Wheel Clamping

From the BBC:

Wheel clampers are to be banned from operating on private land in England and Wales, the government has announced.

It follows concerns some parking enforcement companies are extorting money from unsuspecting drivers with excessive fees and unclear signs.

But some critics fear selfish drivers will exploit the move.

If you own a flat with private parking, good luck trying to find a space in future. A friend of mine owned a flat in the 80s and they had no end of trouble with people parking in their bays until they got the clampers in. Without clampers, people will just park there and come back to their car, face some abuse and clear off. That's all you can do with trespass laws.

Equalities and criminal information minister, Lynne Featherstone, told BBC1's The One Show: "This is the right answer, an outright ban. It's come about because of the level of complaints."

She said some firms were operating a "sort of entrapment" with poor signage, extortionate fees and vehicles being towed away.

"Motorists find they didn't even know they were parking on private land," she said.

Currently wheel clampers and the directors and supervisors of clamping companies must hold a licence from the Security Industry Authority (SIA).

Well, well. So, because the government couldn't come up with an effective regulator, they're going to just make the problem go away completely. Just like alcohol, where they get all pissy about 15 year olds getting hold of beer, yet they do almost nothing about removing the licenses of retailers who sell it.