Local car clamping victims to get money back...

[dutchman]

Victims of a clamping firm who were threatened into handing over hundreds of pounds will get most of their money back.



Six staff at Midland Parking Contracts were jailed in February 2012 for conspiracy to defraud.

A three-year investigation by West Mercia Police recovered £121,262 of the profit made by the company.

It will be shared between 480 victims who paid up to £335 to unclamp vehicles and pay for tow-trucks.

West Mercia Police said people should receive 82 per cent of their total loss.

Adrian Pledger from Droitwich, Worcestershire, was forced to pay £300 after being clamped in Worcester.

He said he had found the experience unsettling as his wife and two-year-old son had to wait in the car while he went to a cash machine.

"It's important [Midland Parking Contracts] has been held to account with not just a custodial sentence but by having to stump up the cash too," he said.

He added: "I'm glad it will hit them in the pocket."

The company operated in Redditch, Nuneaton, Evesham, Worcester, Coventry, Bromsgrove, and Cheltenham.

Charges were brought after a joint investigation by West Mercia Police and Worcestershire's trading standards department following hundreds of complaints from members of the public.

Mark Bancroft, a police financial investigator, said: "Once criminal proceedings are finished, wherever possible, the force financial investigators will always strive to retrieve the proceeds of crime to reimburse those who have been taken advantage of."

[rebbonk]

West Mercia Police said people should receive 82 per cent of their total loss.

They should receive 100%, plus interest (5% min), plus damages. There was far more money made from this scam than has been recovered to date.