Under new laws set to be introduced this year, drivers who have been the victims of rogue clampers will be entitled make compensation claims.
Independent adjudicators will be brought in to hear the cases of drivers who have been mistreated.
The tribunals, which will cover all of the United Kingdom, with the exception of Scotland, will have the power to act on the behalf of motorists who have been unfairly clamped.
They would be implemented under an amendment to the Crime and Security Bill, currently going through Parliament, which will make it compulsory for all clamping firms to have a license.
Motorists will have the right to object to a clamping fee for a number of reasons, including failure to comply with a code of practice which determines how much time must pass before a car can be clamped.
Signs warning of the danger of being clamped must also meet set minimum standards relating to visibility.
The Bill will also introduce a cap on the release fee, with reports saying it is likely to be slightly more than the current £70 maximum charged by local authorities.
Firms who charge more than the limit will be forced to refund the excess.
If a tribunal rules that a motorist’s car has been unfairly clamped, the driver will be able to claim compensation for the costs they incurred as a result, such as, for example, having to take a taxi or hiring another vehicle.
Home Office Minister Alan Campbell said: “The introduction of an independent appeals process will for the first time provide independent recourse for motorists who feel aggrieved by unfair practices of rogue clamping businesses.”
Director of the RAC Foundation, Stephen Glaister, was pleased with the news.
He said: “No longer will those drivers who are unfairly penalised have to fall on the mercy of unscrupulous clampers. An independent appeals system is fundamental to reform of this essentially unregulated business, and something we have been demanding for years.
“Finally ministers have acted, and the licence to print money which many cowboy clampers believe they have seems about to be revoked. Wheel clamping has been described in Parliament as something akin to ‘legalised extortion’. Now the excesses of rogue operators are about to be stamped out once and for all.”
