Citywatch clamping
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Having your car towed can wreck your week. You have to dig out all your paperwork, find your way to the car pound and then grit your teeth as you stomach the fine. It's hard to swallow - even when you know you've parked somewhere you shouldn't have. But what if your car has been towed away and you're absolutely convinced you haven't done anything wrong? Well, the Watchdog team have received a number of complaints about London-based clampers Citywatch Parking Enforcement Limited, and decided to investigate.
Chi To had been thrilled by the off-street parking which came with the East London flat he bought last June. That was until he came home one day to be told that his car was no longer in the car park. At first, Chi thought his car had been stolen. It hadn't. The police told Chi that his car had been clamped and taken away.
Valid parking permits
Citywatch had been contracted to patrol the area around Chi's flat and they told him that he hadn't displayed a valid parking permit. And if Chi wanted his car released he had to pay £550. Chi had no choice but to pay up, even though he was adamant that his car did have a valid permit on display: "I am 100 per cent sure, I am more than 100 per cent sure. I always had my permit in exactly the same place."
Chi was livid - and the pictures Citywatch sent him to prove that a permit wasn't showing haven't appeased him. To take the pictures at the angles they did, Citywatch clampers would have had to crouch right down. We took similar pictures to those Citywatch sent him, and when taken from a certain angle, it isn't possible to see Chi's permit. But when a photo is taken standing up, Chi's permit is clearly on display.
We'll never know if Chi's permit was there when his car was towed. But because of the way they took their pictures, Citywatch's photographers would certainly have missed it.
All clampers need a licence
Regardless of the truth here, there is something that Citywatch do which is much more black and white. And illegal. All clampers need a licence from the Security Industry Authority (SIA), and by law, they must put their licence number on their paperwork. We showed the receipt Citywatch gave Chi to Jo Abbot from the RAC foundation. She wasn't impressed: "In this case there is a space for the licence details and they haven't been included. The cheek of it is that on the bottom it says 'in accordance with SIA regulations'."
Clampers breaking the law
We've seen more Citywatch receipts without those crucial details. And Citywatch clampers have broken other regulations too. Secret filming by Watchdog researchers showed staff failing to display their licences clearly. The law says clampers should have their licences visible on their persons, but Citywatch clampers are breaking it. When we questioned three of their clampers, only one showed us his licence. The other two refused to provide any identification, and claimed that their licences did not need to be on display.
Jo Abbot took a look at our footage, and said that the Citywatch clampers were operating outside the law: "The clamping operatives that you've showed me in that footage aren't displaying their licences and they seemed to be ever so slightly reluctant to show it. I think if they absolutely refuse to show a licence to you then you should walk away from the scene and call the police because at that point it's quite clear that they aren't operating within the law."
And whether their licence was on display or not, getting your car back from Citywatch can set you back a hefty sum. The British Parking Association recommends a maximum clamping release fee of £125. And Citywatch's charge? A hefty £465. That's clearly a lot of money to pay, even if you've parked somewhere you shouldn't have. But it gets even worse. Once Citywatch has your car, there's no knowing what they might do with it...
Car vanished while owner was on holiday
Jackylene Awora's car disappeared while she was away on holiday, so her family reported it to the police as stolen. In fact, it had been towed by Citywatch who said that it wasn't displaying a valid tax disc. And even though Jackylene could prove that her car WAS taxed, Citywatch refused to let her near her car until she'd paid a £700 fine. Unable to pay a fine increasing by £30 a day, Jackylene heard nothing for four months.
Then she received a phone call from the police. They'd spotted Jackylene's car being driven around by somebody else. It transpired that Citywatch had, outrageously, sold Jackylene's car. Jackylene was devastated, and we spoke to Trading Standards, who are in no doubt that Citywatch had broken the law.
Clear case of theft
Sue McDaid of Enfield Council Trading Standards told us: "They've not received her permission. That is a clear case of theft. It's daylight robbery."
There's always a little bit of you that thinks you've had a raw deal when you're caught by the clampers, wherever you were parked. And if it was Citywatch that did the clamping, you might actually be right.
East Homes
East Homes is the organisation that runs Jackylene Awora's estate. It says it never endorsed or agreed to Citywatch Parking Enforcement Ltd operating on its estates. It says Citywatch acted unlawfully in removing Jackylene's car.
"On 18 June, East Homes was informed by some of our residents that [parking enforcement company] ISTM was no longer providing these parking services, and that [ISTM] had been taken over by Citywatch. We were informed that parking signs on the estate had been changed to Citywatch signs. The next day a member of staff visited the estate to verify this. We tried to contact ISTM by phone but were unable to get through. We checked on the Companies House website and found that ISTM had ceased trading in May 2008.
"We had received no formal notification that Citywatch had taken over the contract, so we immediately wrote to ISTM (on 19 June) informing them that they must cease all activity on our estates. In response to this we received an email from Dawn Wallis, managing director of Citywatch, on 23 June, saying that Citywatch had purchased ISTM's client database in February 2008 and had been serving the contract since then."
"We then had two meetings with Citywatch to clarify the relationship between them and ISTM. We met with the owner of Citywatch, Ray Linard, on 20 June and also met with Paul McArthur, director of Citywatch, on 15 July. Following these meetings we decided to end all association with Citywatch and asked them to remove all signage from our estates."
"East Homes denies authorising anyone other than ISTM to remove Jackylene Awora's vehicle or dispose of it at auction. If, as appears to be the case, the vehicle was removed by anyone other than an authorised contractor, then it was unlawfully removed."
"Any correspondence by East Homes with Citywatch was in support of Jackylene and an attempt to establish what had happened. It did not constitute an endorsement of Citywatch operating on our estates.
"It appears to East Homes from the evidence collected, including that from Jackylene Awora, that Citywatch removed Jackylene's vehicle without lawful authority. East Homes has done nothing wrong and therefore it would be inappropriate for us to compensate Jackylene.
"However, we are not happy with the outcome of this case and for this reason we have offered financial support to Jackylene to assist her in pursuing legal proceedings against Citywatch should she wish to do so."
Response from Citywatch Parking Enforcement Ltd:
Citywatch Parking Enforcement Ltd confirmed that on 5 November 2008 it became members and Approved Operators of the BPA.
The company says: "All of our employees are licensed through the SIA, and carry out their duties in accordance with SIA guidelines. We are aware that our employees must display their licences at all times. However, in the past, the SIA have provided the licences to us on lanyards so that the licences may be worn around the neck. This has proven impractical and many of our employees view them as a hazard and would resist wearing them. Once we became aware of this problem, we recently purchased armband badge holders so that all of our employees can wear their licences clearly displayed in the armband without practical problems as our employees perform their duties."
On the case of Chi To:
"Please see the attached photographs [photos were sent to BBC Watchdog] of Mr To's car which clearly show that no permit was not displayed on his dashboard. As a matter of course of employment and professional obligation, we require our employees to do all they reasonably can to determine if a valid permit is displayed or not. If an employee reasonably cannot see a permit clearly displayed when patrolling, as was the case here, then we feel the employee is within his rights as a reasonable onlooker. We require that customers not only display the permit but display it in such a way that it can be seen. This seems logical and fair and far-fetched to suggest that the camera angle viewing this vehicle from where the employee is standing is somehow to blame."
"All operatives are trained through their vehicle immobilisation course and under the guidelines of the BPA how to take the correct photographs to ensure that we have the correct evidence."
"Our release fee is agreed with the customer that contracts with us. Our clamp fee is £100 and less than the BPA guidelines. Therefore, Mr To would have had 24 hours to make the payment of £100 pounds for the release of his vehicle's clamp. Mr To's charges comprised the standard and commercially competitive prices of £100 for the clamp plus £365 removal fee and £30 per day storage charge."
On Jackylene Awora:
"Ms Awora's vehicle was clamped on 7 April 2008 by Citywatch Parking Enforcement Ltd for parking on private property without a valid permit. Please see attached photographs [photos were sent to BBC Watchdog] that were taken at the time of the incident and clearly show that Miss Awora's vehicle did not display a valid tax disc. We wrote to Ms Aurora [sic.] on 11 April advising that her car was in our possession and giving reasons for why her car was removed. We also clearly stated the consequences, if the vehicle was not collected. I can confirm that the vehicle was sold at auction as stated in our letters sent to Miss Awora."
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~26~RS~)
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My wife parked in an unmarked area commonly used by all and sundry in Stamford Lincs. She received a ticket from COUNTY PARKING ENFORCEMENT OF NORTHAMPTON for parking in a marked area even though there were no warning signs or anything else. She took photos to prove this and they simply sent another demand for cash and a threat of debt collection and county court. We asked them to proceed to County Court as we were intent of defending our position, they then disappeared, never to be heard of since - not even an apology. Many would have just paid up, this is intimidation and is wrong. Regards J GLEN
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Accepting that when wearing our motorist hat we are regarded as fair game for all forms of abuse.
To this end Civil Enforcement officers, Clampers and Bailiffs may well be part of the same company.
When playing recordings of companies like "citywatch parking enforcement" operating in an improper why do you conceal the faces of the enforcers?
Reclaim the country.
[Personal details removed by Moderator]
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
Extortionate behaviour by clampers will continue until there is statutory regulation of the activity including maximum towage charges, maximum daily storage charges etc.
Self regulation and guidelines are toothless and thus not adhered to by unscrupulous operators.
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Very interesting re private clamping, debt collection - just one thing - as usual you deal only with one part of the uk. So far as I'm aware PRIVATE clamping is illegal in scotland (and presumably in n ireland!!) where to clamp is 'damage', removing a car is theft and demanding money to get it back is extortion. Why does england put up with this iniquitous arrangement? Only police/traffic wardens should be authorised to clamp and remove cars. When dealing with 'the law' (ie english law) your prog should be very careful of ignoring the laws applying to the 'Other Bits' otherwise it is giving erroneous advice. I know your mindset is that englandshire equals britain and britain equals england, and you never bother to even think about the difference but you should be clearly stating what the law is in the rest of the uk also.
So far as debt collecting is concerned, the law is different in the 'Other Bits' as well!! For example in scotland we don't have bailliffs we have sheriff officers. Other aspects may be different also but you ignore this.
Scotsman Campbell should know this or has he been living in englandshire too long?
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We have had a rash of cars being clamped by CityWatch in Waltham Forest including customers being clamped in supermarket car parks and one councilors car being clamped with his wife sitting in the car. WF Guardian ran a story about this last week.
Regards
Steve
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I have parked my car now for over 1 year at my flat and also rent a flat there. I use a space that is given to me by a friend who owns a property a property in the same complex which comes with a parking space. The parking space requires a permit and electronic key and is situated underneath the building (where I live). The permit is displayed in the driver side window. The car park is secure with an electronic opening door which can only be operated using an electronic key fob.
In August the tax ran out of my car and so I SORN it off the road with the DVLA and received a letter from the DVLA explaining what I needed to do if I wanted to put it back on the road. The reason why I took this route was because the TAX had ran out as well as the MOT and with Christmas approaching I wanted to wait until my bonus in January before I put it back on the road.
On 21st January 2009 I received a letter from the DVLA saying that someone was trying to register as a keeper of my car. It also said I had to call the DVLA if I was still in possession of the vehicle.
As the car is parked in what I thought to be a safe place I never checked on it nor did I attempt to drive it as it would be illegal.
On 22nd January 2009 I reported the car stolen with the police and immediately contacted the DVLA. The same day the police contacted me and told me that it had been pushed out of the garage and towed on the 10th November by City Watch Parking enforcement.
I spoke to a George ……… at City Watch who told me “it was parked illegally”. At this point I mentioned to George, who was very rude and intimidating, that I was using a space provided by someone who owned a property there and that there was a permit displayed in the window. George then replied that it was “illegal to park the car on the property without a valid tax disk”. I then proceeded to ask him where this was displayed to which he replied “in your contract with your landlord”. He clearly did not understand that the car parking space was owned by a friend of mine which I explained to him. I have also spoken to him and he has not received any communication about this and it is not in his lease. He then said I needed to display a “SORN DISC” in the window of the car to which I replied that I had never been sent a SORN DISC. I have since spoken to the DVLA and they have told me that this is not the case and I do not need to display anything in the car and that I should be fine if the car is not parked on the road.
I then asked George why there was no communication sent to me to tell me the car had been taken. He replied and said that a letter had gone out on the 16th November. I, nor the property owner have received any communication from City Watch Enforcement. I asked George to send the communication out again which he agreed to do. He also told me that the car was still there and I could get it back if I paid 2.5k I asked him to hold off until I contact the Citzens Advice Bureau (I have not been able to get hold of them).
As I had received no communication from City Watch I then contacted them again on Thursday 29th January and mentioned that I had not received any communication from them. At this point George said he would send through the 2 letters (from the 16th and the 22nd) again by recorded delivery so I would receive it the next day. Again I have received no communications and no card from the royal mail to say that they have called. Also on this day George has updated me to say that he sold the car on 22nd of December.
I have also spoken to the Police and DVLA again who tell me that I have definitely got a case and that I need to speak to Solicitor or the Citizens Advice Bureau. I have not been able to contact the CAB. The DVLA have given me 2 weeks from Thursday 29th January before they release the keepership to whoever is looking to purchase the car.
I have also spoken to BMW to get a quote for the car which I am getting in Writing on headed paper. This quote is £5995. I am also repaying a private loan on the car where the balance is around 2.5k remaining.
I have also had to take 2 days off work to make all the phone calls which has cost me around £215 per day.
I now have a soliciter looking into the case but appreciate some help from Watchdog.
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Why have the police not been informed, given all details as reported on screen, and repeated on the web site, as surely these cases of car towing are simple theft and should be treated as such.
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As far as I know, if clampers illegal sell on your car, you still retain ownership, the seller is guilty of theft, the buyer is guilty of handling stolen goods and the police can recover your car.
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It really is about time this industry is regulated. I myself am trying to have what is rightfully my money returned to me. I parked in a poorly signed carpark, where the signs are placed in the depths of the carpark, NOT at the entrance as you would expect. It used to be a free car park and nothing alerted me to the fact that the rules had changed. I arived at my car in time to see it lifted before my eyes, it was singulary the most distressing thing I have encountered! I was 100+ miles from home with my 3 small children. My car was taken 300yds down the road where I was told if I wanted my car back I must pay an excessive amount of money. Which I had to do in order to get my children and I home.
The BPA are out for themselves and do not listen to complaints, nor do the SIA. And I've been informed that the mere fact there was signage, no matter how inadaquate, means I stand very little chance in small claims court.
I was treated like a criminal and no one concerned will listen to my complaints and appeals.
I was not aware of these practices before I became a victim and I was aghast to find they occur.
This is legalised pirating!!
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The citywatch website does not give the registered office address (now illegal)
The use of documents claiming to comply with the SIA code when they do not would be an offence under the provision of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading regs enforced by Trading Standards; however this is prevented by the requirement to use 'existing means' (i.e. the SIA ) instead of prosecuting
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The citywatch website does not give the registered office address (now illegal)
The use of documents claiming to comply with the SIA code when they do not would be an offence under the provision of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading regs enforced by Trading Standards; however this is prevented by the requirement to use 'existing means' (i.e. the SIA ) instead of prosecuting.
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city watch clamped my car while my son was in the car. I was only away for 2 minutes,they clamped my car and said it is better to pay to release it otherwise i will have debt collectors knocking on my door!!
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My daughter had exactly the same experience as Mr Chi To, though the security firm involved was another one. She was parked correctly in an off road space provided with her flat and her car contained her baby's pushchair, car seat and other essential baby equipment. At 10pm her car was clamped and towed away, with no attempt made to contact her, even though she was in her flat close by. The reason given was that her permit was not displayed, though she always has her permit in the car. There is no reason for it to be anywhere else. When she discovered it was missing she thought it had been stolen, but the police put her right. She had to carry her baby, who had a chest infection, on the underground to the depot and pay over £400 to get her car back. The permit had mysteriously vanished from the car. When she said she could not afford to pay, [the company] told her she should bring the car documents to them and the car would become their property.
This behaviour is outrageous and cannot be legal, though I am having great difficulty in finding the necessary information to help me prove that [the company] acted illegaly. My requests for information from the SIA have so far been fruitless.
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I live above some shops and I have parked in the same place for over three years with no problems. There have NEVER been any parking restrictions in place.
One evening early Jan 09 I came home from work and parked where I usually park. A neighbour knocked on my door informing me tht my car had been clamped (along with his) and a tow truck was on its way.
CITYWATCH had put signs up that day (without prior warning to residents) and they took my vehicle.
The owners of the shop that instructed them said that I was allowed to park there and should never have been clamped and towed.
Being a single mother my dad had to bail me out. I have been assured a refund from the company. But three weeks later I am still waiting even though I appealed straight away and have had this confirmed over the telephone!!
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tuff get over it watch where you park don't get clamped, simple
your all to busy thinking of nothing but you, your cars clamped your fault.
35 years driving all over the country never clamped once, why because i make sure i check where i park
"come on the clampers"
i just wish they could clamp parents on the school run
blocking the roads while they talk to their mates about nothing, while causing a mile long tale back
only to get back in the people carrier they need for one 6yr old and drive 300 yards home.
the only problem i have with clampers is the fines are too low
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I have been clamped 3 times and never paid a fee as the clampers have been in the wrong every time, Most people would have paid and the clamper would have won, I say fight them every time, There not intrested in making roads saffer or anythink else except easy money,
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On 10/11/08 my son’s car, which was parked in the car park at the block of flats where he lives, was clamped. He had lived there for nearly a year. The terms of his lease state that he has permission to park there and he was issued with a parking permit when he moved in.
The clamping company that operates in the car park recently changed hands or names (I am not sure which).[Company name removed by Moderator]. Despite the fact that his permit was on display, my son’s car was clamped and he had to pay a £120 release fee. My son who has Aspergers Syndrome found this very distressing and confusing and so I telephoned the clamping company on his behalf. They said that he had been clamped because he was not displaying the new permit (which, as it turned out, had not, at that point, been issued to a number of residents in the block). I was told that I should speak to the person on the residents committee who should have distributed the new permits and within a matter of a few hours the correct permit was put through my son’s letterbox. He then put the new permit in his car. Shortly after that, this man was removed from the residents committee.
My son did not have the money to pay the fine and on seeking legal advice, was told not to pay as he should not have been clamped in the first place. While I was still trying to sort out what we should do to get it released, the car was towed away despite the fact that he was now displaying the new permit. We were told that he now had to pay an additional £125 towing charge with £20 being added daily for storage. My son was still not in a position to pay this him self but reluctantly accepted help from me to get his car back. When my son picked his car up from the compound he saw that the bonnet had been damaged and pointed this out to the staff at the clamping company. We were told to come back in a couple of days to look at photographs.
We did this but were then told we couldn’t see any photographs and we had to write a letter of appeal and complaint which we duly did on 14th November. We then wrote a second letter, on 22nd November, when my son realised that his car alarm was not working and an intermittent fault had developed on the electrics (which we believe occurred when the towing company disconnected his car alarm to tow away the vehicle.) We finally received a reply, on 30th December, saying that the appeal was unsuccessful, stating that they were “employed to keep private car parking areas freely available for bona fide persons…” and the vehicle was not displaying a correct permit for the car park.” However it did not mention the damage that they had done. It also said that “once a decision has been reached it is final and unless you are able to provide new evidence to support your appeal, we will not enter into further communication.” I wrote another letter on 25th January questioning their explanation as my son is a “bona fide person” and he was using the permit he had been issued with. I also questioned why they had failed to comment on the damage. I have not received a reply to this letter.
I would be grateful for any help that Watchdog could offer us as I am at a loss for what to do next.
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I had my car clamped on private property by this intimidating firm of people I went to the police three days running and all they could say it was a civil matter.They took my car with no consent a mercedes and after three days had to pay £525 to get my car which was stolen.To go through the courts would have taken too long my car would have cost a fortune.They have just a portacabin rig up and are ripping people off badly.In the cabin it says if you pay by card you incurr I think it was 5% extra How can they get away with this
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my car was towed away by a company called [company name removed] i was parked on the viking hotel carpark in blackpool prom where there is a pay and display carpark i tried to buy a ticket but was told to come back in a few hrs when they was not busy so i did and my car had been towed away the towing company said it was £225. to get my car back and 10 min latter when they took me to the cash machine and took me to there compound wich was a public carpark (wich would be £3.00 for 4 hrs parking ) and then charged me £250. to get my car back i needed it for work the following day so i had no choice but to pay it i think it was pure robery two men intimadating you to pay the fee they would only take 1 person to the compound to collect it
john, blackpool
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My van was clamped today by Citywatch at the rear of some shops on Old Church Road (24), Chingford, London E4. I was charged £488 to have the clamp removed! I had been working in one of these buildings some months ago and there were no parking restrictions in place. After paying to have it i removed i enquired within the shops if anyone knew who had issued Citywatch with the contract to enforce parking restrictions. No-one seemed to know and indeed, some of the shop workers had even been clamped themselves! I would be grateful if anyone can point me in the right direction as to how i find out who owns the land behind the shops, and if Citywatch can legally carry out these works without entering into a contract with the landowner?
MANY THANKS
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My car was clamped last weekend (15/Apr) in Cherrydown Ave, Chingford, E4 after I had parked my car for literally a few seconds in an old supermarket car park entrance which has recently been developed over, to pop into a shop a couple of doors away. I had parked my car and was just walking from alley when I noticed a Citywatch van slow down past me. At this point I was't aware that clampers were in force in this particular area as I hadn't noticed the sign (which was really high up on the wall) plus it had always previously been a legitmate parking area with no yellow lines. I walked slightly further and turned round to see were van was going. It was at this point, I saw van spin round and come back down the road at a high speed into the alley where I was parked. In the meantime, having raced back to my car, I found the clamper had just touched my tyre with the clamp. I tried to reason with both the men (who were arrogant and thuggish) and advised them, as they had watched me walk from the alley and rush back to the car, they were aware I had been there literally seconds but all they could sarcastically reply back was that I shouldn't have left my vehicle unattended and there was nothing they could do. On top of that, they advised I would have to pay £465.00 up front and when I reluctantly agreed to pay as I had no option with my visa card, he advised that their PDQ machine wasn't working and I would have to wait 40 mins for a replacement to be delivered by one of their colleagues!! How can this be justified, it is daylight robbery and there doesn't seem to be any proper code of conduct in place to stop this sort of thing going on. I am not justifying the fact I was parked in an illegitmate space but the amount of money being charged is a complete rip off. I would be grateful for any advise on how I can take further action.
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