London businessman goes to war with Lime over bikes dumped on his land - and wins

"Russell Gray, director of heritage architecture firm Shiva Ltd, complained about bikes being constantly left on the company's private driveway in Bermondsey. He said the dumped bikes stopped his company from receiving deliveries. Mr Gray told Southwark News: We've had enough - Lime seems to think they have carte blanche to leave their bikes wherever they want, and the council lets them. We deal with the consequences. Lime said they would mark his driveways as no-parking zones for riders, but the problem persisted."

"After complaining to Lime for a year with no tangible improvements, he sent the company a 7,690 bill. It consisted of 500 return fees, 200 in removal and notification fees, and a storage cost of 10 a day per bike. He sent invoices for unpaid fees and hired bailiffs to chase them. According to The Times, the businessman got a county court judgment in July 2025 which ordered the company to hand over the cash. Lime did not offer a defence. Eventually the money was paid."

Russell Gray, director of heritage architecture firm Shiva Ltd, experienced frequent e-bikes being left on his company's private driveway in Bermondsey, which prevented deliveries. Repeated reports to Lime and marking driveways as no-parking zones failed to stop riders leaving bikes on the property. After a year without tangible improvement, Gray issued a £7,690 invoice including £500 in return fees, £200 in removal and notification fees, and £10 per day per bike storage. He hired bailiffs to pursue unpaid invoices and secured a county court judgment in July 2025 ordering Lime to pay. Lime ultimately paid and later retrieved dumped bikes; another company, Forest, quickly paid a similar £1,000 invoice.

Read at www.standard.co.uk