Question...

Rhodney

I've been parking on this space since the past 6 months, since we bought the car. I used to park here because I thought this is the safest spot within the village...when just a few hours ago. I was surprised to see that my car was clamped, knowing the car is parked inside the vicinity of the private village, the parking space that's alotted for us, tenants who are renting a flat for over a year already..
I called the company who clamped and asked what's the violation, and told them that i always park my car everyday on the same spot for the last six months, a guy just told me that my car was not parked properly, that im parking on a road way....but on the picture you'll see that its the end road, on both sides are also parking spaces..this parking spaces are situated at the right side of the building where we live, behind and on the other side are also parking spaces...
my questions are : base from the picture i attached, do they have the right to clamp the car, and do i have the right to complain?, am I really not allowed to park there?..i live in a private village, surrounded with walling and a main entrance gate.
im just thinking that if they really dont want that space to be occupied or blocked, then they should put a sign, or road markings like the double yellow line, to prevent anyone from parking there at all times..theres no person who would like to be clamped and pay the fine, if theres only proper noticatio or sign.

Ronanom

Are you not in the way of someone reversing out of a parking space - forcing them to reverse back up the street?

Jimbo

Loks like a turning area, saying that its not properly marked and your not directly blocking any entrances. Seems very harsh, a warning would have done. Looks like their tring to fill a quota. I would definatly fight it.

Ronanom

Ronanom wrote: »

Are you not in the way of someone reversing out of a parking space - forcing them to reverse back up the street?

Picture all the spaces full including the where the 2 cars are clamped. It'd be pretty annoying if you drove head-on into the legal parking space in the corner and had to reverse out...

galwaytt

Actually, they shouldn't have clamped your car.

For a start, it's not illegal to park on a roadway. It is only illegal if actually parked 'illegally' - i.e in contravention of a sign, law, by-law, or indicated road marking. Or dangerously. That spot you're in has none of those. Unless contra-indicated, it is entirely legal to park there.

Furthermore, I'd argue that where you've parked is a parking space. It is the length of one car, and is closed on 3 sides............

Finally, the least they could have done is asked you to move it, or advise if there's a problem. Clamping with no notice is just the sign of opportunistic cowboys.

Go gettim' - btw, are the clamps still on? If so, cut them off. By putting them on your car illegally, they are guilty of 'interfering' with your car, and as such, falls into the same general area as malicious damage or attempted theft/break-in.........

Ronanom

jimbo78 wrote: »

Loks like a turning area, saying that its not properly marked and your not directly blocking any entrances. Seems very harsh, a warning would have done. Looks like their tring to fill a quota. I would definatly fight it.

He's completly in the way of any vehicles turning as you said. This is a no brainer - you shouldn't park here

cazzy

Was the punto clamped as well ?

Ronanom

cazzy wrote: »

Was the punto clamped as well ?

Nope that was a toy clamp

littlejukka

it's a turning area. you should never park there.

copacetic

another one to say it is terrible that you have been parking there. similar thing but worse in my development where one of the neighbours is having to do a 10 point turn as some idiot has 'created' a space where his reverse room should be..

Jimbo

People are stupid. They will park wherever there is no double yellows. There should be rod markings there

Ronanom

jimbo78 wrote: »

People are stupid. They will park wherever there is no double yellows. There should be rod markings there

Just another case of ignorant drivers

Mr.Boots

From the pic it looks like that space was designed for reversing/turning ect, BUT....its not marked out, no yellow lines, no "no parking" sign ect so i dont see why they can clamp you...unless another resident complained????
If this was on the public road and not on a private road i would say CLAMP it straight away.

Potential-Monke

Are they allowed to clamp on private roads?

Mr.Boots

Yea....the management committee can contract a private clamping campany....just like pub car parks, shopping centres, appartment blocks do.

Potential-Monke

Fair enough then!

jhegarty

But as long as remove the clamp without damaging it there is nothing they can do about it....

eringobragh

Hack that sucker off.. i'd be cautious f it was a corpo clamp but a private company go for it.

Rhodney

Ronanom wrote: »

Are you not in the way of someone reversing out of a parking space - forcing them to reverse back up the street?

no..that space is the end of the road/parking space...everyday, theres always a car parked in that area.

Rhodney

Mr.Boots wrote: »

From the pic it looks like that space was designed for reversing/turning ect, BUT....its not marked out, no yellow lines, no "no parking" sign ect so i dont see why they can clamp you...unless another resident complained????
If this was on the public road and not on a private road i would say CLAMP it straight away.

yes Mr.Boots, its a private road, since that parking space is inside the village, which has a main entrace and exit gate...

Rhodney

every day, every hour, different cars park on that slot, if from now on they'll start clamping every car, they'll be fining 120 euro each for approximately 10-20 cars in a day, instead of victimizing a lot tenants/car owners, why not put a sign, or road marking instead..coz if only there is, no one will park, risk their money and waste their time.

thanks for all who replied on this thread and shared their thoughts.

pete4130

I'd fight this one. Private clampers are a bit nororious in gated communities from what I've heard from friends who live in them. The facts are as follows:

- There were no marking to say you shouldn't have parked there, no signs or warnings about being clamped. Therefore you would not have had reason to believe you were parking in the wrong.

- You'd parked there for 6 months with no problems before without being wrongly parked. If the management had decided in those 6 months to change where and how you were allowed park then you should have been informed, as everyone in the village should have been and the areas clearly signed and marked.

- Get proper advice from a solictor. You get alot of opinions on boards (and alot of them very helpful and informative too). For a straight answer speak to someonw who knows the law properly. Explain the circumstances and then once you have the facts and think you have a case approach the clampers/management company. Mabye see about threatening loss of earnings as you couldn't use your car to help speed things up?

Anan1

Another way of looking at is that the release fee for one clamp is a small price to pay for having inconvenienced other residents for the past six months. No offence to the OP but, legality aside, it's certainly a stupid and selfish place to park.

prospect

I am with the OP.

AFAIK it is illegal to clamp a car unless there is 'Clamping in Operation' signs.

There is nothing to indicate that:
a. It is not a parking space
b. Clamping is in operation

Therefore the clamping company broke the law.


* This is assuming there is not sign at the entrance to the estate with the parking regulations.

Poppy Cock

pete4130 wrote: »

I'd fight this one. Private clampers are a bit nororious in gated communities from what I've heard from friends who live in them. The facts are as follows:

- There were no marking to say you shouldn't have parked there, no signs or warnings about being clamped. Therefore you would not have had reason to believe you were parking in the wrong.

- You'd parked there for 6 months with no problems before without being wrongly parked. If the management had decided in those 6 months to change where and how you were allowed park then you should have been informed, as everyone in the village should have been and the areas clearly signed and marked.

- Get proper advice from a solictor. You get alot of opinions on boards (and alot of them very helpful and informative too). For a straight answer speak to someonw who knows the law properly. Explain the circumstances and then once you have the facts and think you have a case approach the clampers/management company. Mabye see about threatening loss of earnings as you couldn't use your car to help speed things up?

I agree with your first 2 points, but paying a solicitor would be more expensive than just paying the damn clamping fee.

Rhodney

prospect wrote: »

I am with the OP.

AFAIK it is illegal to clamp a car unless there is 'Clamping in Operation' signs.

There is nothing to indicate that:
a. It is not a parking space
b. Clamping is in operation

Therefore the clamping company broke the law.


* This is assuming there is not sign at the entrance to the estate with the parking regulations.

thanks...
on the entrance on the main gate, theres a sign that clamping is on operation for those illegaly parked cars of those non-tenants, not living in the village, we'v been lving in the village for almost 2 years and got the car six months ago and starting to park there...if not me, there'll be always someone parking that space everyday

Tails142

I've been carrying a big red crow bar in my boot for the last couple of years - if there was ever a case of me using it; this would be it. Havent got clamped yet though.

I don't think I'd have the balls to do it to a corpo clamp but I'd definetly do it to a private clamping company, apparently the lock is the weakest part and prys off easily.

Then I would send the management company an invoice for storage of their clamp and removal of their sticker, mwahahaha

ballooba

There should be double yellows if it's a turning circle. You did nothing wrong.

Lazy management company has not designed the road layout properly. I see it the whole time. Sometimes it's dangerous. They'd pull their socks up if they got sued for causing an accident.

Anan1

ballooba wrote: »

There should be double yellows if it's a turning circle. You did nothing wrong.

I think you may be confusing 'wrong' with 'illegal'.;)

ballooba

Anan1 wrote: »

I think you may be confusing 'wrong' with 'illegal'.;)

"wrong" or "discourteous" same thing, you can't be accused of either if you are ignorant to your mistake. It's the management companies responsibility to spell it out. If this happened on a public road the OP would have every right to win an appeal.

Vikings

There is nothing there stating that you should not park there.

It looks to me that anyone parked in the corner of the 'actual parking spaces' can easily get out by reversing straight back, they don't need that area to reverse into.

drdre

Thats good you got clamped.As outside our house 5-6 cars parked in a turning area and one day they all got clamped , It was very difficult for us to reverse out of the house.
My point is that the person reversing has alot of hassle because of you parking there which he shouldnt have

In simple just dont park there again.Do you not have parking beside your own residence.

Rhodney

drdre wrote: »

Thats good you got clamped.As outside our house 5-6 cars parked in a turning area and one day they all got clamped , It was very difficult for us to reverse out of the house.
My point is that the person reversing has alot of hassle because of you parking there which he shouldnt have

In simple just dont park there again.Do you not have parking beside your own residence.

thank you for praying hard.i dont want to give anyone a hassle or difficulty too..
iinside the village there are 3-4 buildings up to 4-5th floors i think..and on the sides are surrounded by parking spaces and play grounds..

Eoin

drdre, you must be lucky enough to live in an estate where this is ample and well marked parking. This isn't the case in a lot of estates - developers simply don't provide enough spots even if everyone only had one car per household, let alone two. In my old estate, people were parking in far more inconvenient places than the OP did in this case. But don't let that stop you stating the bloody obvious.

TheBigLebowski

Rhodney wrote: »

thank you for praying hard.i dont want to give anyone a hassle or difficulty too..
iinside the village there are 3-4 buildings up to 4-5th floors i think..and on the sides are surrounded by parking spaces and play grounds..

Are the other parking spaces assigned to residents i.e. are they numbered and owned by particular residents? Or is it just 1st come, 1st served, park in any space you like?

Rhodney

TheBigLebowski wrote: »

Are the other parking spaces assigned to residents i.e. are they numbered and owned by particular residents? Or is it just 1st come, 1st served, park in any space you like?

hi TheBigLebowski, its a 1st come, 1st served basis.. like an open parking for the tenants

Sizzler

Have you paid to have it removed yet?

Rhodney

yes Sizzler, i paid already, when i asked the guy why i was clamped...he told me he doesnt know, he said maybe i was not parked properly like the red car..

Sizzler

Rhodney wrote: »

yes Sizzler, i paid already, when i asked the guy why i was clamped...he told me he doesnt know, he said maybe i was not parked properly like the red car..

LOB tbh mate. I hope you can get it sorted, you were done VERY hard by from what I can see

TheBigLebowski

Yeah in the absence of any clear markings about where you can and can't park, I'd say you are entitled to park where you did. These private clamping companies are cowboys...

Rhodney

TheBigLebowski wrote: »

Yeah in the absence of any clear markings about where you can and can't park, I'd say you are entitled to park where you did. These private clamping companies are cowboys...

upon entering the village, after the gate, on the side walks there are spaces/lots with double yellow line markings, but nothing behind the building and side parking spaces like this.

drdre

copacetic wrote: »

another one to say it is terrible that you have been parking there. similar thing but worse in my development where one of the neighbours is having to do a 10 point turn as some idiot has 'created' a space where his reverse room should be..

I agree with you as we have been in the same situation.The OP deserves being clamped.

craichoe

drdre wrote: »

I agree with you as we have been in the same situation.The OP deserves being clamped.

Thats not the point,

A. There was nothing saying he couldn't park there
B. He's been parking there for 6 months with no indication from anybody that he was doing anything wrong.

If you parked someplace on a public road, where there was no indication that you could not park there and you got clamped would you have an issue with it ?

Believe me, where i used to live was THE worst for parking.

And if you have issues with reversing out of spaces then perhaps you should reverse into spaces when you get the opportunity. A bit of forward planning might save the hassle of someone needing to do a 10 point turn.

drdre

craichoe wrote: »

Thats not the point,

A. There was nothing saying he couldn't park there
B. He's been parking there for 6 months with no indication from anybody that he was doing anything wrong.

If you parked someplace on a public road, where there was no indication that you could not park there and you got clamped would you have an issue with it ?

Believe me, where i used to live was THE worst for parking.

And if you have issues with reversing out of spaces then perhaps you should reverse into spaces when you get the opportunity. A bit of forward planning might save the hassle of someone needing to do a 10 point turn.

I wouldnt park outside someones house as i know the feeling.Simple as that.

craichoe

drdre wrote: »

I wouldnt park outside someones house as i know the feeling.Simple as that.

The majority of spaces in cork city are "Outside someones house" what are we supposed to do, write our names on the space and take a dump on it to mark it as ours ?

Shared parking is shared parking. If you want a reserved space, buy one with the apartment/house

drdre

craichoe wrote: »

The majority of spaces in cork city are "Outside someones house" what are we supposed to do, write our names on the space and take a dump on it to mark it as ours ?

Shared parking is shared parking. If you want a reserved space, buy one with the apartment/house

I dont mean that way i mean like that picture.Right outside someones house etc.
That is an awkward spot he parked in,as you can see from the picture.

L-M

Just like your car OP, there has been a car parked outside my house for the last year, and hasn't moved ONCE... And it has never been touched... Unless some1 complained u(i didn't read the whole thread) i can't see a reason for clamping...

meathstevie

First of all if the owner of the Punto can't get out of there he/she has no right to drive at all. If you can't get out of that spot you have absolutly no control over the car and miserably insufficient skills to be on the road.

Second : there's no laws against parking at the end of a cul de sac as long as there's no roadmarkings saying you can't. The only thing I can say is that the car should have been a bit closer to the curb to be parked completely proper.

If that was my car clamped I wouldn't hesitate for one minute to call a locksmith to get the clamp removed ( no damage if opened properly ) and a registered letter would be on route to the management company and the clamping company demanding payment of the locksmiths invoice and compensation for inconvience caused. With a bit of luck you could find a couple of scraches on the wheel and hammer them for that as well. Where on earth do those twats get the right to defacto impound a vehicle anyway ?

Ronanom

Rhodney wrote: »

no..that space is the end of the road/parking space...everyday, theres always a car parked in that area.

It's clearly NOT a parking space....I've already described to you how bloody annoying it would be for someone to reverse out of the real end parking spaces.

You say it's the end of the road / parking space....well it is a road and you shouldnt park in the middle of the road.

Let it go and as someone already said take it on the chin as karma for annoying other residents in the estate for the last six months by parking there

galwaytt

Ronanom wrote: »

It's clearly NOT a parking space....I've already described to you how bloody annoying it would be for someone to reverse out of the real end parking spaces.

You say it's the end of the road / parking space....well it is a road and you shouldnt park in the middle of the road.

Let it go and as someone already said take it on the chin as karma for annoying other residents in the estate for the last six months by parking there

Ronanam, drdre, others.

For a start, maybe you need to look at the pics again. Where in there does it say he can't park there? He's perfectly entitled to park there. There is nothing indicating he cannot. You are legally entitled to park on a road, so long as you don't park dangerously.

And he's not parked in the middle. He's parked parallel to one, and up against another, kerb. So obviously he's not blocking a thoroughfare - road - so there is no issue.

As for the 'parking outside my door' thing - get over it. That's what we pay VRT and Road Tax for - if you don't like it, take it up with the local authority or politicians. You cannot assert any right to a space outside your door. Unless you hold the deed to the space in question.

What I'd do is fight this. If you don't get satisfaction through reason - then invoice them for it and give them 14 days to pay it. After the 14 days, send reminder and advise them of the legal consequences if not paid inside the next 7.

After that, a civil bill citing all expenses (incl legal) will set them up nicely.........time to stop being a doormat, gentlemen.

milltown

I'm with Rhodney, don't rest until you get your money back, small claims court will sort you in a flash. The road outside my house is public and sometimes people park across the road from my driveway. Sometimes this requires an extra two steps in my reversing out but it takes seconds so WTF.

If somebody's usual parking required me to make a ten-point-turn then they're obviously coming home after me, so I'd make it my business to have a word when they'd parked their car some night and see if an agreement could be reached. But if nobody's in the wrong then it's time to work on getting your ten-point turn time down. Or leaving earlier.