Sir - We all know that parking is a problem in Oxford. The council car parks are clearly designated, as are the penalties for infringement. However, this is not the case for privately-operated companies. One evening recently I had the experience of having my car clamped and being obliged to pay a spot fine of £100 for parking outside premises in Paradise Street. When the parking attendant arrived he had to shine a torch into an unlit window to show me the parking restriction notice.

Are these companies not subject to any regulatory body? I would have thought the right to impose such a prohibitive fine should carry with it the responsibility to put up notices that are clearly visible. They did not even have the courtesy to reply to my appeal against the clamping.

J. Harris, Oxford