Musician, Mads Kjolby, left her car behind Berties Restaurant, in The Hundred, when two clampers pounced and demanded £160 to release the vehicle. She branded them the “local Mafia” and is “disgusted” by their behaviour.
Parking is shared by Berties and clients of Wessex Guest House in nearby Palmerston Street and the latter operates the clamping scheme patrolled by SIG Parking Services staff.
Mads, who had only popped into Berties to book in, said: “I’d been gone for no more than four or five minutes. When I went back, there were two large guys sitting on my car asking me when I wanted to deal with this issue concerning my car.
“I had parked in front of the ‘guest house’ sign, which I thought was completely all right. The guys then moved some bushes and a small sign saying ‘Wessex Guest House’ appeared. I excused myself and said I wanted to move my car, but then I realised it had been clamped.”
The angry Copenhagen resident was “deeply shocked” and described the clampers as “private police”. She said they appeared to have been authorised to sit behind curtains and welcome tourists by clamping them.
She reported the incident to Berties staff. “They were very sorry, but said they were in a local fight with the competing hotel across the road and there was nothing they could do.
“With my girlfriend, a freelance writer and historian, I have travelled a lot and have never experienced this before. It all seemed so suspicious and when we left, we almost had a feeling that those two hotels were working together on this scam.
“We would have loved to recommend or write about Romsey, but everywhere we tell the story people are shocked that a thing like this could happen in England.”
Barman and manager of Berties, Joe Billett, confirmed that notices advising customers about the clamping were in place. “There in nothing we can do about it, but this has been a real pain.
“People are getting clamped quite a lot and we are trying to get it stopped. This has been an ongoing battle for months and we are losing customers. It is definitely affecting our business.
“We’ve had people checking in here and within three or four minutes they have been clamped.”
Wessex Guest House owner, Derek Edwards, said parking spaces were in short supply in Romsey and he had no alternative but to deploy the clamping company. He also denied any knowledge of the Danish tourist’s experience.
“Very few people get clamped. The clampers come round periodically. The only reason why we put them in the car park was because my customers couldn’t park.
“We have only got 12 places and sometimes I’ve been unable to park there myself. I’m just trying to keep my car park clear. We issue permits to our clients and businesses in the town and we don’t charge for them.
“I don’t get anything out of clamping. The clampers just monitor the car park for me and charge whatever fee they want. I don’t have anything to do with that.
“I’d prefer not to have clamping, but I have no choice. Parking in Romsey is a major problem and this must lie with Test Valley BC.”
President of Romsey & District Chamber of Commerce, said: “This appears to be a grievance between two parties which could turn out to be a legal dispute regarding the displaying of the sign.
“Should Mads Kjolby wish to take it further, I suggest she contacts the police or a solicitor, as the chamber can’t get involved in legal disputes of this kind.
“However, I do not believe that this kind of dispute is of benefit to either Berties Restaurant or The Wessex Guest House, or in portraying a positive image of Romsey.”
www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/news/romseynews/4533429.___Local_Mafia____sting_tourist_for___160_fee/