Well I won, i'm having full costs refunded to me within 28 days. So guys don't be afraid to challenge the man
Here's the letter of complaint I sent to the council.
I refer to the above incident and am writing to express my concern at the fact my vehicle was clamped and towed away by your company from Grove Road despite there being no warning signs in existence.
I am attaching a photograph of the relevant area for your information clearly showing no signs were present warning of the danger of my vehicle being clamped or towed away.
I would refer you to the case of Arthur v Anker (1996) 3 All ER 783 which imposes the following conditions on the clamping of vehicles:
• That there is notice of the operation of the clampers.
• That the release fee is reasonable.
• That the vehicle is released promptly.
• That there is an available means of contacting the clamper.
As there were no signs in place I could not be held to have consented to, or voluntarily assumed the risk of, my car being clamped [Vine v Waltham Forest LBC (2000) 4 All ER 169]. There was no notice of the operation of clampers as required in Arthur v Anker.
I also believe the imposition of a fine of £147 to have my vehicle returned cannot be held to be a ‘reasonable fee’ and is, in fact, exorbitant.
There was no available means of contacting you and I had to telephone the council to obtain your telephone number.
As such I do not believe my vehicle was lawfully clamped and impounded. I would therefore require a full refund of the sum of £147 from your company or I will be seeking legal advice.
I trust this will not be necessary and look forward to hearing from you within the next seven days.
Ok so they didn't respond to me within the 7 days but that was more or less expected, anyway here's their response:
I refer to the representations, recently made by you, in connection with the removal of vehicle XXXXX from Grove Road on 18/02/2006.
Having had the opportunity to investigate the matter, I am of the opinion that the removal of your vehicle was in accordance with the provisions of the Removal and Disposal Regulations 1986 and the Road Traffic Act 1991, under which the contravention of 01 - Parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours occured.
My apologies for the delay in replying to your letter, having now had the opportunity to investigate this matter the case you noted in your letter this refers to clamping on land. Bristol City Council used to clamp vehicles in car parks but this has now ceased. With regard to the removal of your vehicle, there are signs on all routes into Bristol advising that a tow away scheme is in operation at all times.
In respect of your comments relating to the photograph you enclosed I have requested the maintenance team to cut back the foliage.
However, In view of you comments and the circumstances involved in this case, I am willing to refund this Penalty Charge Notice and the charges made for the removal.
I almost stopped reading the letter half way through as it didn't sound good
And the fact that they mention there signs on city boundaries saying tow away operation scheme is in effect at all times, this seems pretty vague to me as the signs do not say anything about it applying to the whole city.
Oh well, whatever I'm happy
