security firms who take your cars away!

Atarah · 22-06-2009, 13:25

Last Sat a mate of my sons and his girlfriend had parked their car on Wellington Rd in Blackpool. This is more South Shore area of town. Anyone know where this is? They dont go to Blackpool very often, it was a special night out. They dont know the area at all (It was left partly on the driveway of a hotel WHICH HAS BEEN SOLD!!!! – i.e. no one living there. and felt as though it was not in the way of anyone).They had not intended leaving it where they did, but … plans changed and they ended up going into town and left it.
When they returned on the Sunday the car had gone, taken by a security firm to a compound nearby. The lad and his girl obviously never saw spotted a sign or they would not have left it there.
Am a bit concerned if this firm is genuine or not. Its cost them £275! Can you believe that!. I had tried to find this firm on the internet and cant. They are called

C.I.D. Security – a London based firm.

Just wanted to make sure they are genuine (bit too late if they are not, but ......)

accyman · 22-06-2009, 14:00

if there was a sign saying cars may be towed away your pretty much banged to rights wether the building is sold or not its still owned by someone and the ghestapo patrol may still have had the contract to monitor the land

if so much as your bumper is hanging over their land they can take it away just like if so much as your bumper is hanging over a yellow line you can get a ticket

watchdog often has these cowboys on their show and getting money back is near impossible even if your in the right and have a court order saying so they rarely pay up unless watchdog get involved

personaly i never take a risk when parking my car especially in blackpool wether it be from over active wardens , cowboy tow companies or the local scum

it sucks to high heaven , have you rang blackpool council to see if the are a licenced company?

did they pay by cheque or cash ,although cancelling a cheque is risky it would slow down things while you investigate

katex · 22-06-2009, 14:34

They are registered with Companies House Atarah, so guess they are legal:-

The WebCHeck service is available from Monday to Sunday 7.00am to 12 Midnight UK Time

Name & Registered Office:
C.I.D. SECURITY LIMITED
3-5 WESTCLIFFE DRIVE
BLACKPOOL
UNITED KINGDOM
FY3 7BJ
Company No. 04509641

Mancie · 23-06-2009, 00:21

It's taking a liberty at the expense of everyone.. I know a few years ago that anyone could pay a fee of around £200 for public liability then register as a company..these peolpe can then stick small sign up (with the land owners consent) and charge what they like to unsuspecting car owners...they are cowboys pure and simple.
I did hear that in Scotland they are about to abolish this blatant highway robbery.

Studio25 · 23-06-2009, 00:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by accyman

...did they pay by cheque or cash ,although cancelling a cheque is risky it would slow down things while you investigate

Generally speaking, cancelling a cheque is more than risky, it's an admission of liability. Never write a cheque for an amount in dispute - always write a letter saying you're "withholding payment pending an investigation" and give a timescale.

Obviously that's no use in a case like this where the antagonist has your car, but the legal recourse in these situations (if you're absolutely certain you have a case) is the rather expensive route of renting a car while the dispute is in progress. It can get very expensive very quickly, and the "cowboys" rely on your uncertainty combined with the expense to pressure you into paying regardless of liability or licence.

accyman · 23-06-2009, 00:34

yup theres a difference between official council run wardens clamping a car and an over zelous cowboy firm , at least with teh counil run firms or firms working for them they are slightly better to negotiate with and are more likely to abide by the law andnot ignore it blatantly

from what was posted though i dont see any grounds to complain, they were parked illigaly and the firm was legitimate, the price may well be considered steep but if warnings were displayed im afraid thast teh car owners fault for not taking a good look around

if there wasnt any warning signs and the firm towed the car away then yes that would be wrong

private clamping companies shodl be abolished and teh law put back into teh hands of those that are supposed to uphold it ie: the police

fines would easily pay for the extra cops

planetsusie · 23-06-2009, 17:20

Blimey
It is a lot of money though

blackwatch64 · 09-11-2009, 23:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atarah

Last Sat a mate of my sons and his girlfriend had parked their car on Wellington Rd in Blackpool. This is more South Shore area of town. Anyone know where this is? They dont go to Blackpool very often, it was a special night out. They dont know the area at all (It was left partly on the driveway of a hotel WHICH HAS BEEN SOLD!!!! – i.e. no one living there. and felt as though it was not in the way of anyone).They had not intended leaving it where they did, but … plans changed and they ended up going into town and left it.
When they returned on the Sunday the car had gone, taken by a security firm to a compound nearby. The lad and his girl obviously never saw spotted a sign or they would not have left it there.
Am a bit concerned if this firm is genuine or not. Its cost them £275! Can you believe that!. I had tried to find this firm on the internet and cant. They are called

C.I.D. Security – a London based firm.

Just wanted to make sure they are genuine (bit too late if they are not, but ......)

hi there just thought you should know that cid security london is not based in london at all it is based in blackpool / and they dont own the hotel contract at all if you need any help get in touch ??? if you need to know how to get your money back legally get in touch asap cheers blackwatch64 i await your interesting reply i can help you as i have dealt with them in a legal capasity ???

Barrie Yates · 10-11-2009, 18:27

Blackpool is full of cowboy firms, we went to live there in '77 while still in the RAF, eventually left in 93 when the place had more hitching rails for their horses than Dodge City ever had

whatasingerang · 18-01-2010, 19:12

Hi there i have had problems with that CID security firm you wrote about. I went to Blackpool on 15th jan for my daughters 21st birthday. We stayed in a hotel in charnley rd. When i git there it was dark and i parked in a parking bay. When we got back at 5am my friend said my car was not there i didnt believe her and went to bed. When i got up another friend confirmed my car was not there. At first i thought it had been stolen but the landlord of the hotel explained to me that it would have been towed away by this firm. Iphoned them and they confirmed it said i had to pay 275 pound to get it back and that they would be there in 15 mins.i went outside to where my car had been and couldnt understand why it had been taken as i dont come from blackpool.The pickup truck arrived and one of the men said there was a poster above my car saying that it would be towed if i parked there. I explained that there was no poster there and they said they had a picture of it. i asked to see it and one of the men showed me a picture on a digital camera of my car but you couldnt make the poster out i asked him to zoom in but he didnt. I then got my nephew to take a picture of the wall were they said the poster had been. they then started to accuse myself and my family of taking the poster down which made me quite upset as myself and my family have never done anything illegal.I went to get my bag at the hotel and when i came back down they said that they found the poster in an alleyway but my question is what made them look down an alleyway and where was this alleyway as i didnt see any.They refused to take my credit card and said it had to be cash.they then took myself and my nephew to where my car was which was literally 5 mins away so that was another lie as they said it was 15 minutes away on the outskirts of blackpool.I then said i was taking it further and asked for the number and address of their office one of the men said the address was on the receipt that he gave me when i had to pay the 275 cash. I have since then tried to look up the address given in london and cannot find it. I have also phoned the mobile number given by them at first the man on the phone knew who i was even when i stated on the phone im the women whose mazda you took away today. then when i asked him for the london number he changed his attitude and said that this was the london number i told him it wasnt as i was speaking to the guy who took me for my car during the day as i recognised his voice he denied this.I then explained that i needed a copy of the photograph. he said i had to write to the london office for this even though it was in a digital camera in blackpool.Something is not right about this and i feel like i have been conned.

Atarah · 18-01-2010, 22:09

This is TERRIBLE! My sympathy! How are they getting away with this. How about sending a pm to one of the Accywebbers - blackwatch64 and see if he has any suggestions. Try Blackpool Council - I did at the time for my sons friend, and ok, they couldnt do owt, but .. the more they hear of such cases, it might just MAKE them do something!

Atarah · 26-01-2010, 14:51

Have got a response from the Council in Blackpool although they dont hold much hope, but they have asked for the name of the "cowboy" company who is giving Blackpool a bad name. Have passed the details onto whatasingerang
Fingers crossed that they do better at complaining than my son did.

chelle7 · 05-03-2010, 16:40

hi

just to let you all know i know how you feel.
I am from blackpool and had my car towed by the two "travellers"!!!

I went to town with my mum to go to a furniture shop. We pulled up and got out of the car and went to walk in the shop to see that it had closed down. We went and looked in the window to read the sign where they had moved to. We decided to nip into granthams while we were there which is next door to the furniture shop. Like most people i didnt think twice about moving my car 10 feet, i just left it there. We were in the shop for 10 minutes at the most and when we came out the car had gone. At first i thought it had been stolen, i went over to a group of lads asking if they had seen anyone steal my car and they said they hadnt seen anything. A guy from a few hotels up came over and said it had been towed away and to ring the number on the sign on the wall.

A few minute later a pick up truck came with two fat greasy gypos in!! We gave them a piece of our mind saying how we had genuinely been going in the furniture shop and decided to pop in granthams next door, their answer to that was we should of moved the car. I said its only 10 foot away, they said it doesnt matter you should of moved it. I said i wasnt any longer than 10 min and commented on how quick they were and they made no comment to that!! They said it would be £275 to get the car back and we said we havent got that kind of cash and they drove off leaving us stranded!!!

I rang the number and they told me that they would have to come and pick us up and take us to a cash point ( as they only take cash!!! ) and take us to where the car was because they would not tell us where the car was!!! There was no way i was getting in a car with strange men!!

While waiting for my dad to come and get us we spoke to a few people who happen to walk past who had had the same thing happen to someone they knew only weeks before!!! We were told the hoteliers get £20 for every car the report to CID security!! That would explain why there were so quick to catch the car being parked there!! They have the CID security signs all over Blackpool so there is no way in 10 mins their one tow truck happens to be in that area!!!

My dad came and we sat in the car waiting for them to come back. My dad got out and paid the men and we then followed them to where the car was! Nothing but a black fenced of corner on rigby road with a few cars in!!

My mum has since rang trading standards who said they cannot operate at a building that is shut!!! They have contacted CID security ( based in blackpool NOT london) and has given them a week to produce documents that will show they have permission to operate there off the owners even though the shop is shut. If they do not produce that we will be getting our money back! something tells me they will spend a few hours over their PC compiling a letter themselves!!!!

Blackpool council shouldnt let a company like CID security operate in Blackpool!!! They show no compassion and are really really dodgy!!! I had my childs seat in the car and how were they to know i didnt have her with me!!! i could of been stuck there with a child and no transport!!!

chelle xx

p.s before anyone says, i know i should of moved the car or read signs etc!! But if you are genuinly going into a shop you dont read signs saying customers only! As far as i was concerned when i pulled up to the furniture shop i was a customer!!

Barrie Yates · 05-03-2010, 17:15

I think we all know about the cowboy clamping and tow away companies everywhere. We lived in Blackpool for over 20 years, when going into the town we never bothered driving around looking for a roadside parking pace - there are plenty of pay car parks - the majrity of which have CCTV coverage. Surely it makes more sense to pay car park charges than risk being clamped or towed?
Stayed there last summer in a Town Centre B & B 5 minutes or so walk to the car park, reasonable charges, no problems.

Atarah · 05-03-2010, 17:33

Hi, my deepest sympathy! did you read posting no. 8? And I am with you on this one. If I lived in Blackpool and I was only going to a shop, of course I would park as near to the shop as possible.

Atarah