56000 Clamped in Dublin in 2014

Love2love · 14-01-2015 5:23pm

I use to live near enough to Merrion Square. In fact, in one of the small side streets and the clampers would sit and wait in the lane until 7am when they could go out onto Hogan Place and clamp everyone. It would drive me mad to see them getting their breakfast roll in the shop and sitting there waiting to pounce!

That being said I have seen inconsiderate people block footpaths and small roads for a whole day and I would be cursing the fact there weren't any clampers around.

maximoose · 14-01-2015 5:25pm

Nino Brown wrote: »

I wonder how many of the 56,000 is the same people being clamped multiple time. It takes a certain type arrogance to park in certain places, I would say that quite a few of the 56,000 were repeat offenders because that kind of arrogance is usually pretty rare.

There is a lovely 10 Audi A6 that parks across from my office every day, owner works in the building opposite us. He gets clamped at LEAST once a week parking in the same spot without paying.

Absolute arsehole.

Iwasfrozen · 14-01-2015 5:34pm

Love2love wrote: »

I use to live near enough to Merrion Square. In fact, in one of the small side streets and the clampers would sit and wait in the lane until 7am when they could go out onto Hogan Place and clamp everyone. It would drive me mad to see them getting their breakfast roll in the shop and sitting there waiting to pounce!

That being said I have seen inconsiderate people block footpaths and small roads for a whole day and I would be cursing the fact there weren't any clampers around.

Why would you get mad at them for clamping illegally parked cars?

Dog of Tears · 14-01-2015 5:34pm

Love2love wrote: »

I use to live near enough to Merrion Square. In fact, in one of the small side streets and the clampers would sit and wait in the lane until 7am when they could go out onto Hogan Place and clamp everyone. It would drive me mad to see them getting their breakfast roll in the shop and sitting there waiting to pounce!

But you had no issue with the people who hadn't purchased parking tickets taking up spaces and denying fellow motorists the opportunity to park?

Love2love · 14-01-2015 5:48pm

Iwasfrozen wrote: »

Why would you get mad at them for clamping illegally parked cars?

They were parked there from the night before so that anyone running late for work would be clamped. It has happened to the best of us.

Caliden · 14-01-2015 5:55pm

Love2love wrote: »

They were parked there from the night before so that anyone running late for work would be clamped. It has happened to the best of us.

If they were living in the area why don't they have a parking permit?

Dog of Tears · 14-01-2015 5:56pm

Love2love wrote: »

They were parked there from the night before so that anyone running late for work would be clamped. It has happened to the best of us.

Maybe the people illegally parked in these spaces caused others to be late for work as they couldn't find an available parking bay near to their office.

If you're supposed to vacate a spot at 7am then do so - simple.

What's you're alternative - let them continue to park without repercussion until whatever time they design to free up the space for others?

Love2love · 14-01-2015 6:04pm

One side of the road is free so a lot of people try to get it. Sometimes it's not always possible as they get used up very quickly. Not everyone is always on time. Sometimes people are late

Actually, you know what. I don't feel like arguing with the PC Brigade.

TheDoc · 14-01-2015 6:09pm

State and local authorities are fine, rarely are they wrong and clamp incorrectly. I've only being clamped once by Dublin Council, it was incorrectly done, there was a clearly defined process as I received a full refund.

Private clamping however, is a totally different story. And I take it the article probably doesnt refer to them, since you can't get a figure. Owing for the amount of illegal clamping that goes on.

I've had I'd say three illegal clampings in various spots around Dublin in the last 12 months. It's one of those shady,seedy problems that doesn't get as much airtime as it should.

I had heard discussions last year that clamping was being done away with, and it was moving to a ticketing system where you had X days to pay. The way it's done now is pretty terrible.

In the instance where Dublin Council clamped me incorrectly, they point blank refused to remove it until I paid, even though two of their staff had admitted the clamping was incorrect.

You couldn't make it up.

Also some pretty flippant **** going on from people in here. Yeah the app is actually very good, I used it for Hollies St. where my girlfriend was giving birth to my daughter. And it was dead handy. But throughout the 40 hours I was there, the amount of poor bastards I saw being clamped etc.

I'm sure as a bloke is beside his wife mid labour, he is very much thinking about whats left on the parking meter : /

Caliden · 14-01-2015 6:09pm

Love2love wrote: »

One side of the road is free so a lot of people try to get it. Sometimes it's not always possible as they get used up very quickly. Not everyone is always on time. Sometimes people are late

Actually, you know what. I don't feel like arguing with the PC Brigade.

PC brigade? I don't think you fully understand the term. Unless the PC stands for 'pedantic c***s'

Iwasfrozen · 14-01-2015 6:49pm

Love2love wrote: »

They were parked there from the night before so that anyone running late for work would be clamped. It has happened to the best of us.

Agreed but if you do something wrong you should just accept the consequences.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k · 14-01-2015 8:14pm

Iwasfrozen wrote: »

Agreed but if you do something wrong you should just accept the consequences.

That's a two way street. When clampers clamp illegally they should remove the clamp without delay or be liable for fees incurred due to someone's car being illegally immobilised.

Instead of demanding payment and threats of court if the clamp is removed. That's very like extortion

Iwasfrozen · 14-01-2015 11:47pm

LexieOnRale wrote: »

That's a two way street. When clampers clamp illegally they should remove the clamp without delay or be liable for fees incurred due to someone's car being illegally immobilised.

Instead of demanding payment and threats of court if the clamp is removed. That's very like extortion

If your car is ever clamped illegally and they won't remove the clamp then take it to court and win back expenses.

But if some one has parked illegally they dont have any leg to stand on.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k · 14-01-2015 11:55pm

Or you know, it's 9pm on a winters night and you need your car to get to your house which is 25 miles away. Then what do you do? You cut it off

Iwasfrozen · 14-01-2015 11:59pm

LexieOnRale wrote: »

Or you know, it's 9pm on a winters night and you need your car to get to your house which is 25 miles away. Then what do you do? You cut it off

As long as you're willing to accept the following legal repercussions.

Skylinehead · 15-01-2015 12:25am

Caliden wrote: »

PC brigade? I don't think you fully understand the term. Unless the PC stands for 'pedantic c***s'

Parking correctly brigade? :pac:

Woshy · 15-01-2015 1:24am

I was one of those 56000

I went to the immigration place on the quays with my husband to get his visa renewed. We parked on Pearse street at about 9.30am and used the text park. We kept topping up the parking as we were there for a while in a big queue. We got out of there at about 2pm.

When we got back to the car we had been clamped. It turns out there are loads of places on Pearse Street that you can't park in before 10am or after 4pm. We were clamped at 9.50am. So not only did we had to pay the clampers we had actually paid for parking as well from 9.30am - 2pm.

We felt like a right pair of gob****es. That'll learn us to read the signs better in future! What a fecking waste of money though

Clamping seems so counter productive though - oh there's a car there that shouldn't be or has been there too long. Let's put a clamp on it so it takes even longer for it not to be there anymore

Caliden · 15-01-2015 9:38am

Woshy wrote: »

I was one of those 56000

I went to the immigration place on the quays with my husband to get his visa renewed. We parked on Pearse street at about 9.30am and used the text park. We kept topping up the parking as we were there for a while in a big queue. We got out of there at about 2pm.

When we got back to the car we had been clamped. It turns out there are loads of places on Pearse Street that you can't park in before 10am or after 4pm. We were clamped at 9.50am. So not only did we had to pay the clampers we had actually paid for parking as well from 9.30am - 2pm.

We felt like a right pair of gob****es. That'll learn us to read the signs better in future! What a fecking waste of money though

Clamping seems so counter productive though - oh there's a car there that shouldn't be or has been there too long. Let's put a clamp on it so it takes even longer for it not to be there anymore

The alternative is having it towed which costs a shed load more than what a de-clamping costs

anncoates · 15-01-2015 9:47am

Clamping is a bit of a clumsy solution but can you imagine the expense and bother of chasing some of the fight the power types here through the courts for fines?

It's also a pretty breathtaking feat of doublethink to purposely park in a restricted area and cause an obstruction and then complain that clamping causes an obstruction.

As for private clamping. If people are so against owners of private property setting the terms - and punishments - under which you can park there, then why not let other people park across or in your driveway whenever they want?

moycullen14 · 15-01-2015 9:49am

Tell me, have a private company ever taken anyone to court for removing a clamp? Guy down the pub (I know, I know) reckons that they would never risk a court case on private clamping - too much to lose - so you're safe enough removing the clamp - even cutting it.

Caliden · 15-01-2015 10:08am

moycullen14 wrote: »

Tell me, have a private company ever taken anyone to court for removing a clamp? Guy down the pub (I know, I know) reckons that they would never risk a court case on private clamping - too much to lose - so you're safe enough removing the clamp - even cutting it.

I think there was a case in limerick where a fella was taken to court and lost but he was known to Gardai so I wouldn't take that judgement too seriously.

Sh1tbag OToole · 22-01-2015 12:04am

anncoates wrote: »

Seems simple enough to me.

If I'm using prepay parking, I pay as much extra as I can in case I get held up or I park somewhere I can pay afterwards.

On the very rare occasion I get caught out by circumstances beyond my control, I suck it down as it's not really anybody's fault.

Then again, Irish people are dab hands on pinning their own lapses in personal responsibility on everybody else except themselves.

Any system where you have to pay for more than you use just to be sure, and still have to 'suck it down' when some gobsh1te then puts a big dirty clamp on your car is seriously flawed. The 'pay when you leave' system some poster mentioned earlier is a far better idea, a shame it isn't promoted more

Guy:Incognito · 22-01-2015 12:20am

Sh1tbag OToole wrote: »

Any system where you have to pay for more than you use just to be sure, and still have to 'suck it down' when some gobsh1te then puts a big dirty clamp on your car is seriously flawed.

You only have to pay for more than you use if you don't think youll make it back in the amount of time you've paid for. Nowhere in that equation are the clampers involved. It's entirely down to the parker and what they are doing with their time.

Sh1tbag OToole wrote: »

The 'pay when you leave' system some poster mentioned earlier is a far better idea, a shame it isn't promoted more

Considering we are dealing with 56,000 people who decided that they either didn't want to pay for the amount of time they were parked for or just plain ditched their car somewhere illegal, how many will bother paying before they drive off? Lets say even if 10% don't bother. Are the courts sitting around doing nothing for so long each day that slipping in an extra 5600 cases a year will be seamless?

56000 Clamped in Dublin in 2014

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