Myaree customers safe from wheel clamp threat after company's contract pulled

Customers and patrons parking outside a group of shops in Myaree will no longer be threatened with wheel clamping and forking out almost $200 to have the restraint removed, according to a local property and business owner.

Strata management of a section of shops on Hulme Court were ordered by its clients to stop using a private parking enforcement agency after it last week "incorrectly" clamped and charged three customers who were "rightfully" using allocated car bays.

Hulme Court property and business owner Ray Wardrop said strata management had engaged Auto Clamp on behalf of local businesses to enforce a two-hour parking rule because members of the public had been parking in their privately-owned car bays all day, leaving customers with nowhere to park and consequently affecting their businesses.

Mr Wardrop said the decision to have wheel clamping was an "absolute last resort" after businesses were fed up with people ignoring their requests not to park there all day.

"As private property we own the car bays, we pay rates and land tax on it, we should have some rights to say who parks there and who doesn’t," he said.

"Our customers couldn’t shop with us or go to the other service providers because these other people were taking up the bays all the time."

However, Mr Wardrop said last week the wheel clamping company did the wrong thing and clamped vehicles for the wrong reasons, with businesses no longer wanting Auto Clamp monitoring their car park and the strata management ordering them to reimburse those wrongfully clamped.

"There were reports of 12 cars being clamped last week but there wasn’t, three cars were clamped, one of them was released on the day without [the patron] paying and two were charged," he said.

"Both of those [patrons] are going to be reimbursed because they were incorrectly clamped.

"They parked there for under two hours, so this is where the whole drama started, the wheel clamping company who was only instructed to clamp cars that have stayed longer than two hours took it upon themselves incorrectly to clamp people because they went to other shops.

"Wheel clamping was an absolute last resort for businesses but it was about enforcing the two-hour time limit and was never about where else people shopped."

Auto Clamp managing director Sue Chapman told ABC Breakfast radio it was a mutual agreement and she chose to "bow out due to being misinformed" in relation to parking at the property.

"We have clamped at that property, not one strata company bothered to tell us about that reciprocal parking arrangement," she said.

"Reciprocal parking at that whole Myaree compex means that the two hour parking frame means you can park anywhere at any business at anytime for a maximum of two hours and go to any property.

"We were clamping cars under the agreement made by the property with an agreement fine in place and we followed those conditions given to us by strata, we weren’t at fault."

Ms Chapman said Auto Clamp, which is contracted to service about 800 private car parks, had an agreement with strata so in a perfect world they should pay for the reimbursements because she considered her employees were compliant with that agreement.

The contract loss comes just days after Premier Mark McGowan labelled wheel-clamping contractors "thugs and bullies", declaring the state government would develop legislation to outlaw the controversial practice across WA.

In a joint statement, 15 businesses at 16-32 Hulme Court said "scaring" people away from visiting the area only hurt businesses and reputations.

"We want our customers to know we appreciate their patronage and hope they continue to support
local businesses during the Christmas period," it read.

"If in doubt please check with the staff in the shop closest to where you have parked, we are always happy to help."