“I had my first ever clamping experience last Firday and it was not a good felling! They were very intimatdating and scaring, like I am a murderer! I have to cough up £255 and they only accept debit card payment. Can't be bothered to tell what happened, just want the readers to know what happened at the Peel Centre in Gloucester and please do spread the words so less people get caught. Time is tough at the moment and these type of companies are day-light robbers. Sure lesson need to be learnt, but at such a high price?! I like one of the ideas as have a pay and display and then get refund when you shop.”

“Of course one shouldn't park incorrectly, but the extortionate and obscene fines imposed by this company are totally out of order for what is a very minor misdemeanour.
Although I have never parked at the Peel Centre without shopping there I am now not even prepared to risk 'legal' parking there and in future will take my custom elsewhere.
Heavy handed parking control like this does no good to anyone and it is high time these anti-social clamping firms were properly regulated. Charging hundreds of pounds is just unacceptable.”

“This latest car clamping fiasco at the Peel Centre is part of a wider problem, Gloucester City Council do not seem to provide any free short stay parking spaces anywhere in the docks area or the city centre. The problem over parking spaces at the Peel Centre is exacerbated by the construction workers on the Quays development taking all the spaces around the multiplex cinema, plus the new road seems to have chopped the available space for parking outside the Peel Centre by about half.

Gloucester City Council want people to come into the city centre and spend their money, but they do not want them to bring their cars. The regular parking charges are exorbitant, the last time I looked it cost £1.40 to park for an hour. In Stroud it costs only 50p for an hour and if I am prepared to walk for 5 minutes I can usually find a free parking space in Cheltenham without much difficulty.

When I was on holiday in Northern France last summer I visited several cities including Caen, Bayeux and Saint Lo, and in each place there was plenty of free parking. They tried to introduce car parking charges and clamping in some French towns, but the ever inventive French resorted to filling the padlocks on the wheel clamps with superglue. This deterred the clampers from operating as it cost them too much in time and padlocks to make the venture worthwhile. Power to the people!

Gloucester has always been notorious for not providing adequate parking facilities, but I have found somewhere worse, Berkhampstead in Buckinghamshire. There I have seen as many as 4 parking wardens patrolling an 800 metre stretch of the main street simultaneously.

Until Gloucester is opened up and made car friendly by creating many more FREE short stay parking spaces, the City will always struggle to attract tourists and business visitors alike. Even though I only live 3 miles from the city centre, I avoid going in to town unless it is absolutely necessary. If I do go into town with my car for an essential quick stop off, I always have another driver in the car with me so that these clamping cowboys are rendered impotent. It is pretty difficult to clamp a moving vehicle.”

“£125 is far too steep as a fine! double that of exceeding the speed limit, it is daylight robbery. I can understand a penalty but that is excessive. Well am afraid I will be voting with my feet there are plenty of other shopping centres... Incidently have never had a problem parking there over the years!”

“You can appeal clamps, so know your rights :P

Most clampers don't have the rights they say they have, and exlploit the ignorance of people. I park at my local univeristy, who always clamp me, they don't have the legal powers to fine (they don't have that luminous yellow documentation:P),and I call them on it. so they just have to release me everytime, its really funny.

Keep some bolt cutters in your car. You can always say someone else took your clamp off ( some local vandal :) ).

You have several weeks to pay the full ammount, don't pay it.If they request immediate payment , call the police it might be a scam.

Best thing to do is.... walk into a store for a few mins, then walk off. (maybe buy a few sweets , and get yourself a 20p parking ticket).

I bought a news paper everytime I parked in my local tescos, they have a similar clamping policy.


I got 12 parking tickets in my local toys'rus last year, I didn't pay them, they chased me up on 2 of them (with letters), i ignored them. I paid one, and appealed the others saying they were incorrectly issued :)

Also clampers ususally private companies, and don't have the resources to chase up unpaid tickets etc... because they pay high legal costs unlike the council.

Take care :D”

“Never mind i'm sure she can afford the fine, if not she could always rob a bank. Besides why would she be taking her kids into toys r us to buy them their christmas presents. I go without my kids. So i would expect do most parents.”

“tough - parking is for Peel Centre users only - Another person who to cheap to spend a few quid on parking”

“They must have seen her exit the car park onto Bristol Road. I quite often park in the Toys R Us car park, go into TRU or Hobbycraft then walk up into town afterwards but I've always been aware of the signs about clamping.

The trick is to buy something cheap in one of the shops then leave it in view in the car. The signs say that the car park is for customers only and if you have bought something then you are a customer. There was never anything telling you that you had to leave the car park once you had completed your shopping.”

“What does the lady expect, she parked in toys r us car park and went to primark, could have saved yourself alot of money and gone to the car park in hare lane and payed for 2 hours parking or used the park and ride for £1.50, im sure there are signs about you could get clamped, she shot herself in the foot imo”

“I see this woman and her kids wear glasses. They ought to sue their optician if none of them can read a sign. Stop bleating and abide by the rules like the rest of us”