The Fiat 500 was technically parked on the dealership’s property (Picture: SWNS)
Staff at a car dealership are furious that a Fiat 500 was clamped on the day it could have been sold.
Workers at the Strood Motor Centre in Strood, Kent, arrived to work on August 31 to find a clamp on the wheel on the side front, passenger side.
Max Mannouch, 21, said they all initially thought it was a joke, before realising the DVLA contractor had mistaken the tarmac outside their fencing as public.
The head of social media and marketing said: ‘Basically we came into work and found it clamped.
‘We all thought it was a joke at first. I actually believed it was a prank by one of my colleagues. I then noticed it was a clamp from the DVLA.
‘We had a customer come to view the car that day and unfortunately, we couldn’t sell it to them.’
The company has black metal fencing which surrounds the forecourt.
The Fiat 500 was the only car clamped on the pavement (Picture: SWNS)
Staff feared being made to pay £1,000 if they removed the clamp (Picture: SWNS)
Five of its cars were parked outside the railings but only the Fiat 500 model was clamped.
The team called the DVLA to complain but were reportedly told they would need to provide proof the land belonged to them.
Max said: ‘The fence used to be pushed up against the kerb but it had to be taken back due to the bus stop next to it.
‘Just because the fence isn’t now right up against it doesn’t mean it is publicly owned.
‘It’s frustrating. They trespassed onto our land to clamp the car. We were well within our rights to remove it ourselves but they’d have fined us £1,000 – that’s crazy.
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‘The deed lies with lawyers, so we had to go through a process to get it. It was ridiculous.’
Manager Russell Cox has been at the company for 11 years and says he has never seen anything like it.
His boss has owned the site since the 80s and claims they have always parked there.
The DVLA said that the action was taken by its partner NSL Services Ltd, the national wheelclamping contractor.
The clamp has since been removed and the vehicle sold.
A spokesman from NSL said: ‘Whilst we are unable to comment on individual cases, we understand that the vehicle in question has been declamped.’
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Someone had come to see the car but couldn’t buy it because it had been clamped.