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Driver's battle cry over clamping fine
Page 6
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• by Sally Nash Driver John Hunt, whose appeal against a hefty £155 wheelclamping charge has just been turned down, is calling on other drivers to join him in his battle for a refund (CM 29 May4 June).
Hunt's case began when he parked on a service road outside Tesco's store in West Thurrock in order to buy medicine for a cold. He was only gone 20 minutes but found he had been clamped on his return.
Hunt's argument is that the £150 payment for the release of the clamp plus £5 credit card charge is unfair for several reasons. According to a sign he read, it only said no overnight or weekend parking—Hunt was at the site in the afternoon. On the list of charges, £85 was the fee for the clamp release and £150 for the removal of the vehicle from the site, Hunt was surprised when he was given a ticket which had the £85 fee crossed out and the £150 charge hand-written in ts place.
Although his appeal against the fine has been declined by Slough-based clamping com pany Parking Control Management, Hunt has pledged to fight on.
He would like to hear from ether drivers who have had similar experiences at West Thurrock and who believe the clamping fees are unfair.
Hunt, who drives for Coventry-based international haulier John English, says: "I would like to contact other drivers who have been clamped in this area and try to organise a single legal action on behalf of the entire group."
CM tried to contact Mark Davis, manager at PCM, but he was unavailable for comment.
Meanwhile, Hunt has also frozen his subscriptions to the United Road Transport Union because he is unhappy with the response he received when he approached it for help. In a letter to the union, Hunt said: "I wanted more drivers to be warned about these clampers and someone to try to find out what my legal stance was with regard to this. The attitude of you cannot expect us to contact every member of the union and advise them of this' was not the reply I was looking for."
Further information can be found on the SIA website: www.the-sia.org.uk • Contact: John Hunt on 01332 874,817 (please leave a message) or 07950 013281, or send a text with contact details and he will return your call; e-mail: joneedeOlinyworld.co.uk