A
few years ago there were huge problems with cowboy wheel clamping companies
effectively extorting huge parking "fines" from innocent drivers for
very minor parking errors. I argued for a change at the time and the
government abolished the use of wheel clamping by these awful companies.
However,
it's clear that the problem has not been entirely solved. The same
companies have continued to try to rip off people for trivial parking mistakes
and to threaten and intimidate them with the threat of legal action.
The
most extraordinary cases I have seen recently have concerned Veor GP Surgery in
Camborne. The surgery has introduced a maximum one hour limit on parking
there. People turn up for their appointment on time but often find that
the doctors are running late, which is not unusual. Then, because the
surgery is running late, they overstay in the car park by a few minutes. The
next thing that happens is they have to endure the stress and strain of being
hounded by a cowboy parking company. They cannot speak to anyone on the
phone. The company refuses to discuss problems but just bully people for
cash. No one replies to letters. Veor surgery refuses to discuss
the problem with them.
These
companies don't actually have a statutory right to fine. Instead they
rely on a rather creative use of contract law to provide the basis for the way
they behave.
We
need to tighten the law to limit their powers, establish genuine dispute
resolution and appeals processes and to cap the size of the "fine"
that such companies are able to levy. We need to end the ridiculous situation
where the people who judge your parking appeal are the ones trying to rip you
off in the first place.
The
Conservative Manifesto outlined that steps will be taken to tackle rogue
private parking operators. I will be writing to DCLG to highlight the specific
case of Veor GP Surgery, as well as the parking company involved to ensure that
the lessons from this local problem are reflected in a national policy change.