Clampers target drivers who left cars in the snow (From Daily Echo)

This is a typical story of inconsiderate, ignorant clampers - the drivers of these cars weren't leaving their cars so they could have a Christmas drink, they were left because the road conditions became too treacherous to continue. The clampers should be ashamed of themselves!

These wheel clamping hyenas are nothing more than highway gangsters. If anybody crashes in this awful weather, please do so into a clamping van, preferably pinning the driver under your bonnet.

This is absolutely disgusting!! I would urge the people involved (perhaps with the Echo's help?) to go 'en masse' to try and get their money reinstated. Perhaps contact the national papers too? Cobra Security, you should be thoroughly ashamed of yourselves for cashing in on people's misfortune. You ought to have given people a 24 amnesty before clamping or similar. These companies are really dispicable!

freemantlegirl2 wrote:
This is absolutely disgusting!! I would urge the people involved (perhaps with the Echo's help?) to go 'en masse' to try and get their money reinstated. Perhaps contact the national papers too? Cobra Security, you should be thoroughly ashamed of yourselves for cashing in on people's misfortune. You ought to have given people a 24 amnesty before clamping or similar. These companies are really dispicable!

or get your self a citreon ( ones with hyro suspension ) very hard to clamp. :-)

I heard in Basingstoke the Police were towing cars away to compounds and the motorists were having to pay to get there cars back.

Why is it people moan when they get caught!! If you see signs saying do not park or you will be clamped then dont park there simple as! Yes the weather was bad that day and driving conditions treacherous then the sensible thing would be to leave your car at the side of the road and continue on foot, not try to manouver your car into a car park with clamping signs all over it and then moan when you get clamped!

People should remember that however odious clamping companies are they are just trying to do there job, and make a living like the rest of us.
So is it a bit of a slow news day then Daily Echo? that you have to devote your front page to someone who is stupid enough to park somewhere with clamping in force and then cry wolf because they get caught. Because Im sure if this had happened any other time of the year it would not of made it onto your pages!

If the clamping sign was obscured and those that were clamped can prove that then take the clamping company to the civil court and get your money back.
The cars parked caused no obstruction or inconvenience to the land owners and this is one of the many reasons why private clampers are considered pond life

" or get your self a citreon ( ones with hyro suspension ) very hard to clamp. :-) "

Citreon's? Pah! Citreon's are Girlie Cars. Manly Revolutionaries planning to Revolutionise the World should drive Manly-Men Cars.

Happy Christmas, you deluded Socialist.

;-)

Here, There wrote:
If the clamping sign was obscured and those that were clamped can prove that then take the clamping company to the civil court and get your money back. The cars parked caused no obstruction or inconvenience to the land owners and this is one of the many reasons why private clampers are considered pond life

Looking at the video report unless the snow was over 4ft deep I cant see how the signs would be obscured.

Clampers are the modern equilvalent of highway robbers. The quicker laws are introduce to regulate clamping, the better.

Yes, those who park on someone else's property should be penalised but £150? That is more than most motorists are fined for going well over the speed limit which puts the lives of others at risk.

I would be interested to know who gets the money - the clampers or those on whose land the vehicle was parked.

News Fanatic wrote:
Clampers are the modern equilvalent of highway robbers. The quicker laws are introduce to regulate clamping, the better. Yes, those who park on someone else's property should be penalised but £150? That is more than most motorists are fined for going well over the speed limit which puts the lives of others at risk. I would be interested to know who gets the money - the clampers or those on whose land the vehicle was parked.

They both benefit from their ill gotten gains.The land owner has to give the clamper permission to operate & in return the landowner gets a comission for each clamping.

A licence to print money.

The one & only time I got clamped I cut the padlock off and took the clamp with me. I bought an identical padlock from County Locksmiths and put it back on the chain. When I returned to work I phoned the Clamping Company and asked them to collect their property from my office. There was plenty of bluster re criminal damage etc from the receptionist which amounted to absolutely nothing, I derived great pleasure from making the clamping employee sit in my reception for 20 mins before I made myself available to return the clamp. I would urge anybody else to do the same!

If I felt I had been illegally or immorally clamped then I'd just do what the guy above suggested and cut the padlock off with boltcutters. The company responsible ought to be ashamed of themselves for taking advantage of the situation.

I'd suggest that those who've been clamped get in contact with either the Roebuck owners and/or the clamping company to check the clampers contract. The article states that the Roebuck has new owners - so if the contract with said clampers was agreed with the previous owners, it may not now be valid. If so, clamping was illegal. Just a thought...

peedoff wrote:
Why is it people moan when they get caught!! If you see signs saying do not park or you will be clamped then dont park there simple as! Yes the weather was bad that day and driving conditions treacherous then the sensible thing would be to leave your car at the side of the road and continue on foot, not try to manouver your car into a car park with clamping signs all over it and then moan when you get clamped! People should remember that however odious clamping companies are they are just trying to do there job, and make a living like the rest of us. So is it a bit of a slow news day then Daily Echo? that you have to devote your front page to someone who is stupid enough to park somewhere with clamping in force and then cry wolf because they get caught. Because Im sure if this had happened any other time of the year it would not of made it onto your pages!

This correspondent obviously does not know Winchester and was not there on Monday night. There is nowhere safe to leave vehicles in Stockbridge Road near the Roebuck; it is very narrow with frequent traffic calming islands, as well as being on quite a steep hill which would have been impassable on Monday evening. The unfortunate people clamped here should get together, sue Cobra Security in the small claims court to get their money back and report them to Trading Standards.

peedoff wrote:
Why is it people moan when they get caught!! If you see signs saying do not park or you will be clamped then dont park there simple as! Yes the weather was bad that day and driving conditions treacherous then the sensible thing would be to leave your car at the side of the road and continue on foot, not try to manouver your car into a car park with clamping signs all over it and then moan when you get clamped! People should remember that however odious clamping companies are they are just trying to do there job, and make a living like the rest of us. So is it a bit of a slow news day then Daily Echo? that you have to devote your front page to someone who is stupid enough to park somewhere with clamping in force and then cry wolf because they get caught. Because Im sure if this had happened any other time of the year it would not of made it onto your pages!

why dont you get a life,its people that left them at the side of the road that caused the mayhem.to park in the car park of a closed pub was a good idea.Agreed in normal conditions,they are fair game.I would suggest that you have no idea of the real world or the state the roads were in on monday,i expect you just sit on the echo site all day waiting to write comments!
Wheelclampers are the scum of the earth and they should all be shot,if i caught one putting a clamp on my car,id be facing charges.Anyone like you who stands up for these t0ssers is just as bad.Get a life!

According to BBC News, a statement on Cobra Security's webside read "People who use private car parks without authorisation are not only extremely inconsiderate but sticking a proverbial two fingers up at the landowner. We provide a service that gives people their car parks back", although this now seems to have been removed.

However, I believe Cobra are the ones in possible breach of national legislation that restricts its activities so that the rest of us do not have to put up with such aggressive and threatening behaviour.

Firstly, as Teacher Sparky from Winchester says, is the clamping contract with the new owners of The Roebuck or the previous owners? If it is the latter, then the contract is void as it would be very unusual for this to be sold as part of any business transfer.

Secondly, Cobra's own website says that vehicles are clamped by "Requested attendance only". Did the owner of the property, bearing in mind it could be freehold or leasehold, request Cobra's attendance? Bearing in mind the extraordinary weather of recent days, I very much doubt that a request was made.

Thirdly, Cobra's website also states "If you provide parking for your staff, customers, visitors etc. it can be a major headache when someone has pinched a space, parked in a disabled zone, inconsiderately parked or simply taken up valuable space for a paying customer." The Roebuck is currently shut. There are NO customers!!

Finally, Cobra also add the following statement which reads "We strive to ensure offenders are treated in a courteous, professional and fair manner". You can make up your own mind on that, particular relating to the word "fair"!!

Perhaps the Daily Echo would like to trace the actual owner of the land and ascertain whether s/he has a view on what has happened? And if s/he happens to agree with Cobra, let's launch a campaign to boycott The Roebuck when it re-opens. I'm sure any unwanted publicity will do the trick.

I'm not sure that Cobra really understand the reality of this situation. Warren, the owner of the clamped Ford Focus, was driving my daughter home when they encountered severe ice on Stockbridge Road. It was too dangerous to continue driving up Stockbridge Road, as cars were sliding back down in front of them, and driving down the hill wasn't an option either because of the black ice and traffic islands in the road, so they pulled over to safety at the earliest opportunity, which happened to be the pub car park. Leaving the car on the side of this narrow, steep and dangerous road was certainly not an option, and would have caused potential mayhem. My daughter telephoned me at this point and was shaken by the situation - there were cars skidding, sliding out of control and wheelspinning on the road. She was unable to get home that evening and they had to abandon the car and walk a considerable distance back to Warren's house. They would have chosen to leave the car elsewhere had that been an option - The Roebuck car park was certainly not a convenient place. They tried to contact the pub owners but everywhere was locked up. What a shame Cobra can't act in the same good spirit seen in many other cases during these adverse weather conditions. My guess is that the new owners of The Roebuck wouldn't condone this behaviour.

Clearly, "Cobra" are snakes-in -the -grass, in terms of being sneaky, greedy, amoral, business people, cloaked in the modern day guise of highway robbers. Legislation is overdue. These predators need to have their activities reined in, regulated and controlled.

joe-average wrote:

peedoff wrote: Why is it people moan when they get caught!! If you see signs saying do not park or you will be clamped then dont park there simple as! Yes the weather was bad that day and driving conditions treacherous then the sensible thing would be to leave your car at the side of the road and continue on foot, not try to manouver your car into a car park with clamping signs all over it and then moan when you get clamped! People should remember that however odious clamping companies are they are just trying to do there job, and make a living like the rest of us. So is it a bit of a slow news day then Daily Echo? that you have to devote your front page to someone who is stupid enough to park somewhere with clamping in force and then cry wolf because they get caught. Because Im sure if this had happened any other time of the year it would not of made it onto your pages!

why dont you get a life,its people that left them at the side of the road that caused the mayhem.to park in the car park of a closed pub was a good idea.Agreed in normal conditions,they are fair game.I would suggest that you have no idea of the real world or the state the roads were in on monday,i expect you just sit on the echo site all day waiting to write comments! Wheelclampers are the scum of the earth and they should all be shot,if i caught one putting a clamp on my car,id be facing charges.Anyone like you who stands up for these t0ssers is just as bad.Get a life!

I am not standing up for wheel clampers! at the end of the day they have done nothing more than do the job they are contracted to do by the land owner! Who obviously has problems with people using his carpark without permission or he would not have got the clampers in in the first place! At the end of the day if it is not a public carpark and you dont have the permission of the landowner you should not park there! And no matter whether its christmas or bad weather you would still get a ticket from a traffic warden!
And yes I do know that area very well I pass by there every day in my job yes the weather was pretty poor that night but it was not as bad as these guys made out I managed to get my van through without a prob and obviously so did the clampers. I also know someone who lives opposite and apparently the teacher guy that got clamped lives next door to the pub and is always parking in there. There are two sides to every story these people disregarded the signs got caught end of. so maybe you should get a life!

stupid clampers, its christmas for goodness sake! chill out alittle!

Too many of you are thinking that the clampers are intelligent life forms that care about human beings, their actions would suggest otherwise. Robotic jobsworths who don't actually give a toss as long as they are fleecing joe public. Hope they have a wonderful Christmas happy in the knowledge that they have ruined someone elses.

The Southampton based Cobra Security only give a PO Box address on their web site with a post code. Put the post code into your sat nav or multimap and you can see exactly where they are based. Oh they do often have a sign up Beware of the loose dogs. You wont get much joy on the 0800 number though

peedoff wrote:

joe-average wrote:

peedoff wrote: Why is it people moan when they get caught!! If you see signs saying do not park or you will be clamped then dont park there simple as! Yes the weather was bad that day and driving conditions treacherous then the sensible thing would be to leave your car at the side of the road and continue on foot, not try to manouver your car into a car park with clamping signs all over it and then moan when you get clamped! People should remember that however odious clamping companies are they are just trying to do there job, and make a living like the rest of us. So is it a bit of a slow news day then Daily Echo? that you have to devote your front page to someone who is stupid enough to park somewhere with clamping in force and then cry wolf because they get caught. Because Im sure if this had happened any other time of the year it would not of made it onto your pages!

why dont you get a life,its people that left them at the side of the road that caused the mayhem.to park in the car park of a closed pub was a good idea.Agreed in normal conditions,they are fair game.I would suggest that you have no idea of the real world or the state the roads were in on monday,i expect you just sit on the echo site all day waiting to write comments! Wheelclampers are the scum of the earth and they should all be shot,if i caught one putting a clamp on my car,id be facing charges.Anyone like you who stands up for these t0ssers is just as bad.Get a life!

I am not standing up for wheel clampers! at the end of the day they have done nothing more than do the job they are contracted to do by the land owner! Who obviously has problems with people using his carpark without permission or he would not have got the clampers in in the first place! At the end of the day if it is not a public carpark and you dont have the permission of the landowner you should not park there! And no matter whether its christmas or bad weather you would still get a ticket from a traffic warden! And yes I do know that area very well I pass by there every day in my job yes the weather was pretty poor that night but it was not as bad as these guys made out I managed to get my van through without a prob and obviously so did the clampers. I also know someone who lives opposite and apparently the teacher guy that got clamped lives next door to the pub and is always parking in there. There are two sides to every story these people disregarded the signs got caught end of. so maybe you should get a life!

so you got your van through ok,i bow to your expert driving skills white van man.so you heard from a friend of friend that he parks there all the time,yet this is the first time hes been clamped??
i am starting to suspect that your van has cobra security written on the side and has wheel clamps in the back,if this is the case why dont you go and crawl in the corner somewhere.condoning this behaviour is wrong mate and if you were anywhere near a decent human being you would be sympathetic to their sutuation.i just hope that oneday you have to spend 16 hours sat in your little van in the fear that you cant ditch it in case you get clamped,merry christmas.xxx

joe-average wrote:

peedoff wrote:

joe-average wrote:

peedoff wrote: Why is it people moan when they get caught!! If you see signs saying do not park or you will be clamped then dont park there simple as! Yes the weather was bad that day and driving conditions treacherous then the sensible thing would be to leave your car at the side of the road and continue on foot, not try to manouver your car into a car park with clamping signs all over it and then moan when you get clamped! People should remember that however odious clamping companies are they are just trying to do there job, and make a living like the rest of us. So is it a bit of a slow news day then Daily Echo? that you have to devote your front page to someone who is stupid enough to park somewhere with clamping in force and then cry wolf because they get caught. Because Im sure if this had happened any other time of the year it would not of made it onto your pages!

why dont you get a life,its people that left them at the side of the road that caused the mayhem.to park in the car park of a closed pub was a good idea.Agreed in normal conditions,they are fair game.I would suggest that you have no idea of the real world or the state the roads were in on monday,i expect you just sit on the echo site all day waiting to write comments! Wheelclampers are the scum of the earth and they should all be shot,if i caught one putting a clamp on my car,id be facing charges.Anyone like you who stands up for these t0ssers is just as bad.Get a life!

I am not standing up for wheel clampers! at the end of the day they have done nothing more than do the job they are contracted to do by the land owner! Who obviously has problems with people using his carpark without permission or he would not have got the clampers in in the first place! At the end of the day if it is not a public carpark and you dont have the permission of the landowner you should not park there! And no matter whether its christmas or bad weather you would still get a ticket from a traffic warden! And yes I do know that area very well I pass by there every day in my job yes the weather was pretty poor that night but it was not as bad as these guys made out I managed to get my van through without a prob and obviously so did the clampers. I also know someone who lives opposite and apparently the teacher guy that got clamped lives next door to the pub and is always parking in there. There are two sides to every story these people disregarded the signs got caught end of. so maybe you should get a life!

so you got your van through ok,i bow to your expert driving skills white van man.so you heard from a friend of friend that he parks there all the time,yet this is the first time hes been clamped?? i am starting to suspect that your van has cobra security written on the side and has wheel clamps in the back,if this is the case why dont you go and crawl in the corner somewhere.condoning this behaviour is wrong mate and if you were anywhere near a decent human being you would be sympathetic to their sutuation.i just hope that oneday you have to spend 16 hours sat in your little van in the fear that you cant ditch it in case you get clamped,merry christmas.xxx

No its not got Cobra On the side and its not white! and Neither am I a clamper! however I do run a business, and know how irritating it is when locals leave their vehicles on my forecourt hindering access to my premises for me, and my customers, and also using the place as a free car park in the evenings and at weekends! You politely ask them to move and not to park there only to find they are either back again the following day or quite abusive. you speak to the police about it, and they cannot do anything because its private land and not a Public Highway. So I can really understand why people use the clamping companies as a solution as in some cases they are almost a necessary evil, and one avenue I may be forced to explore myself.
In the past I have been clamped. It was my fault for parking there I saw the signs, thought no one was around, (except of course the clamper) and I thought I could get away with it for 10 mins (instead of parking on the road and paying 80p) But I got caught. I didnt go running to the media I bit the bullet and reluctantly paid up. It was a pretty expensive lesson So I understand their frustration having to cough up over £150. but at the end of the day if you are not supposed to be parking there dont! or just accept that you have made the mistake of parking where you should'nt of, pay up, and get on with your life.
Merry Christmas

peedoff the difference is, that you did not have to park where you did, those highlighted had no choice having been defeated by the weather, they should have been given the benefit of the doubt in the circumstances. Merry Xmas to everyone except clampers.