Saudi Gazette report
JEDDAH – A number of people who had their cars towed away or clamped for parking illegally in the historical area of Jeddah have lodged a complaint with the office of the Emir of Makkah, saying they were treated unfairly by the company that managed the parking spots for the municipality, Al-Madina newspaper reported.
Jeddah Municipality confirmed that it had also received many similar complaints.
In their complaint, the motorists said the company continued to clamp the wheels of their cars unfairly, without giving them any idea when they got clamped. They described company’s action as illegal and an attempt to make quick profits.
The complainants called upon the authorities to review the mechanisms of the company and ensure that the project of paid parking spots achieve its objective: making the traffic flow in the downtown area smooth.
Abdullah Al-Sharhrani, one of the complainants, said he parked at King Abdulaziz Road and paid the parking fee. When he returned to his car, he found a clamp on the wheel. An employee working for the parking company told him that his car was clamped because the owner did not pay an old fine that was imposed on him in 1995 in the Eastern Province. Abdullah explained to the employee that the car was not registered under his name at the time but the employee asked him to pay SR200 if he wanted the car to be released.
Abdullah paid the SR200 fine. The next day, he filed a complaint with the traffic department. He is still waiting for a decision and he was not sure if he will be refunded him money.
Ali Alaqali parked his car in front of a store for less than a minute to pick up something from the store. He returned to his car only to find that it got towed.
The complainants also said many of the machines used for payment were out of order and there was no other easy means for payment of the fine to get the clamps released.
They also mentioned the employees of the company managing the parking lots fined any illegally-parked car immediately and demanded payment on the spot.
