1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188 
CLAMP DOWN ON THE CLAMPERS
Page 10
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
" But anyone, it seems, can set
up a damping business and charge to release vehides "
Frustrating. Distressing Expensive. Three words which sum up the pain of your vehicle being clamped. CM 's exposé this week features one driver who had been out of his truck for less than five minutes before being clamped. And with a £250 fee to pay for the pleasure of returning to work it's little wonder that people are becoming more and more aggrieved by the actions of clamping firms and their staff.
Thurrock industrial estate illustrates the problems perfectly. On the one hand, every warehouse, shop or superstore on the estate needs stock, which arrives by truck. But despite its obvious dependence on trucks, there seems to be little effort made to accommodate them. There are few parking places, leaving drivers little option but to park where they can. Better planning, and a more sensible attitude towards trucks, would go a long way towards alleviating the problems truckers encounter, and it would help stop the alleged damage their vehicles cause.
But there is a wider argument in all of this. Clamping is an infant industry making an obscene profit. Of course, like any industry, there are good and bad firms, But anyone, it seems, can set up a clamping business. Only a traffic warden can give you a parking ticket; only a police officer can fine you for speeding. So why should you pay out £250 a time to an unregulated company? It's anomalous and injust There are moves afoot to introduce clamping legislation, and for anyone who has faced the frustration and expense of being clamped, it can't come soon enough.
• This week's rental test is an eye-opener: we were surprised by the difference in what you get for your money from a basic fleet-spec truck to the apparent luxury of the lveco Stralis. But that difference should be a worry for lveco: it would suggest that it's seriously under-valuing its heavy truck. Buyers are often suspicious if they can get a luxury vehicle for the same price as a much more basic vehicle, and that can turn them away from something which would otherwise be a good deal. You might not want to buy a Stralis, but we reckon it should be top of your Christmas rental list.