Herm**** Station Mall

After collecting my son's matric marks at Herm**** High School, I stopped by the Checkers at the mall to pick up some lunch for my wife and me. The parking is free. In an attempt to be considerate, I parked my motorcycle on a pavement within the parking area instead of taking up a full space that a car could use. There was no specified motorcycle parking. I parked to the side of the pavement, as it seemed people also used it to walk to the shops from the streets. There was more than enough space to get past. After standing in long queues with only four cashiers working on the busy side and two on the express side (+-five items or less), I was surprised when two security guards approached me. I then noticed that my front wheel was clamped. They informed me that my bike was parked in a wheelchair area and the wheelchairs couldn't get through. I made my case, showing them that there was more than enough space for at least two people walking side by side to easily pass and that I thought I was being considerate by not taking a full parking space. They told me that if I had parked on one of the other pavements, it would have been okay. There were no notices anywhere warning that this was a clamping zone. There was no specified bike parking. I asked to speak to a manager. Fifteen minutes later, they were still trying to contact the manager. It was unclear whether they were trying to reach their direct manager or the center manager. I went to the center manager's office, but nobody was there. I called the emergency number on the door, but there was no answer. I tried for 20 minutes. The ATMs were off due to load shedding, and they advised me to try to get cash back at Checkers (with the long queues). After all this, I went back to the guards standing next to my bike. I was informed that they had contacted a manager, but they would only give me his/her number once I had paid the fine. The center manager was unavailable when I phoned the emergency number, as she was in a meeting according to them. I paid the fine and was told that the manager would call me after writing down my number on the receipt. Needless to say, I have not received any call. This was my first ever clamping. In retrospect, I should have just used a whole parking space for my motorbike. This was a bad experience for me, and I won't be returning to this shopping center where you can't even use the toilets without paying.