returned within 5 minutes to issue us with the paperwork. We asked why they had not knocked on the door and they stated that it was at 6am when they attended and they dont like to ring doorbells at that time of the morning! Rubbish cause all our lights were on in the house clearly for them to see at 6am. They were only 5 minutes away from us and were able to return very quickly when we telephoned them which was at 8:45am a good 2 hours and 45 minutes later so surley they would have hot further than 5 minutes away?! Anyway, they get the paperwork out and will not show us the warrant until we have paid the costs for release. We are then handed the itemised breakdown:- PCN Amount £82.00 Letter: £11.20 Levy fee: £28.00 Attendance to remove goods / vehicle: £130.00 VAN: £120.00 (handwritten onto the receipt whereas the other costs are printed) VAT on enforcement costs: £57.84 Total due today:£429.04 I can not get this to add up for the life of me so some help would be appreciated on this. When I asked about the 'van' costs they said it was their costs for clamping, I said that I thought that was the attendance to remove goods/ vehicle and they said no it covers the cost of our van being here - how do you think we got here by flying? - Sarcastic co**! I was of the impression that a bailiff would attempt to contact in person upto 3 times and charge a fee for attendance prior to coming and clamping the vehicle? These fees seem very excessive for a charge of £82? I am requesting a copy of the original ticket and photographic evidence of a contravention. This is not my main beef though it is the charges which these thugs have added to the costs. Myself & my husband are not intimidated by big bullies but I imagine that many others are which is why they send out these stereotypical bailiffs with shaved heads and fat! We had to pay to be released as my husband needed to get to work in his van. Is it too late to attempt to recover any of this money? The name of 'enforcement officer' listed on the original sticker on the vehicle is not a certificated bailiff - i have checked the register. The chap that was with him was though can this get us anywhere? What is a levy fee? I know there are a lot of questions but it is something I have never come across before and dont know where to start so any advice please??? Many thanks Deborah

hi guys, i'm a total newbee to posting. this is actually my first time posting so please forgive any mistakes and i apologize in advance if some answers are here already but its a complicated situation. my car has been clamped by marstons and have been left a distress warrent to pay £379.00. around jan this year i got a PCN in city centre manchester. i had bought a ticket, but without realising parked at a double yellow lines just after the parking bit. the yellow lines were barely visible and badly worn and it was also very sunny that day. i got back to the car as the attendant was writing the ticket, and i told her i paid and displayed but she said i was on yellow lines, put the PCN on the car and left. another parking attendant walked past me a few mins later and i explained the situation to her, she gave me her badge number and said to contest it and she'd back me up on the worn yellow lines. i rang the number on the ticket and was told to ring back the next days as it wasn't on their system yet. i wrote a long explanatory email to mail to them but had to go abroad the same week so forgot to mail it to them. now all this time the car was registered on my ex wifes name at my brothers address. the PCN letters went to my brothers address. I was going through serious mental health issues this year with my GP treating me with medication for bopilar disorder and forgot about the ticket. the letters from the council came to my brothers address and didn't get to me since they were addressed to the ex wife. 2 months ago i moved in with my brother coz of personal problems. 2 weeks ago i got a letter in her name and was busy workin night shifts so didn't get a chance to ring it up. today they left a letter saying they want the above amount and have clamped the car on the drive way. i need some help and advise on what my options are? i haven't rang the number on the letter yet, but the bailiff will probably come round in the morning to tow the car. can i backdate the logbook and send it in my name? or contest this somehow? or get the process restarted by the council in my name. and i'm no longer in touch with the ex wife. what do i do about getting the clamp removed tomorrow? what do i say to the bailiff? i'm really stressed out here and would appreciate any input thanks.

Anyone been clamped post ban yet ?

Hi All, Sorry to just jump straight in to the problem but im panicking a bit. Ive just seen that a car im using has been clamped by Marstons. Its in regard to a pcn. The notice put through my door says that the PCN is for £202, and that the total amount due is £493. This seems incredibly steep to me but that is what they say. At the moment im not sure whether the pcn is valid or not, i m in too much of a state to think clearly and the last few months have been a bit of a blur (suffer from bad M.E and most of the time i dont even know what day it is!). I need the car to get about (legs dont work too well) but i dont have £493! I say a car im using because technically its not mine, im not sure if this makes a difference. Please help me.

Hi I've just returned from abroad having been away for two month saw a letter yesterday dated 29 August from a bailiff saying i owe ptrking ticket fee of £185 . now i just steppped outside my home on a resident only parking area and found that my car has been clamped. can i get it unclamped without paying as i have not even had a chance to fully read the bailiff letter to attend to it . Thanks

HI I have an outstanding PCN ticket that has now been passed onto the bailiff. Iwas not fully aware of this charge and unaware that thisstage of enforcement was about to happen. I woke up last Tuesday morning and saw my car had beenclamped. There was a sticker on the window and a piece of paper on thewindscreen. I contacted the person on the letter and explain I didn’t have the£600 costs to remove the clamp. and if i could pay off what i owe. That offer was refused. So the clamp is still on the car now over nearly a week later. And as I was not left a inventory or seizure notice im beginning to wonder if the bailiff has forgotten they clamped my car. As for removing the clamp without damage as it is for a TFL fine im not sure if this would be ok. I am also trying to find out what the bailiffs chargefor an attendance fee and first visit whichoccurred on the same day. And also whatthe bailiff should charge for 2nd and 3rtd visits that occurred onthe same day also in relation to congestion charge fines. A bit long winded but would like anyone with any advice or been in a similar situation pleasechime in as i am at my wits end and no idea what to do. Kath

I am about to start a small claim to recover the money but first have sent an appeal to them which I am sure they will refuse. I parked in the allocated space I have. My brother was in the car park when they arrived but I had gone up to our flat. He came up to say they were going to clamp me even though he had explained it was our flat. By the time I got down there and showed my permit they had clamped the car and refused to remove the clamp even after they had seen the permit, unless I paid. I suggested they would lose money by doing this as I would have to rtecover it. They remained unconcerned.

hi all i am desperate i have gone to my car this morning to take kids to school to find my car has been clamped i called the number on the big red and white sticker and spoke to a balliff he said it was for unpaid parking fine from december i need some help i had no knoweledge of this no letters can they do this he didnt even knock on the door help please......

This is my first time here and looks like a great place for good advice! PLEASE help me quickly as I have only a couple of days to get my next step right. I SORN'd my car exactly a year ago and lept it on my drive for almost all that time. It was broken down with electrical and mechanical faults galore! In mid April I had workmen at the house and they needed the car moving. They were told they would have to push the car out of the way, advised it would be ok to put it on a kerbside on my cul-de-sac a few metres from my house. This they did. Then the DVLA turned up on the 26th April and clamps it. I protest the road is private, but after phoning the DVLA/VEAS enquiries desk they say no its a public road. I check with Highways and they confirm it is public highway. I am devastated this has occurred. I am forced to pay £260 to remove the clamp. £160 is returnable if I produce a valid tax disk to the DVLA pound within 14 days. I repair the car and get it MOTd and duly get the refund. I need to show the DVLA my logbook also. Great, I'm stung £100 and learn my lesson. However, the DVLA now send me a letter saying they require information by law (VERA 1994). They want the name of the registered keeper, address and a signature. They say the offence is ALLEGED. Surely, I had been found guilty without trial and fined already. Now they say the offence is alleged! Question 1: What is the next thing that will happen if I fill in the form? Question 2: Is a broken down and mechanically unsound car classed as a vehicle - can this be my defense? Question 3: I did not know exactly who pushed the car to the road - is this a good defense to escape the fine? Question 4: The legislation only demands I give the info required (keepers name and address). Should I sign the letter? Can they demand a time limit too for this info - I can't see that obligastion in the legislation? Question 5: All this stinks of Abuse of Process. A solicitor has told me confidently that if they cannot now take me to court or attempt to extract more fines - I want to believe him, but doubt he is right - any info about this please would be great. Question 6: Anyone with sound advice on how to either get out of further action or at least reducing the fines to a minimum? I'm obviously ashamed of my mistake and have learnt my lesson. But this process of the DVLA appears highly suspect if not fraudulent. Any thoughts? PLEASE PLEASE HELP - I am feeling really unwell with the stress and feeling of injustice in the punishments for such a little mistake. Thanks in advance, God Bless.

Hi, I was clamped last night at Star City, Birmingham as I was parked at right angles in a parking bay instead of the normal way, as this was the only 'space'in the full car park that I was able to fit my car. My car was not sticking out in any driving area, dangerous or any obstruction otherwise. And I feel the clamp and the £125 release fee was an absolute joke. I've attached photos of my car, the receipt, the clamp sign and a satellite view of the parking bays to indicate my parking (mine in black). Also, is it ambigious whether the triangular marked space that my car is in, is intended for parking or not? No yellow lines etc. I honestly thought I was doing nothing wrong. Be really, really grateful if people with the know-how/experience could have a look and let me know their thoughts on grounds for appeal... So angry! Going on holiday on Wednesday and this is exactly not what I needed.... Thanks so much for any help and advice offered. JK

Hey all, help needed URGENTLY! Yesterday, I found my car had been clamped outside. I phoned the number and the guy on the phone said he clamped it as we have a 2year old parking fine unpaid via the council! I visited the council letting them know that we were never aware of being issued a fine - if there is one I would pay it (fine was £80). The said that as fine so old I have to deal direct with clamper who wants £650! IfI dont pay by 11am, they tow my car and charge £200 for doing so -plus £45 a dy costs. I knew nothing of the £80 fine, and simply cannot afford this! What can I do? appreciate any help!

My husband pranged his car in January after skidding on ice on a country lane and turning the vehicle over. There was substantial damage to the side of the car and due to the engine being upturned for some time this resulted in it 'blowing'. Undrivable (due to engine failure) we arranged for our friend to tow the car back to our private property. My husband claimed on his insurance - Groupama - who immediately sent an engineer to view the car, deeming it a 'write-off'. He liaised with Groupama over the phone and negotiated a settlement figure and agreed that he could keep the vehicle in order for him to sell the parts for spares. He received a letter from Groupama with his settlement cheque stating that the vehicle was a Category C write off, that his insurance policy was now terminated and that in order to re-insure the vehicle, he must apply for a VIC. He was also asked to surrender the MOT. The car in question has stayed on our land ever since, until this week, we finally found a buyer the spares. Yesterday my husband and a friend, pushed the car (remember it has no engine) from its resting point to another position (still within our land) so that the buyer could easily push it on to a trailer. He then popped to the shops, returning 45 minutes later to find it clamped! It was a DVLA clamp! What a nightmare, the buyer was due to turn up within another hour, and my husband had to go to a funeral, so his secretary called the number on the warrant to be told that the vehicle had been clamped as it had no TAX and had not been declared SORN. She was told that regardless of the vehicle being on our private property, they were allowed to clamp the car. Obviously due to the iminant arrival of the buyer of the scrap he needed to have the clamp removed asap so the secretary paid £260 fine. We were under the impression that as the car had been written off that we did not need to apply for SORN as it states this on the Direct Gov website: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVehicle/UntaxedVehicle/DG_069727 and as my husband had surrendered the MOT, and the vehicle cannot be insured until it has passed a VIC then it would have been impossible to tax it! Anyway, husband called the DVLA this morning, to be told that there was no record on their system of the car being written off, only that it had been involved in an accident and that it was my husbands resosponsibilty to SORN the car. My question is this - surely it is the responsibilty of the Insurer to notify the DVLA that the vehicle is written off? Don't they have to log this fact with the ' motor insurance anti fraud and theft register' and the 'Motor Insurance Database' ??? What should we do next? Ideally we would like to claim back the £260 from the DVLA Any ideas????

I would appreciate your advice please. I have a permit to park in our office building carpark. It is controlled by Parking Control Services. Last week my car was clamped and I had to pay £205 to get it released. The reason was that my permit was back to front on the dashboard. It had blown over when I had gone to get my jacket at lunchtime and slammed the car door shut. From the outside it was obvious it was the permit. They are all small rectangular bits of white card. The same clampers/attendents are in the small car park every day and know who has permits and who don't as I have been parking every weekday since June. They did not go to reception and check about my car. When the guy came to unclamp, he said he knew what happened as he had seen the pictures and that I could appeal. I understand that private car operators will be made illegal soon and that this company, judging from other threads are not worth pursuing in courts as there is no one to find to get the money back from. Is what they did illegal though? Or was I in the wrong- even if by accident? Can I claim anything from the company that we rent offices from in the building who have contracted out this carpark? Should they not have agreed terms with them to check the number plates of cars who have paid to park there, or to double check with the manned reception before clamping their tenants? thanks.