Clamping down on parking fines

A former Leeds’ student has won a landmark case against JD Parking, winning £698 in compensation.
Allameh Keshmiri, who graduated from Leeds with a degree in Mathematics, told Leeds Student he was “not worried” about winning the case because he “knew I was right”.
His brother Hamid, also a Leeds graduate, borrowed the car and parked it when the incident occurred.
JD Parking then clamped the car demanding a £400 fine from Allameh, which he deemed “unreasonable”.
“It’s like going to the supermarket and forgetting to pay then the company putting a lock on your door until you pay up” he told Leeds Student, further adding, “They took my property away from me based on someone else’s contract. They could have sent my brother an invoice but it was unlawful to take my car.”
Crucial to the decision was the state of the parking sign, which the court agreed was unclear and ambiguous. Allameh maintained that his brother believed he was parking legally when he chose the space.
JD Parking is appealing the ruling as the company is adamant that they will not compensate Mr Keshmiri. However, he said he is “confident it will go nowhere” and that he is “glad they are spending more money on the case.”
When asked how he would have felt if the court had ruled that his brother should pay the fine, he said that it would have had “nothing to do with me”.
The ruling comes as the government seeks to outlaw the clamping and towing of vehicles parked on private land, a practice labeled by the AA as “legalized mugging”.
Allameh has been involved in no previous court cases but did however acknowledge that the hearing is of national importance.