Damaged car by clamping

Ondrej

Hi,

Yesterday after a year I did not pay a parking and was clapmed. Yeah my mistake, first time in a year and 125 Eur. My mistake but eventhough I am paying 125eur is a lot. But!! my car is LHD and the put the notice on right site. I did not have chance to notice it and i drove with damaged the car. Are the responsible for this? I should get the notice on site where steering wheel is no? They are refusing any responsibility which I do not agree...

Thanks fro any response.

Kimbot

No, you got the notice and you were clamped. You drove off and damaged your own car so I would say its your own fault really.

Ondrej

thats compleatly unfair, how should I see it when its raining half of the sign was broken and they put it on another site? It should be ion the site of driver to notice it?

arleitiss

It's your responsibility as a driver to inspect your car before driving off.
Surely if you had a look around it - you would notice clamp attached?

cruizer101

Usually there is sign on side window and also under the window wipers on front window, were they both there.
Was it private clamp company that did it, do you have photos of the signs they put on car.
I'm not sure is there much can be done, although the fact that they always put the sign on drivers window does kinda mean they are accepting some responsibility to properly notify the driver which they didn't do in this case.
How much damage was done?

cruizer101

arleitiss wrote: »

Surely if you had a look around it - you would notice clamp attached?

I would often jump into car without looking at all my wheels, that said I do still think would be hard to not notice the sign on passenger window from inside car.

magicbastarder

arleitiss wrote: »

It's your responsibility as a driver to inspect your car before driving off.
Surely if you had a look around it - you would notice clamp attached?

do you inspect your car from all sides every time, just as you're about to get into it?

i would expect someone who clamps a car to place any notice on the drivers side. that said, if it was one of those big stickers on the side window it'd be hard to miss it from inside the car.

Ondrej

its a vintage car, thats why i am upset, yes I have photo, the put it on right site and I have lhd. i could not see it in the rain and the dark. Just not possible. Its making me uipset if you touch someones car, you should take responsibility!

deathtocaptcha

You can disagree all you want but you have no legal grounds for complaint: http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2015/act/13/enacted/en/print#sec13

Technically the clampers could clamp the rear passenger side wheel and fix a notice to the rear windscreen and they'd still be within the law, although it would be bad form.

Ondrej

Thats disgusting. once you are touching someones car you should also take responsibility. This system is sick

arleitiss

magicbastarder wrote: »

do you inspect your car from all sides every time, just as you're about to get into it?

i would expect someone who clamps a car to place any notice on the drivers side. that said, if it was one of those big stickers on the side window it'd be hard to miss it from inside the car.

Yeah I do, I've had multiple cases of having punctured tire which I didn't notice up until I started driving and realizing something isnt right.

What if somebody steals one of your wheels and leaves it on a brick? So you will drive off?

idk, it just seems weird not to have a quick glance around to make sure everything is alright before driving off.

magicbastarder

you have the right to complain to the NTA:
https://www.nationaltransport.ie/vehicle-clamping/

arleitiss

Ondrej wrote: »

Thats disgusting. once you are touching someones car you should also take responsibility. This system is sick

Pretty sure NCT folk would disagree.

Meeeee79

Ondrej wrote: »

Thats disgusting. once you are touching someones car you should also take responsibility. This system is sick

You should take responsibility to ensure you have paid for where you are parked so as not to risk being clamped.

Did you know you were meant to pay for parking where you parked?

.......

This post has been deleted.

draiochtanois

This post has been deleted.

TallGlass

arleitiss wrote: »

Pretty sure NCT folk would disagree.

Don't you sign something saying if they break it your liable?

Ondrej

Well, when its raining and its daerk I am prety sure all of us controling car. Yes I know I have to pay there. I am paying regulary for a year and day before week pass expired. I have no problem to pay the fee. As is is my problem and my mistake. What I dont agree is the way how it was made. Once you are touching someone else property you should take responsibility and be sure it is noticible when drive coming in...

Meeeee79

Ondrej wrote: »

Well, when its raining and its daerk I am prety sure all of us controling car. Yes I know I have to pay there. I am paying regulary for a year and day before week pass expired. I have no problem to pay the fee. As is is my problem and my mistake. What I dont agree is the way how it was made. Once you are touching someone else property you should take responsibility and be sure it is noticible when drive coming in...

Take your own advice and take responsibility for not paying your parking fee and not being aware enough of the circumstances around you before pulling off.

If you had correctly checked mirrors etc before pulling off, dark and raining or not, you would have noticed the sign stuck to your window. It is simply negligence on your part.

Hilly Bill

Ondrej wrote: »

thats compleatly unfair, how should I see it when its raining half of the sign was broken and they put it on another site? It should be ion the site of driver to notice it?

As a driver you need to notice a lot of things to be safe on the road. It's clear that you have trouble noticing the simple things like the need to pay for the parking, the notice on the window plus a big yellow thing stuck to your car. It looks like your own fault.

Hilly Bill

cruizer101 wrote: »

I would often jump into car without looking at all my wheels, that said I do still think would be hard to not notice the sign on passenger window from inside car.

It's the first thing i check when going back to the car in case i was wrongly clamped.

ebbsy

Get a solicitor. Shake the tree and see what apples fall out of it.

Hilly Bill

Ondrej wrote: »

its a vintage car, thats why i am upset, yes I have photo, the put it on right site and I have lhd. i could not see it in the rain and the dark. Just not possible. Its making me uipset if you touch someones car, you should take responsibility!

If you park without paying, you should also take responsibility..

Hilly Bill

Ondrej wrote: »

Well, when its raining and its daerk I am prety sure all of us controling car. Yes I know I have to pay there. I am paying regulary for a year and day before week pass expired. I have no problem to pay the fee. As is is my problem and my mistake. What I dont agree is the way how it was made. Once you are touching someone else property you should take responsibility and be sure it is noticible when drive coming in...

You gave them a reason to clamp you. Did they damage the car whilst clamping?

magicbastarder

ebbsy wrote: »

Get a solicitor. Shake the tree and see what apples fall out of it.

or go through the NTA complaints process first. which may be what a solicitor will advise anyway; the clamping company would possibly have a valid argument to make that they should not engage with a solicitor until the complainant has gone through the statutory process first.

Dravokivich

LHD cars are rare in this country. They'll clamp which ever side of the car is more suitable for them to do so. Most of the time they'll do it where they'd typically expect the drivers side to be if possible. Your circumstances aren't their issue really.

magicbastarder

god forbid we should actually expect someone whose job it is to clamp cars to pay heed to which side of the car the steering wheel is on.

Macy0161

So too dark to notice the big stickers and the clamp, but not too dark that the clampers should've noticed it was LHD?

Dravokivich

Mr.S wrote: »

They clamp and sticker the right had side because the driver will notice it straight away because it's their driving side. The only reason they do it is for you to notice it and not drive off damaging your car.

It may not be legally required, but it's pretty bad form to ignore LHD drivers and clamp / notice the other side of the car.

That said, i'm surprised OP didn't notice the sticker from the inside the car.

If driver side is not along the kerb and the road is too busy, I wouldn't expect to see a clamp there.

Odyssey 2005

Aren't you lucky there wasn't a kid under your wheel !. It's your responsibility to check your car before you drive off. You van blame the dark,The rain,The car being PHD,You can blame old nick himself ....but it's your responsibility/fault.
And yes I always check....always.

Alkers

Who clamped the car?

dr.fuzzenstein

ebbsy wrote: »

Get a solicitor. Shake the tree and see what apples fall out of it.

Odyssey 2005 wrote: »

Aren't you lucky there wasn't a kid under your wheel !. It's your responsibility to check your car before you drive off. You van blame the dark,The rain,The car being PHD,You can blame old nick himself ....but it's your responsibility/fault.
And yes I always check....always.

Clippity-clop :rolleyes:
You do a complete walkaround of your car every single time you set off? Walk around it in the morning, with a torch, kicking the tires, inspecting the wheelwells for hidden children?



And when you drive to the shop to buy a newspaper and a pint of milk, same thing again when you set off again 5 minutes later?
Yeah, no.
In the case of the OP, a clamp and a notice is an unfortunate and quite unbelievable thing to miss, but I just love this forum and all the "That would never happen to me, because I'm perfcet!" jockeys.
All the people who would never miss anything, have a 6th, 7th and 8th sense for everything around them including several parallel universes and the near future. Never a single mistake in 20 years of driving yerroner!

To the OP, yes it sucks, it's a PITA, but I think you're stuck with the bill. Unless you want to call Saul.

Macy0161

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

In the case of the OP, a clamp and a notice is an unfortunate and quite unbelievable thing to miss, but I just love this forum and all the "That would never happen to me, because I'm perfcet!" jockeys.

I don't get that general vibe, more that if you miss a clamp and a notice, it's your own responsibility. Like seriously, no wing mirrors must have been checked before pulling off to not notice the side window notice - mirror-signal-manoeuvre is pretty basic driving skills (albeit soon forgotten by many/ most)!

Odyssey 2005

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Clippity-clop :rolleyes:
You do a complete walkaround of your car every single time you set off? Walk around it in the morning, with a torch, kicking the tires, inspecting the wheelwells for hidden children?



And when you drive to the shop to buy a newspaper and a pint of milk, same thing again when you set off again 5 minutes later?
Yeah, no.
In the case of the OP, a clamp and a notice is an unfortunate and quite unbelievable thing to miss, but I just love this forum and all the "That would never happen to me, because I'm perfcet!" jockeys.
All the people who would never miss anything, have a 6th, 7th and 8th sense for everything around them including several parallel universes and the near future. Never a single mistake in 20 years of driving yerroner!

To the OP, yes it sucks, it's a PITA, but I think you're stuck with the bill. Unless you want to call Saul.

Clipping clip me bollix.
Yes I do
I though I I said that in my post. Did you miss that bit ?
His mistake,his problem,and he got off lightly.

Dakota Dan

Odyssey 2005 wrote: »

Clipping clip me bollix.
Yes I do
I though I I said that in my post. Did you miss that bit ?
His mistake,his problem,and he got off lightly.

Sounds like OCD

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/anxiety/obssessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd.htm

Odyssey 2005

Dakota Dan wrote: »

Sounds like OCD

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/anxiety/obssessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd.htm

Not really,just years of driving coaches and HGV's. Only takes a few seconds,but can save years of hardship and regret. Simple as that.

Odyssey 2005

Odyssey 2005 wrote: »

Aren't you lucky there wasn't a kid under your wheel !. It's your responsibility to check your car before you drive off. You van blame the dark,The rain,The car being PHD,You can blame old nick himself ....but it's your responsibility/fault.
And yes I always check....always.

Or even worse, what if there was a whole Group of children who escaped from the local creche. What if they were all hiding under the car. The OP could have had a massacre on their hands.

The OP is driving a car, not an airplane. Do you really check under your high horse everytime you take it out for a ride?

Everything the OP has described sounds like the clamper is at fault. Yes the OP should have paid for parking, but he didn’t, and a fine would be fair enough, but not damage to his car

I would definitely get professional advice first

Macy0161

Deleted User wrote: »

Yes the OP should have paid for parking, but he didn’t, and a fine would be fair enough, but not damage to his car

The clampers didn't damage the car - driving off with the clamp still attached damaged the car!

Macy0161

Macy0161 wrote: »

The clampers didn't damage the car - driving off with the clamp still attached damaged the car!

The clampers did not provide a clear warning

Whenever I see a clamped car the warning is always on the drivers window, so this must be their training/standard operating procedure (which also follows common sense) which they did not follow in this instance

dr.fuzzenstein

Odyssey 2005 wrote: »

Clipping clip me bollix.
Yes I do
I though I I said that in my post. Did you miss that bit ?
His mistake,his problem,and he got off lightly.

His mistake, not arguing that.
But still don't by it. :pac:

dr.fuzzenstein

Dakota Dan wrote: »

Sounds like OCD

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/anxiety/obssessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd.htm

Oh God, I'm a doubter and a sinner! :eek:

antodeco

The replies in this are mental!

I see it as 2 things:

OP, take it as bad luck that you missed it. It's crappy that the clamper didn't have it on drivers side, but it's just one of those things. I've smaahed cups in my dishwasher because I wasn't expecting them to be stuck in the drawer as I take them out. It's crappy bit can't do anything about it.

Secondly, people saying you check every inch of your car before moving off is codswallop. You don't. You will notice what is on your side of the car. Park in a city centre, driver side on the kerb. There's no way you will walk out into traffic and have a look at all your wheels to make sure it's ok. I suppose you check indicators aswell, incase they aren't working? Next time I get in my car, I'm going to check the boot aswell incase someone put a dead body or drugs in it when I wasn't looking.

Hilly Bill

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Clippity-clop :rolleyes:
You do a complete walkaround of your car every single time you set off? Walk around it in the morning, with a torch, kicking the tires, inspecting the wheelwells for hidden children?



And when you drive to the shop to buy a newspaper and a pint of milk, same thing again when you set off again 5 minutes later?
Yeah, no.
In the case of the OP, a clamp and a notice is an unfortunate and quite unbelievable thing to miss, but I just love this forum and all the "That would never happen to me, because I'm perfcet!" jockeys.
All the people who would never miss anything, have a 6th, 7th and 8th sense for everything around them including several parallel universes and the near future. Never a single mistake in 20 years of driving yerroner!

To the OP, yes it sucks, it's a PITA, but I think you're stuck with the bill. Unless you want to call Saul.

It's nothing to do with being perfect it's to do with having at bit of common sense. If you parked somewhere and didn't pay the fee if required then it's a good idea to check for a clamp when you return to your car..

Hilly Bill

Deleted User wrote: »

Or even worse, what if there was a whole Group of children who escaped from the local creche. What if they were all hiding under the car. The OP could have had a massacre on their hands.

The OP is driving a car, not an airplane. Do you really check under your high horse everytime you take it out for a ride?

Everything the OP has described sounds like the clamper is at fault. Yes the OP should have paid for parking, but he didn’t, and a fine would be fair enough, but not damage to his car

I would definitely get professional advice first

The car wasn't damaged by the clamper.

Hilly Bill

Deleted User wrote: »

The clampers did not provide a clear warning

Whenever I see a clamped car the warning is always on the drivers window, so this must be their training/standard operating procedure (which also follows common sense) which they did not follow in this instance

The big yellow thing on the wheel and the notice on the window is enough warning.

Hilly Bill

antodeco wrote: »

The replies in this are mental!

I see it as 2 things:

OP, take it as bad luck that you missed it. It's crappy that the clamper didn't have it on drivers side, but it's just one of those things. I've smaahed cups in my dishwasher because I wasn't expecting them to be stuck in the drawer as I take them out. It's crappy bit can't do anything about it.

Secondly, people saying you check every inch of your car before moving off is codswallop. You don't. You will notice what is on your side of the car. Park in a city centre, driver side on the kerb. There's no way you will walk out into traffic and have a look at all your wheels to make sure it's ok. I suppose you check indicators aswell, incase they aren't working? Next time I get in my car, I'm going to check the boot aswell incase someone put a dead body or drugs in it when I wasn't looking.

I'd make sure I've four wheels still on the car before driving off. All the op had to do was to check is right mirror before driving off. Unless you parked in the middle of the road then you don't need to walk into traffic.

Hilly Bill

Hilly Bill wrote: »

The big yellow thing on the wheel and the notice on the window is enough warning.

the op saw neither as they were put on the passenger side of the car

Meeeee79

Deleted User wrote: »

the op saw neither as they were put on the passenger side of the car

A car has wing mirrors on both sides of the car for good reason, neither of which were checked before pulling off and damaging his own car through his own fault

Meeeee79

Meeeee79 wrote: »

A car has wing mirrors on both sides of the car for good reason, neither of which were checked before pulling off and damaging his own car through his own fault

What if the clamp is on the front passenger wheel?

Meeeee79

Deleted User wrote: »

What if the clamp is on the front passenger wheel?

What about the big sticker plastered all over the passenger window???

Meeeee79

Meeeee79 wrote: »

What about the big sticker plastered all over the passenger window???

so you don’t want to answer my question. You insinuated that the op was at fault because he did not check their mirrors. If the clamp was on the passenger side front wheel you would not see it. Even if it was on the rear wheel you’d have a hard time seeing it.

The op said it was dark and raining. Said the warning was half off on the passenger side window, so NOT plastered all over the window