Arbitrary clamping company fined

Arbitrary clamping company fined

Mr Garbutt spent 13 months on the case

A motorist has been awarded more than £9,000 in compensation from a wheel clamping firm.

Tim Garbutt, 33, of Marsh, near Huddersfield, parked his car on the forecourt of an empty building in the town while picking up his niece from a dancing class.

He was initially charged £95 for the removal of the clamp which rose to £3,950 in the space of five months.

But Mr Garbutt refused to pay and challenged the clamping firm, National Parking Control, through the civil courts.

District Judge John Harrison, sitting at Huddersfield County Court ruled the clampers had been "oppressive and arbitrary."

Daylight robbery

He awarded Mr Garbutt £2,899 in damages and £6,508 in costs.

Mr Garbutt was also compensated for loss of his vehicle, travel and hotel expenses, cost of repairs to the vehicle and the 13 months he spent on the case.

Edmund King, from the motoring organisation RAC Foundation, said: "It sends a clear message to clampers that their days of getting away with daylight robbery and acting as modern-day highway men are indeed numbered.

No-one from National Parking Control was available for comment.