OK so this is not the sort of thing I normally blog about, but this got me REALLY annoyed…

On Saturday my wife and I were issued a “parking ticket” by a private security company named Armtrac Security Services… WHILE I WAS SAT IN THE CAR!!!

We had stopped in a parking bay adjacent to a shop in a local town. There were plenty of empty bays, including the one next to ours, and I stayed in the car with the keys in the ignition while my wife popped inside quickly, and within a minute or so an unmarked van had pulled up close behind our back bumper blocking our car in.

The driver who was not in any sort of uniform jumped out and took a photo of the car, and when I asked what the hell was going on he said I was getting a parking ticket. I said no worries, that I would move my car, and asked him to move his van which he refused to do. No matter what I said he refused to move his van while he wrote out the ticket, then he handed me a “Charge ticket” for £60 and then left.

The parking bays to my left and right were empty, and by delibarately parking on the road so as to block me in he was the one causing an obstruction, double parking a silver mini-van opposite and preventing any other vehicle from passing.

The ticket states that we have 7 days to pay, otherwise the price increases, and that “If you have reason to appeal a £5.00 administration fee will be charged.”

What a joke. So as soon as I got home I went online to find Armtrac’s website, and it turns out not only do they not have a site, but the address they give is a mail forward, and the phone number is an 0871 redirect… basically they are hiding!

Well not any more. I’ve created a page all about Armtrac and their dodgy business in the hope of exposing them. I’ve also been interviewed and photographed by our local newspaper, and I’m waiting to hear back from a researcher at the local radio station who says they are looking into it.

These guys are scammers, their entire business model involves “pouncing” on people to issue these tickets and I’m sure it’s illegal. I’m taking legal advice and will fight them all the way, but in the meantime hopefully anyone searching “Armtrac Security Services” after getting one of these tickets will find this page and the Squidoo lens and realise that they are not alone, they they should NOT pay the ticket, and that Armtrac need to be stopped!

[rant over]

Posted in Action