Birmingham student nurse takes on clamping firm Midway Parks and wins fine back

Dec 29 2009 by Neil Elkes, Birmingham Mail

A STUDENT nurse has taken on the car clampers and won a £390 fine back following court action.

Lydia Dykes was left stranded in Newtown after clampers decided a £1 all-day pay and display parking ticket was only valid for 12 hours and towed her black Ford Ka away.

A complaint to the small claims court found in her favour and the company, Midway Parks, was forced to return the money.

The Mail told in August how the 20-year-old, from Walsall, paid £1 for all-day parking at Cecil Street, Newtown, at 8am while she went to work a shift at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

She thought all day would cover her, but returned at 8.20pm to see her car being loaded onto a tow truck.

The company said all day meant 12 hours and it would have said all day and all night had the ticket covered her for a longer stay

But the court agreed with Lydia’s step-father Jim Walker, who said that the pay and display signs were set up to mislead and entrap motorists.

He said: “It is a simple con which leaves people no option to pay up. It is a racket. I am glad we complained to the Mail and to Birmingham Trading Standards.

“We had an anxious wait to make sure the cheque cleared.”

The family are still out of pocket over the affair, having been left with £45 court costs and spent time fighting the case.

Mr Walker added: “I see the Government now wants to bring in laws against this sort of car clamping. It can’t come soon enough,” he added.

A tougher line from regulators, the Security Industry Authority and the courts is beginning to hit the firms in the pocket as they face losing their clamping license if they have outstanding County Court Judgements against them.

Recently, Midway Parks was forced to return £523 to Cambridgeshire teenager Emily Ritson after losing a small claims court case.

The company was unavailable for comment following the ruling, but previously told the Mail: “All day is 12 hours, if it was any longer it would say all day and night. There is also an expiry time on the ticket.”

The court ruled that warning signs were inadequate and that the company’s refusal to accept a credit card payment was unreasonable.