A date for your diaries. On 1st October the ban on clamping and towing on private land in England and Wales comes into force as a result of the passing of the Protection of Freedoms Act.
On that date only those with lawful authority – such as the police and local councils – will be able to carry out such actions.
However many parking firms seem likely to pre-empt this and voluntarily stop such activities from first thing on Monday – two weeks ahead of their legal obligation to do so.
The move comes because the British Parking Association – an accredited trade association – has told its 150 or so member businesses that they need to hang up their Denver boots sooner rather than later. Failure to do so risks seeing firms kicked out of the organisation:
“If any clamping or removal activities occur after the 16th September and are brought to the attention of the BPA, it will be considered non-compliant with BPA Council’s instruction and thus a breach of section 4 of the BPA’s Code of Professional Conduct.
“Breaches of the BPA Code of Professional Conduct are taken seriously and will be referred to the BPA’s Professional Conduct Committee for investigation and review, which could result in suspension or termination from the BPA.”
But, drivers beware.
Despite the BPA’s laudable efforts motorists should still have their wits about them because it is likely to be the unscrupulous operators, who are not BPA affiliated and have never signed up to the organisation’s voluntary code of conduct and the reasonable fees and behaviour it defines, who will continue to ply their dubious trade right up to the bitter end.
