A car dealer in Kent has received an official apology from the DVLA after a Fiat 500 was wrongly clamped on private land.
KentOnline reported how DVLA partner NSL Services Ltd had clamped the Fiat while it was parked in front of Strood Motor Centre, despite the land being owned by the used car dealer.
The dealer had a customer lined up for the Fiat but was unable to complete the sale due to the car being immobilised.
Max Mannouch, head of social media and marketing at Strood Motor Centre, told KentOnline: “Basically we came into work and found it clamped.
“We all thought it was a joke at first. I actually believed it was a prank by one of my colleagues. I then noticed it was a clamp from the DVLA. We had a customer come to view the car that day and unfortunately we couldn’t sell it to them.”
Curiously, despite five cars being parked on the land in question, only the Fiat was clamped. The dealer has a black metal fence surrounding its forecourt, with some used cars parked outside between the fence and the pavement.
Max Mannouch added: “The land is privately owned. The fence used to be pushed up against the kerb but it had to be taken back due to the bus stop next to it. Just because the fence isn’t now right up against it doesn’t mean it is public owned.
“It’s frustrating. They have trespassed onto our land to clamp the car. We are well within rights to remove it ourselves but they will fine us £1,000 – that’s crazy.”
Fortunately for the car dealer and customer, the story has a happy ending. A spokesperson for NSL told KentOnline: “Whilst we are unable to comment on individual cases, we understand that the vehicle in question has been de-clamped.”
The Fiat 500 has been sold and collected by its new owner – minus the clamp.
Source: KentOnline
Martin Turner
we are in the proscess of taking dvla to court over clamping and removal of a vehicle from private land where we store vehcles awaiting repair.