June 2009

Call off the hospital car park clampers

When you are visiting a friend or relative in hospital, most people would agree, you have more important things to worry about than the car park.

But how would you feel if you picked up a parking ticket or, worse still, had your vehicle clamped while you were there?

In fact a new nationwide survey shows that most British motorists - 60% of them - believe that clamping should NEVER be used in a hospital car park.

And of those who accept that some form of parking control needs to be used on hospital grounds, 65% of motorists say that the first hour should be free, while 50% want the first two hours free when visiting a hospital.

What’s more, 14% of motorists in the survey, carried out for breakdown service Autonational Rescue, believe parking tickets should only be issued if visitors are more than half an hour late after paying for a parking ticket.

“In other words, many people believe they should have a period of grace between when the ticket runs out and a formal charge,” says Autonational Rescue’s marketing manager Ronan Hart.

He added: “Wheel clamping nationwide is a multi million pound business which can involve a great deal of malpractice and humiliation of motorists.

“But when used in a way that is lawful and non-confrontational, it does free up parking spaces to others for their proper use.

“What our survey shows is that hospitals should be considered to be a special case.

“When it comes down to wheel clamping, and even the enforcement of parking charges, some compassion needs to be shown to hospital visitors who have much more to worry about than whether they have overstayed their welcome in the car park,” said Ronan.

In the Autonational survey, a small minority of motorists - 5% - also said they believed that hospitals should have free car parking.

Advice about clamping

Wherever you park, if you think you should not have been clamped, for example because warning notices were inadequate, or the release fee was too high, the only way to get your money back might be through the courts.

A solicitor - or the Citizens Advice Bureau - may be able to advise you on what chance you have of winning your individual case. And if you do get clamped on private land the Citizen’s Advice Bureau advises you to:

• keep calm, don't get irate and lose your temper or attempt to remove a wheel clamp - you can be sued for criminal damage if you damage the wheel-clamp.
• contact the telephone number shown and ask for release.
• check whether warning signs and boundaries are clear enough. It's a good idea to take a photograph to use as evidence later on.
• Ask the wheel-clamper who they work for, whether the landowner's authority can be produced, and if they have a licence from the Security Industry Authority (SIA). You have a legal right to see their vehicle immobilisation licence.
• If they are licensed you have to pay. If they are not and refuse to release your vehicle, they are committing an offence, so call the police. You can get in touch with the Security Industry Authority via their website at www.the-sia.org.uk/home

The independent survey was carried out across Great Britain by CAPI Omnibus based on a representative sample of around 1,000 adults at 72 sampling points.

Autonational Rescue is the car breakdown service with the no claims bonus, for more information visit www.autonational.co.uk or call 08459 100 345.

Ends

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Issued by: CPR Works Ltd
Contact: Roger Eversley/Jenny Carr
Tel: 01902 680068
E-mail: info@cpr.co.uk
Web: www.cpr.co.uk