Clamping Advice

eamonzo

Hi,

I had a quick search through the clamping threads and couldn't find any in this situation.
I was clamped at a train station by the NCPS.
I prepaid parking for the week and there were no spaces when I arrived. I parked at the end of a line of cars, not blocking any access as I had to jump on a train to get to work. Also the parking bay markings are faded and this could easily be mistaken for another space.

Do I have a leg to stand on re. failure to provide services paid for? Or anything else?

Bandara

If you were parking in a parking space and you had paid then your in the right

If you parked on a area what is not a space then you should pay the fee

Other will disagree but just my opinion. If you made the error you pay, even if it was a mistake

pa990

If "someone" was to cut the clamp off, someone who wouldn't be identifiable by cctv. And then threowner just happened to drive the car away an hour or so later...... I wonder what would happen ?

Not much I would imagine

eamonzo

Thanks, but I don't have access to the tools required, and it's somewhere I park regularly so they could just recognise my reg and clamp me again probably.

I'm wondering if I have any grounds for the fact I prepaid for parking and it wasn't provided, ie no spaces. Or that the the space markings are faded and it's not obvious where the bay ends. It just feels like such a scam as I wasn't impeding anyone where I was parked, just clamping to get the €120 off me.

mothoin

cut it off, if they clamp you again, cut that off again, they will soon learn!:cool:

dr.fuzzenstein

eamonzo wrote: »

Thanks, but I don't have access to the tools required, and it's somewhere I park regularly so they could just recognise my reg and clamp me again probably.

I'm wondering if I have any grounds for the fact I prepaid for parking and it wasn't provided, ie no spaces. Or that the the space markings are faded and it's not obvious where the bay ends. It just feels like such a scam as I wasn't impeding anyone where I was parked, just clamping to get the €120 off me.

If you have paid to get the clamp off already, you would be mad not to appeal. All they can do is turn you down. I'd say best stick with the argument about faded lines.

techdiver

I know the station I park at uses Park by Text and in the small print it states that even though you pay to park, you are not guaranteed a space.

I find it odd that they are permitted to do this. If they were bothered they could set aside a number of spaces for people who prepay and only allow that number to prepay.

Call me old fashioned, but if you pay for a service, you should receive a service. Otherwise they are just stealing your money.

PrettyBoy

Cut the clamp off with a cordless angle grinder. Repeat as necessary.

eamonzo

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

If you have paid to get the clamp off already, you would be mad not to appeal. All they can do is turn you down. I'd say best stick with the argument about faded lines.

Thanks, I intend to appeal and was wondering which arguments I should include so this is helpful.

techdiver wrote: »

I know the station I park at uses Park by Text and in the small print it states that even though you pay to park, you are not guaranteed a space.

I find it odd that they are permitted to do this. If they were bothered they could set aside a number of spaces for people who prepay and only allow that number to prepay.

Call me old fashioned, but if you pay for a service, you should receive a service. Otherwise they are just stealing your money.

I feel the same, it's maddening. If they allow you to prepay for parking then they should be obliged to provide the service. Is there nothing in law about this?

dr.fuzzenstein

eamonzo wrote: »

Thanks, I intend to appeal and was wondering which arguments I should include so this is helpful.



I feel the same, it's maddening. If they allow you to prepay for parking then they should be obliged to provide the service. Is there nothing in law about this?

Imagine you went to a restaurant and paid for food. The food doesn't arrive and you get fined for not receiving your food, how fcuked in the head is that?
I see no argument against that.

MarkR

They sell more spots than they have. Otherwise, when you tried to prepay, you would get rejected. And then you'd somehow get to the station, only to see it with available spots! Homicidal rage starts, and 12 people dead before you go down in a hail of bullets. No one wants that.

Hard luck, I do feel sorry for you, but I also hate people parking arseways. You put me in a moral quandary.

eamonzo

MarkR wrote: »

They sell more spots than they have. Otherwise, when you tried to prepay, you would get rejected. And then you'd somehow get to the station, only to see it with available spots! Homicidal rage starts, and 12 people dead before you go down in a hail of bullets. No one wants that.

Hard luck, I do feel sorry for you, but I also hate people parking arseways. You put me in a moral quandary.

That's the thing, if I had parked in such a way that was blocking or inconveniencing people I'd say fair enough. But where I parked could easily be a parking space, it seems like unreasonable money grabbing.

Also I feel it's worse to turn up at the station with your car and be left stranded and either miss your train or get clamped, than to be rejected in advance and find an alternative way to get there. If you prepay for a service it shouldn't be a lottery as to whether you receive it. And there are few things more enraging than seeing your car clamped :mad:

What will probably happen is what always happens. Pay -> Appeal rejected -> Clampers continue happy clamping. I've no faith in the appeal process having gone through it before. I might write to the council but I'm not sure I'll get far going that route either.

9935452

eamonzo wrote: »

That's the thing, if I had parked in such a way that was blocking or inconveniencing people I'd say fair enough. But where I parked could easily be a parking space, it seems like unreasonable money grabbing.

Also I feel it's worse to turn up at the station with your car and be left stranded and either miss your train or get clamped, than to be rejected in advance and find an alternative way to get there. If you prepay for a service it shouldn't be a lottery as to whether you receive it. And there are few things more enraging than seeing your car clamped :mad:

What will probably happen is what always happens. Pay -> Appeal rejected -> Clampers continue happy clamping. I've no faith in the appeal process having gone through it before. I might write to the council but I'm not sure I'll get far going that route either.

Firstly i hate the thought of clampers and personally would cut the clamp off while wearing a hoodie , come back an hour later and drive off
i know its a balls there was no parking spaces available but one of your excuses is where you parked could easily be a parking space or easily mistaken for a parking space.
you knew it wasnt a parking space and still parked there. what can you expect
Id say appeal it but you probably wont get anywhere with it

corktina

lots of people on here will recomend you cut off the clamp. Very few of them have actually done it I'm thinking

rowanh

My girlfriend was clamped by ncps in our parking space in our old apartment as she put her new nct disk over the ncps parking disc. She had been parking there daily for a year or so. They said pay it and appeal it should be fine, took two months with the appeal and then told her no. I wouldnt expect to get anything on appeal.

Fiskar

techdiver wrote: »

I know the station I park at uses Park by Text and in the small print it states that even though you pay to park, you are not guaranteed a space.

I find it odd that they are permitted to do this. If they were bothered they could set aside a number of spaces for people who prepay and only allow that number to prepay.

Call me old fashioned, but if you pay for a service, you should receive a service. Otherwise they are just stealing your money.

Have started using this service this week, do you need to display anything on the dash if using Park by Text.

BTW, totally agree with your sentiments, if they know how many have prepaid then why allow people to continue to book if they know it will be full!

techdiver

Fiskar wrote: »

Have started using this service this week, do you need to display anything on the dash if using Park by Text.

BTW, totally agree with your sentiments, if they know how many have prepaid then why allow people to continue to book if they know it will be full!

You don't need to display anything. Once your reg is on your account it will show up on their system.

corktina

rowanh wrote: »

My girlfriend was clamped by ncps in our parking space in our old apartment as she put her new nct disk over the ncps parking disc. She had been parking there daily for a year or so. They said pay it and appeal it should be fine, took two months with the appeal and then told her no. I wouldnt expect to get anything on appeal.

i don't know why she bothered to appeal. She made a mistake, paid the price.

dr.fuzzenstein

Fiskar wrote: »

Have started using this service this week, do you need to display anything on the dash if using Park by Text.

BTW, totally agree with your sentiments, if they know how many have prepaid then why allow people to continue to book if they know it will be full!

That sh*t would never fly in a court, but, as every other cowboy, thief and crook in this country, they know the Irish legal system works against honest people, because if you lose, you lose big and if you appeal, you are down a few hundred grand. That is why people in this country rather take it up the arse than go to court, something that is the basic right of any person in other countries.