Wheel clamping law comes into effect, stopping rogue operators from charging more than $100

Motorists can no longer be charged excessive fees to have a wheel-clamp released - and should challenge any operator who tries to do so, says a consumer watchdog.

A law change which cracked down on "cowboy" clampers took effect this month, and prevents parking companies from charging motorists more than $100.

Consumer NZ and the Automobile Association said today that operators who tried to charge more than the maximum amount were committing an offence punishable by a $15,000 maximum fine.

"Before the law change, wheel clampers could charge any fee they liked," AA principal advisor regulations Mark Stockdale said.

"Fees of $200 were common and in some cases were much higher than that. The new law makes it an offence for wheel clampers to charge more than $100."

The two organisations said that if any motorist was charged a fee of more than $100 they should remind the operator of the new law.

If they were still asked to pay more than the maximum, they should contact police on the non-emergency 105 number, they said.

The Government cracked down on rogue wheel clamping companies last year after protests about excessive charging and aggressive behaviour.

The wheel-clamping law change came after several businesses indiscriminately clamped motorists and charged hundreds of dollars.

Motorists complained that they had only stopped for a few minutes or were unaware parking was not permitted because of unclear or ambiguous signage.

One of the

most notorious examples

was a West Auckland retail complex where a company called Elite Parking Services clamped shoppers' cars and demanded as much as $450 to get their car released.

In many cases, the shoppers had only been parked for a few minutes in what appeared to be a 120-minute parking zone.

Another business, Bamford Antiques in Ponsonby, gained a reputation for aggressively clamping motorists, in one case charging a couple $760 to get their car released.

The AA and Consumer NZ said that if the new law change failed to deter rogue clampers, a ban on clamping should be introduced.

An outright ban was considered but rejected by government officials during development of last year's law change, because they did not see it as a widespread problem.

The crackdown on wheel clampers was based on anecdote rather than hard evidence of a significant problems, officials at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said.