Latifs and Sons bosses slam ‘aggressive tactics’ used on customers
CITY clamping firms are abusive, aggressive and employing underhand tactics in Digbeth, according to bosses at a famous Birmingham discount store battling to protect its customers.
Latifs and Sons, which started in Birmingham 52 years ago and now has four bases across the Midlands, wants its customers to know they have nothing to do with the clampers operating with apparent impunity in the car parks around them.
Staff at Latifs, based in the city’s clamping hotspot in New Canal Street, claim to have seen clampers changing the rules, laying in wait and towing cars straight off before charging up to £400 to hand them back.
The Mail revealed two weeks ago how Digbeth had become a car clamping “honey pot” hotspot where unscrupulous firms pay thousands of pounds to landowners to rake in cash at temporary car parks.
Most of the victims have been lured into the cheap all day car parks that are usually overgrown, potholed, poorly lit and badly lacking in security.
Bosses at Birmingham trading standards and city MPs have backed calls to avoid the car parks all together
Director at the firm Kashif Latif spoke to the Mail from the company head office in Bordesley Street, a stone’s throw from the store.
He said: “This is a big problem and it has definitely lost us business. We have had our own customers calling us about the car parks around here because some of them think we are involved in some way or that we clamp ourselves.
“We are probably the only store in the city that offers free parking to customers in our own car park. We don’t clamp, issue tickets or charge our customers, but unfortunately some of them have fallen victim to the clampers in other car parks and some of our own staff vehicles have been clamped.
“We have sat and watched what they do and they have been abusive, aggressive and completely underhand. We even got our own security to warn customers parking next door to us at the controversial ANS car park in New Canal Street.
“It is a fact that Latif owns that small piece of land but it is on a long lease to a firm who sub-let it to somebody else. We tried to buy them out to make it an extension to our car park, but they wanted a phenomenal amount of money.
“We also tried to buy another piece of land, which is being used by the clampers opposite the offices, but they wanted a substantial amount.
“It shows how lucrative it has become and I don’t think they are making all that money off £2 parking charges. They lure people in with ridiculous rates and then dupe them.
“We watch them towing cars straight off, they don’t even clamp them anymore. We want to educate our customers and to get the message across that the old adage is true, if it seems too good to be true then it probably is.
“We have seen all the underhand tricks, there has been the machines that don’t work and the constant changes in prices between each car parks from one week to the next.
“We even put up our own signs to warn customers, but most of them were torn down within a few days. We work with the council and help where we can and we want to get it across that our customers should use our car park or official council car parks in the area.
“I think the Government needs to do something on this and make it illegal, like it is in Scotland.”
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