This is over three years since this thread was being discussed so it may now be closed. I wonder if clamping is becoming more common now that so many people must know tha tadditional fees for improper parking on private land ("fines") are unenforceable? My husband was clamped recently on a private car park run by Parking Control Management in Basingstoke. He was at work, checking three addresses at a huge tower block (Skyline Plaza). As he was not known to any resident there he was not in a position to get a "parking permit", there were no places for visitors nor any person to give advice on parking there. He was there for no longer than five minutes. I believe that the clamper was looking out for an opportunity to catch some unsuspecting visitor and that the fee has nothing to do with parking control (as there were other free spaces nearby). Any comments?

I have been receiving letters very similar to those sent to harassedmum and love the replies and suggestions from BB and B the B. I hope that everyone who has ever had to cope with this kind of harassment will be made aware of the help at hand. Wish I'd known about it some years ago when we were charged £265 to recover our car after it had been towed away in the middle of Saturday night from a housing estate car park in Southark to Enfield.

I am frankly quite amazed at the amount of advice and help available on this subject. If these companies are so widely recognized as being exploitative and having poor legal basis for their claims, why are so many people still being taken in? Why aren't the police, CPS and Trading Standards Office doing anything to stop these disreputable practices?

Thanks, Conniff. Yes, I know this - I just wonder if they would bother taking it to court, for such a petty reason initially. We did not have enough change to pay for the length of time we estimated we would need; there were no facilities to get the correct amount for a longer period. My main point is that the private car park involved was 'manned' by someone lurking unseen in another vehicle on the site and that the full parking fee would have been paid in the first place if there had been an attendant in view to provide change. It seems that the parking company (or, at least, their employee) had designed a system to catch people out and give them an excuse to charge a heavy additional levy. This particular car park is quite notorious for this, I found out subsequently. Is my case typical?

I, too, received a "PCN" from Parking Collection Services limited, working for Searchlight Parking, regarding an unpaid charge for "display of expired parking ticket". This has been followed up by increasingly threatening letters from Debt Recovery Plus. Unfortunately, it now seems, I replied to the first three letters, finally denying that I was the driver at the time, after being challenged on this. I understand that these charges (now risen to £200 if I do not send immediate payment of £95, plus the threat of a County Court Action) are unlikely to be enforceable. However, I do worry about them and lose sleep over them. On the other hand, I am determined not to give in to this harassment. I have now read the advice given on this site and that of pepipoo and feel my fears are (probably) groundless. I also realize that I should not have risen to the bait by responding to these letters. I know I am being stupid but I can't help worrying about the mere possibility of being taken to court for a perceived parking overstay of 16 minutes. Surely not? Any advice will be gratefully received.