Private land parking scam at the M.E.N Arena

[Frodo999]

Hello I'm stuck as to what is the right course of action to take with whats happened to me so after reading a few similar threads and the great responses given I thought this is a good place to start.

 

I went to the Manchester M.E.N arena on Sat 14th Nov. When I got there I saw a big yellow sign in the road which said ARENA PARKING and an arrow pointing down a street. Further down the street was another sign with an arrow and around that corner I came across the expected fluorescent vested parking attendant who shouted "Arena mate? Just park it over there and back it in." Which I did. Also to mention the area I parked in also had a yellow sign on it saying ARENA PARKING. To descibe the area, it had plenty of other cars parked there and other people pulling is as I did. It was sort of like inner city waste land, Ive attached some pictures.

 

When I returned after a great evening the car was gone. Thought it was stolen at first but then saw an A4 piece of paper on some boarding that was completely unlit and which I didnt see when I pulled in. A picture of it is attached but it says along the lines of private land clamping and towing in operation 24hrs. Then it listed the fees £125 for clamp, £250 for tow £50 every day stored. So straight away we were at £425. I called the number and the guy said I was parked on private land and didnt have a permit. I protested that I was told to park there by arena staff (big yellow arena parking signs had now disappeared) to which he replied was not his problem. He informed me that I could get the car at 10am monday morning as it was now 10.50pm sat night and they are closed on sundays. I had travelled from sheffield that night and couldn't believe I couldn't get my car back until monday. The guy on the phone said it would cost me £425 to get my car back as they dont charge for sundays as they are closed.

 

I stayed at a friends in manchester on sat night as there were no more trains to sheffield and i went home on sunday. I took monday off work to return to manchester to collect my car. When I got there the man said it was £475 to get my car back because two days. I protested and said what I had been told over the phone which he said was wrong and reitterated it would be £475 to release my car . So added to the train ticket it cost me over £500.

 

Where can I start with this?

[crem]

I'm no clamping expert (I think that is pin1onu's field) but as far as I understood only the clamping OR the towing can be charged for and not both. (Then again that is probably true but only for "official" council towing).

 

Once an offer to pay has been made then the car must be released immediately. I think they are well into the area of illegallity by towing vehicles then closing up shop during the whole of Sunday.

 

Looks like you will need to send them a LBA then issue court papers against the clamper and landowner.

[ncf355]

Sounds like outright extortion to me

 

I wouldnt have thought you are liable to pay them a damn penny, but I await the comments of the more knowledgable parking enforcement types

[JonCris]

I also think your should report your suspicions to the Police. That you think you were deliberately led to park there so they could stitch you up. You never know the police may have already received similar compliants

[Jan4a]

There was a [problem] in Manchester centre a few months ago where men dressed as parking attendants were charging commuters £3 a day to park. After around 2 weeks someone cottoned on and one morning the Police were there telling people it was private land and the owners hadn't authorised the car parking and knew nothing about it. Apparently these people just find empty land, stick a sign up and sell parking space until they get caught. Either they have now progressed to clamping as well or there are two different cons going on here!

 

Definately tell the Police - they know its happened before.

 

Jan

[buzby]

As Jana notes - the [problem] is with the original offer of parking - it doesn;t exist, and because one 'official' tells you it's fine, you are inclined to believe them. It's a mazing what people will beleive from anyone wearing a reflective jacket. Of course, you pay up front so they get their money up front, and what happens to your car after that is anyone's guess.

 

You've been too trusting - and of course the fact your car has been lifted by a PPC for parking where you were 'told' to is of no interst to the firm that provided the service. If it could be proved that the two were somehow linked, you'd have a provable fraud and a chance to involve the police, but these things are arranged at very short notice, and disappear at dusk - giving them a profit, and you with a very big hole in your wallet.

[lamma]

probably the yellow jackets are the clampers themselves.

[Al27]

Try contacting the Manchester Evening News. They like stories like this.

 

How much was your car worth?

[londoncass]

Their process of charging you clamping, towing and storage is currently legal .. or rather currently not illegal!

 

If you didn't see the signs then you have an open and shut case, though you are going to have to take this to the small claims court.

 

First write to the clampers and state exactly what happened and that you didn't see the signs as they were not prominent and therefore any restriction on the site was not clearly brought to your attention.

 

I hope you paid by credit card, if so, get on the blower and ask for a chargeback as you have now discovered it was an unlawful transaction. Chances are they wont want to know so just make sure it is marked as disputed (you will still have to pay when the bill comes thru though).

 

When you write to the clampers, state that if you don't receive a full refund you will take them to small claims court where you will be adding your cost of the train ticket and a day off work as it was unreasonable not to allow you to get your car back on the Sunday when you had agreed to pay their charge etc.

[Surfer01]

Misleading you is illegal, i.e. [problem] sgns for parking however surely this must have happened with the other people parked up there. police is till your best bet followed up by a claim against the clampers in the small claims court.

[buzby]

probably the yellow jackets are the clampers themselves.

 

 

Unlikely - since you can but bibs and jackets everywhere (from Lidll to Machine Mart, Maplins and HSS hire shops) finding an all-night chemist is harder.

[JimmySpangle]

This is a clear case of deception. That IS illegal and as such make a formal complaint to police.

[buzby]

I don't think saying 'he wore a hi-viz vest' will achieve the desired result. You'd need to identify who misrepresented the parkings - which, unless you had viable evidence - would be a non starter.

[Al27]

Clamping is a matter of consent. See VINE v WALTHAM FOREST.

 

Person appearing to be landowner's agent giving permission to park would still mean you did not consent to being clamped at any stage.

 

If you own the land and do not notice people misusing it in this manner, but then still persist in clamping and towing, that is your problem. Especially in an area right next to the Arena, it's stupid not to have a sign saying 'no arena parking at any time'. The fact there is not one and the vast sums being made, point circumstantially to the landowner's involvement.

 

I would say you wouldn't need to identify who told you to park. This is just a matter of consent. Although a video showing the situation around the MEN would be useful in demonstrating to the judge what it's like on event days - men in high vis jackets pointing and directing at every corner is the situation.

 

But in the meantime, try the police and then you'll have to pay to get back the car and sue the landowner.

[buzby]

Sorry - but where do you get the connection that there was somehow implied consent? Since the parking signs 'disappeared' it could easily be argued that the landowner was in no way party to the [problem], As for saying 'no arena parking' I have to ask, why? If the signs on the land stated it was for permit holders, what else is required?

 

As for hi-viz jackets - they do not provide any authority whatsoever, especially as you are notr even required to follow their directions, but the OP has been well and truly stitched up in this. It makes public transport even more appealing - even in Manchester!

[buzby]

Dupe

[Graham117]

Even if the landowner wasn't involved in the parking [problem], there are still reasons to claim against them here, such as the fact the signage was unlit, the double charging, the refusal to release the car immediately etc...

[buzby]

AIUI there is NO requirement foor signage to be lit after dusk - although I agree it would assist in their case if it was, it doesn't invalidate it. That said, it might be worthwhile to challenge the clampers, but this means spending more money with a small claims action and no guarantee of success. Effectively, it is ther ball and game - the [problem] was just the icing on the cake (and wouild be beneficial if it can be proved the two are linked).

[Al27]

Sorry - but where do you get the connection that there was somehow implied consent? Since the parking signs 'disappeared' it could easily be argued that the landowner was in no way party to the [problem], As for saying 'no arena parking' I have to ask, why? If the signs on the land stated it was for permit holders, what else is required?

 

You could argue that the landowner wasn't involved, but it's all about balance of probabilities. The land is next to the arena, surrounded by Arena car parks and numerous men and women in high vis jackets pointing to areas to park. And yet he doesn't make it clear his car park is not to be used for those using the arena. This situation may be easier to visualise if you could see what it's like on the Trinity ring road on arena days.

 

This is a secondary aspect though. A man claiming to be an agent of the landowner invites you to park on his client's land in exchange for money. Surely this makes a small sign in the dark redundant?

 

There is no consent to being clamped in this situation in my view.

[buzby]

There is no consent to being clamped in this situation in my view.

 

Nor in mine, in view of the earlier transaction - but then, unless you can prove a link, they do not matter. As for the nearness of the official parking, you are expecting a perfect workd. If the landowner uses this as a revenue generator, the only thing you could expect is the ARENA to put up signs saying it isn't an oficial car park - are they complicit because they hadn't?

[Al27]

Which takes me back to evidence proving the situation on the ground. Anybody could say that man told me so, but photos showing how the parking situation works on the ground when it's an arena night would be useful. Is it reasonable for a landowner to be surrounded by car parks but open his up and clamp cars on it? Most land for arena parkers in the area have metal chains up during the day.

[Jan4a]

Agree with an earlier post - contact Manchester Evening News. If they're involved Police will be inclined to take more notice. might be worth looking on their website as well to see if this clamping company have featured in there before.

[pin1onu]

AIUI there is NO requirement foor signage to be lit after dusk - although I agree it would assist in their case if it was, it doesn't invalidate it.

 

Although there is no legislative requirement, case law implies that the signage should be lit. They cannot claim "informed consent" if the sign couldn't be seen. You cannot park in defiance of a sign if you can't see it. Obviously as the claimant you would have to make your case. If I was the OP I would be returning to site after dark to take photographs without flash so the judge can see the invisibility of the signs.

[Jan4a]

The signs might be perfect now. Its possible the "car park attendants" and the clampers are two different entities. Car park attendants could have hidden signs whilst they took parking money off everyone and then disappeared leaving everyone to get clamped.

 

Can't get my head round where he was clamped or I'd have a look! Am near there most days.

[lamma]

could also be the same crowd who cover up the signs with the parking ones own and then later its Hey Presto ! When is the next event there ? anyone on the board local to it and have video on their mobile phone ?