FLEETWOOD couple John and Margery Higham had a shock when they returned to their car after a night out in Blackpool watching a firework display. Their car was gone!
With no apparent explanation or notification, the pair assumed their vehicle had been stolen and phoned the police.
But their Renault Megane had not been nabbed by car thieves.
It had been towed away by a car clamping firm after the couple left
the motor on the car park of the Apollo 2000 home appliance store on Talbot Road.
They thought it was free to park there after 6pm and say they didn’t see any notices warning them about leaving the car there.
John and Margery, of The Esplanade, are furious that their car could be driven off in such a way, leaving them without transport home or even any explanation.
Margery said: “This should be a warning to other people.
“If we parked in the wrong place we would hold our hands up and pay the fine.
“But for this firm to just drive off with it, leaving us stranded in Blackpool and with no communication, is appalling.
“These people shouldn’t be able to get away with this kind of thing.”
The next day the couple had to fork out £250 worth of towing fee and compound charges – in cash – to get it back.
John said: “It’s a real sickener. The police tell us these people are operating within the law but it doesn’t seem right to me.”
But Warren Plant, boss of clamp firm Car Park Security, said: “The signs on the car park are clear to see. Motorists must realise they have to pay to park there. It isn’t nice to clamp or tow away cars, but that is our job to stop rule breaking.
“We always do our best to inform the police straighaway so that the car which has been towed will not be registered as stolen, but on the night in question we couldn’t get through for a long time.”
The full article contains 348 words and appears in Fleetwood Weekly News newspaper.
