Hi All,
This is my first time on here so be gentle
My reason for posting is that I found my car clamped this morning. I live in a Flat that has private parking for residents around it, as is always the case there isnt enough marked spaces for everyone so we part where we can trying not to block anything in the process. So when i came home last night from work there was no where left to park so i put the car onto a section of pavement between marked bays, I've used this space on and off since I moved here about 8 months ago and never had a problem with it.
So I was quite surprised this morning to find a clamp on my car! I immediately contacted the company involved, whom I assumed was Guardian Parking Management as they issue our parking permits but there was no introduction when the phone was answered so I dont know who exactly i spoke to! I needed the car and they wouldnt hear anything about me having not parked anywhere I shouldnt have so I provided my debit card details (dont have credit cards otherwise i would have used one) and after 30 odd minutes a van turned up and removed the clamp and handed me an invoice.
The man who released my car said he didnt know why I was clamped, and when he saw I had a valid visitors permit displayed said "I would appeal this if I was you mate". I told him that I intended to! He then went on to say that a reason for me being clamped hadnt been recorded, so wrote "Unauthorised Parking" on the invoice, he did venture that it might have been because I was on the pavement though. He did mention that the parking rules for our site had gotten changed recently and we would have been informed about it, I replied that we hadnt heard anything of the sort!
When i was down at my car having the clamp removed I noticed a post-it note on the windscreen from our Residents Association President saying "If you want to complain about being clamped please contact me". When I spoke to her she said that they had been working towards getting rid of Guardian Parking Management as there had been numerous complaints from other residents about being "unfairly" parked. All had been appealed but no one had gotten any money back, this was also the case in one incident that the flats management agents, who employ Guardian, had backed the resident against Guardian but still no refund. I dont think anyone has taken them to court or even threatened to.
The interesting part of this conversation was that she told me that Guardian had contacted our management agents saying that they were happy about the contract as they werent getting enough money from our site anymore as everyone was parking correctly. At a director level there was some discussion and the rules were changed, however the first I've heard of this was today and apparently im not alone as no one here has been informed of the changes yet. I do remember noticing that new signs had gone up around the place a few weeks ago but thought nothing more of it.
Ok, theres the background. Ive scanned all relevant documents and I also took photos of where the car was and signs etc.
My Thoughts then...
I did park on the pavement, however there signage states "No parking in Roadway areas. Any vehicle parked in roadway area will be clamped/towed away" so no mention of parking on pavements - i did nothing wrong here. The back of the Invoice says "Not complied with clear signage and parking regulations" the only other parking regulations are apparently in the Hand Book of Residents Rules, except there isnt anything in the handbook on parking, we do have a really small scrap of paper on a notice board that basically says you must be authorised to park here - so again no rules broken. The reason for clamping me on the invoice is "Unauthorised Parking" so is this what they are "accusing" me of? I am authorised as I had a valid and displayed permit - so again i didnt break this rule either. Can they add to this and say it was where I was parked as well? Or does the fact that their invoice state it mean that this is the only rule they can accuse me of breaking?
My question is this - where do i go from here? What should I do first?
I think i need to write a letter of appeal and see what happens from there or is there something else I could or should do?
Pictures/Documents:
(Sorry for the large size of some of them)
Location of Car (its the Black Astra):
Car with Clamp (please note small white smudge on dashboard underneath Tax Disc - this is my parking permit):
Close Up of Permit in Car:
Photo of Signs found in Car Park:
Invoice Front:
Invoice Back: