illegal clamping, change in paid parking requirement, incorrect meters, no notice

N

NicolaM

Registered User
Messages
762
I would appreciate any opinions.

There is on street parking outside where I live.
This is pay parking for certain hours, which have always been Monday to Friday, 08.00-18.30. The parking meter will not take money outside these hours.

However, the clampers have just been round, and clamped everyone on the street. It appears like the street signs have been changed to pay parking Monday to Sunday, 07.00-0000.
It is not clear when the signs were changed.
The parking meter still says the exact same hours, and only accepts money for the original hours.

Anyone know what the legal position with this is?

1)Is it illegal for the clampers to clamp when the meter for the road has different times to the (new) signs on the road, and won't accept money for other times
The clampers told my boyfriend that the only thing that counts is the road sign, not the meter.

2)Should residents of the area been informed of the change of paid parking times, in advance, in writing. This changw is a big deal for people who live in this road.

Thanks in advance

Nicola
 
Re: ?illegal clamping, change in paid parking requirement, incorrect meters, no notic

If you can't put money into the meter then it stands to reason that you shouldn't be clamped.
 
Re: ?illegal clamping, change in paid parking requirement, incorrect meters, no notic

Go to the newspapers on this. Everyone loves stories about over zealous clampers.
 
Re: ?illegal clamping, change in paid parking requirement, incorrect meters, no notic

Thanks.
Good idea, I have just emailed Joe Duffy, some of the newspapers, DCC and my local councillor.

I can't understand why the residents of the area were not contacted in writing re this. I also can't understand why this can be unilaterally imposed by the council.

There is also no good reason for the hours to have changed, as further down in the same road, it is still Mon-Fri parking (which stops people parking and commuting, which is the supposed purpose of the Mon-Fri pay park zoning).

The cynic in me says that this is purely a revenue gathering exercise.
It makes life quite difficult for people who live here, as we can't park our cars outside in the evenings or weekends any more now.

To purchase a permit (if it is allowed) is €400 per annum, as I own an apartment, as opposed to a house (€40 per annum for a permit).
However, no one even had a chance to apply for one, as we weren't notified of the change in advance.

The signs have been changed by some sticky white plastic with altered hours which were stuck on the original signs.

Does anyone have any idea of the legalities behind this?

Thanks in advance

Nicola
 
Re: ?illegal clamping, change in paid parking requirement, incorrect meters, no notic

I'm no expert, but I don't think the sign carries any legal weight on its own. It is a matter of local authority bye-laws. Get onto your local council on Monday morning, and check what has changed. With the local elections coming up, you may well find that your local councillors will be keen to get involved in something like this. Check out how the clamping fee appeals system works.

Is this in Dublin? Is there any basis for the 10-times difference in charge for apartments over houses?
 
Re: ?illegal clamping, change in paid parking requirement, incorrect meters, no notic

Hi
Yes, it is in Dublin, Dublin 8.
I imagine the higher fee for apartments is to discourage people getting permits.
It's an awful lot of money, on top of paying for a mortgage, and seems to discriminate against apartment owners, who are not actually wealthier than house owners. :(
I wonder if the councillor be interested.
By the way, we weren't actually clamped, but a whole rake of our neighbours were. I have emailed DCC to see why we were not informed about the changes, and why they have changed the pay parking to 7 days a week, 07.00-00.00.
I am really annoyed that DCC can do this unilaterally and without consultation, and as above, I think this is just a revenue generator, as opposed to anything that benefits the community

Nicola
 
Re: ?illegal clamping, change in paid parking requirement, incorrect meters, no notic

NicolaM said:
I imagine the higher fee for apartments is to discourage people getting permits.
It's an awful lot of money, on top of paying for a mortgage, and seems to discriminate against apartment owners, who are not actually wealthier than house owners. :(
I wonder if the councillor be interested.
Click to expand...
Most councillors will be very interested at the chance to be seen to be addressing an issue like this for residents, particularly given the imminent elections. The councillor should follow up on the lack of communication with residents, and the discrimination against apartment owners.
 
Re: ?illegal clamping, change in paid parking requirement, incorrect meters, no notic

Thanks for that Complainer. Excellent points that I could use.

I seem to have emailed my local TD by accident , rather than a local counsillor....:eek:
I don't think that he would be interested in this local stuff.

May I ask a rather embarrassing question?
Would anyone have a strategy for the best way to chose a councillor to contact..My area seems to be heavily represented by Sinn Fein, who I suspect might be very good in this type of case, but I do not and would not vote Sinn Fein.

Do people usually chose a counsillor from the party they normally vote for, or chose someone because they represent the nearest area towhere they live, in circumstances such as this?

Nicola
 
Re: ?illegal clamping, change in paid parking requirement, incorrect meters, no notic

NicolaM said:
May I ask a rather embarrassing question?
Would anyone have a strategy for the best way to chose a councillor to contact..My area seems to be heavily represented by Sinn Fein, who I suspect might be very good in this type of case, but I do not and would not vote Sinn Fein.

Do people usually chose a counsillor from the party they normally vote for, or chose someone because they represent the nearest area towhere they live, in circumstances such as this?

Nicola
Click to expand...
Don't agonise too much about your choice. I'd suggest calling the one from the party you normally support, but just call one. Or even call/email all of them (seperate emails of course) and see what happens.
 
Re: ?illegal clamping, change in paid parking requirement, incorrect meters, no notic

approach ALL your local councillors. You don't have to vote for them, but you can get them to work on this issue.

i'd be hopping mad if it were me.
 
Re: ?illegal clamping, change in paid parking requirement, incorrect meters, no notic

Thanks all,
Will try the group email thing (sending each one separately) and see what happens....

I'm glad ye think I have a point. It just feels like when DCC impose something that there'll be no coming back from it.
I'll see what response I get

Nicola
 
Re: ?illegal clamping, change in paid parking requirement, incorrect meters, no notic

Well..
I guess none of the newspapers or Mr J Duffy are interested in my plight so far :rolleyes:

DCC have forwarded my complaint to the Parking Enforcement division, so I'll see what they say

Nicola
 
Re: ?illegal clamping, change in paid parking requirement, incorrect meters, no notic

My boyfriend spoke to DCC today (while trying to organise a €400 parking permit, ouch), and was told that DCC do not notify people in advance of changing parking times/zones.

Could this possibly be correct and lawful? (given the fact that this leads to unexpected clamping, and inability to park without a permit, with no notice to organise one)

There is a deafening silence from the TD and councillors that I contacted.
Great.

Nicola
 
Re: ?illegal clamping, change in paid parking requirement, incorrect meters, no notic

One of the counsillors has phoned me back.

DCC apparently held a ballot about changing the parking regulations on my street.

They ONLY invited people who live in houses in the street, and who are on the electoral register to attend...ie completely excluded anyone who has bought an apartment.

This means that apartment owners are now forced to pay €400 a year for a permit, whereas the house owners, who were allowed to vote, only pay €40.

No wonder the apartment owners weren't invited, as we all would have voted against this plan to change the parking.

This is complete discrimination to my mind.

There is also no recourse to get the parking changed back to what it was previously, according to the parking enforcement officer.

Apparently there will be a ballot in the summer to try and get the parking by laws changed, but this will not help with this situation.

Can anyone suggest anything else I can do?
I think this is just incredible discrimination.

Nicola
 
Re: ?illegal clamping, change in paid parking requirement, incorrect meters, no notic

Slight update...
According to Citizens Information, onstreet parking costs approx €25 for a year (varies with location..) http://www.citizensinformation.ie/c...nd-parking/parking_fines_and_vehicle_clamping
This includes Cork city..I checked last night.
I really do not believe that there is a nearly 20 fold difference in cost of living between Cork City and Dublin city, so I cannot see how DCC can justify this.

I have had a further response from another councillor, who has said that blocks of apartments are excluded from on-street parking.


I have also got the name of a parking enforcement officer, and emailed him personally to see what he says.

I really cannot believe that apartment owners are legally excluded from consultation processes, purely by reason of owning an apartment as opposed to a house. I suppose I do have the benefits of having paid €20,000 already to buy a parking space, and I also have the pleasure of paying nearly €3,000 a year in management company fees (for a one bed apartment).:rolleyes:
There are a lot of benefits associated with owning an apartment, it appears.

Fair dues for the various councillors following up on this for me though.

Nicola
 
Re: ?illegal clamping, change in paid parking requirement, incorrect meters, no notic

NicolaM said:
I have had a further response from another councillor, who has said that blocks of apartments are excluded from on-street parking.
Click to expand...
I think I see where they are coming from. I guess that DCC are taking the view that the apartment development should provide parking for the apartment dwellers, and that the street parking should be reserved for others who don't have the luxury of an on-site parking spot.
 
Re: ?illegal clamping, change in paid parking requirement, incorrect meters, no notic

Complainer said:
I think I see where they are coming from. I guess that DCC are taking the view that the apartment development should provide parking for the apartment dwellers, and that the street parking should be reserved for others who don't have the luxury of an on-site parking spot.
Click to expand...
Yep, they are obliged to provide "adequate" parking within the development. When I lived in an apartment in Dublin 8 there was less than one parking space for each apartment.
 
The 'luxury of off street parking' notion is a funny one.

My 'luxury' car space cost me €20,000 (imagine), and whatever interest that will accrue over the term of my mortgage. There is barely enough room to park in it, as the developer squeezed as many spaces as they could into a relatively small place. My car has already been damaged on several occasions in the car park, as people have had very little space to maneuver their cars. Even opening the car door can be a problem as the spaces are so tight.
I can't see much 'luxury' in this.

The majority of apartments have more than one resident, and some have families. Therefore there is an undersupply of car spaces available on-site, as alluded to by Purple.

It's interesting that apartment owners seem to have less rights, and more disadvantages than house owners.

I have to pay nearly €3,000 per annum in mgt company fees as I mentioned above, and now we have to pay an extra €400 per annum to be able to park on the street outside. That's a lot of money.

This on a background of having to buy a one bedroom apartment, because I couldn't afford anything bigger...like a house.

I wasn't clamped Keithrf900, but many of my neighbours were.


Nicola
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top