I chuck my tools into the car and head off to see what's occuring.
Get to the shop (exeter street pet store for those that know the area) and find they've clamped 3 other cars too, busy evening i guess.
I jack the car (corsa c) up and start removing the wheel nuts (new design of clamp, harder to remove, but can't be fitted as tightly), pair of clampers show up in a van and start trying to fit another clamp to the other side. I explain my disappointment at their behaviour and they back off telling me they are calling the police. Goody, always nice to have impartial witnesses ;)
Wheel bolts out, wheel off and i start to undo the inside wishbone mounts. Police show up, clamper starts going on about contracts and damages and how they need to stop me... Heh, no chance, rozzers are just there to stop a breach of the peace. Clamper bloke is going absolutely nuts by now insisting that i can't take the clamp off without damaging it and he snapping away like mad with his digital camera to get his evidence.
At this point a woman walks out of the petshop, over to her car and then back to the where we are with the police and the clampers, can the police help her, she's been clamped for no reason. Clampers claim she was there for over 3 hours and it's a legitimate clamp. Woman pulls out a recipt for her cream tea in totnes from 3 hours ago. (totnes being roughly 40 minutes away on quiet roads) Police officer orders him to take it off!
I pop the inside wishbone mounts out, pull the chains off and put things back together. I pass the clamp to the clamper and ask him if he'd like one of the police officers to examine it for damage. More clamper ranting about how they'll tow our car away the moment they see it out on the road, officer puts him straight
By this point another police car has shown up to enjoy the show/keep the peace. As i'm putting the wheel back on one of the officers comes over and asks if i could have a look at another car that's been clamped. Clampers are really impressed by this
(Turns out a new company has taken over the car park and is now enforcing 24 clamping whereas previously the local residents were welcome to use the carpark over night, so they've clamped every car they could see!)Jack the car up, wheel off and make a start on the wishbone. At this point an officer interupts and tells me the clampers are going to cancel this evenings clamps to save wasting everybodies time (they would have to wait around to retrieve the clamps incase some scamp chopped them up) This was quite helpful as this car was a Merc and the chain was around the ARB too and i had no chance getting the damn thing off
They take the clamp of the Merc and a car parked at the far side of the carpark and then leave without saying goodbye.Couple of snaps.
Ticket issued before she even arrived at the carpark!
Red lines show where i removed the two bolts that hold the inner edge of the wishbone, you can just see the wishbone hanging down behind the hub. This type (same design as the dvla clamps)doesn't just go around the wheel but it goes over the wishbone too.
David Copperfield has got nothing on me
If you see this pair of idiots around be sure to throw something at them, rotten fruit, faeces, molotov cocktails, etc
End result, saved £130 and really, really annoyed the clampers.
, after you removed the wheel clamp could you chain and lock it to the nearest lamp post and charge the twats a release fee or does it not work the other way round , would be pretty cool tho 