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Does the clamping company
or bailiff require an SIA Licence
to immobilise or clamp my car?
Under the Private Security Industry Act 2001, all vehicle
immobilisers by law must hold a Vehicle Immobiliser Licence
granted by The Security Industry Authority (SIA). This Act, which
came into effect across England & Wales in May 2005, was set
up to protect the public from abuses from unscrupulous owners
of private land. The SIA has so far granted 1,508 licences.
We understand that in May 2007, there were changes to the SIA
rules to exclude bailiffs from the
requirement to have an SIA licence. As this information is very
new, you will need to refer to the SIA website for further information.
What this means is that: if your car is clamped, immobilised,
or towed away from private ground,
not a public road…and you are charged a release
fee, then the person carrying out the clamping, or contractor,
must by law have a SIA Licence and to wear their licence when
carrying out this role. A picture of the licence is shown above.
To carry out this work without a licence,
is a criminal offence, punishable
on conviction by a fine of up to £5,000 or 6 months imprisonment
or both. In addition, there is a very severe penalty on the owner
of the business that employed the individual also. Any licence
holder who collects a release fee must provide a receipt, which
must by law include the following:
• the location where the vehicle was clamped or towed.
• their own name and signature.
• their licence number.
• the date.
From many enquiries received from the public, some vehicle immobilisers
have claimed that they are exempt from licensing; however upon
checking this further we have proved that this was not the case.
If this situation does arise, it is worth noting that an exemption
is applicable only where the employer, or company he works for,
has been granted Approved Contractor Status by the SIA. To have
this, the company that employs the individual, must have 80% of
its staff already licensed and applications in the system, and
pending, for the remaining staff who will be exempt only whilst
their application is processed.
In this particular situation, our advice would be to contact SIA
without delay to confirm whether or not; the individual is exempt,
as he is working for a company that has Approved Contractor Status.
If the person clamping your vehicle does not hold the required
licence, you can report the individual to the SIA using the complaint
procedure on their website at www.the-sia-org.uk
Please note in the event that you wish to formally complain to
the SIA they will not reveal to you the results of their findings,
or whether or not they have prosecuted the individual. They can
only deal with the matter of the individuals licence. Their complaints
department cannot deal with the following:
• Lack of signs warning about parking.
• Amount of the fees that you have been charged.
• The manner in which the vehicle was clamped. This must
be taken up with the company or land owner that instructed them.
If you have concerns about a wheel clamping firm, you may also
report them to Trading Standards and you may have a case in civil
law.
For full details on the SIA ruling for Vehicle Immobilisers,
please read the following, by right clicking on your mouse and
selecting: open hyperlink.
http://www.the-sia.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/05F9C778-3CF4-4B67-B576-
41D386D4E124/0/sia_vi_get_licensed.pdf
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