Clamped when there was no "No Parking" signs @ 3rd level institution in Galway.

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What can you do if you are clamped when there was no "No Parking" signs visible in the vicinity?

This event happened today in the car park in the grounds of a 3rd level institution in Galway. My sister had to pay a €60 fine to get clamps removed, when parking outside a premises that she works in every day for years. She parked for 5 minutes literally. She is a student, and €60 seems a lot. Of course it is not worth shooting anyone over, but at the same time it was not pleasant.

Is there a law about this kind of thing?
 
Could there have been a sign at the entrance to the campus?

Has she never heard of anyone else ever being clamped there over the years she has worked there?

Illegal parking is clampable no matter how long the duration of the parking.

You also say she's a student but that's she's working in the premises for years.

Something's not adding up.
 
dereko1969 said:
You also say she's a student but that's she's working in the premises for years.

Something's not adding up.
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Fair question. She is a postgraduate science student. She earns money while doing research (through grants and supervising some first years) but it is not very much.
 
dereko1969 said:
Has she never heard of anyone else ever being clamped there over the years she has worked there?
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She honestly hasn't heard of this. Many people park there. There is a new company that have taken over the responsibility of clamping and parking at the institution, yet she is adamant that there has been no information given anywhere stating that there is to be no parking there.
 
Who clamped her ? Why not take a picture of the place she was clamped in and send in a letter of complaint seeking a refund ? No harm in pleading. Also point out that she is staff
 
At present there is no legislation regulating the operation of private clamping operators.

The current laws only provide for clamping by local authorities, or those acting as their agents, on public roads and in local authority car parks. This leaves unregulated the whole area of clamping on private property.

It sounds to me like the vehicle was parked on private grounds and not on a public road and therefore private clamping operators may operate. There is probably a sign in the vicinity/near the entrace stating the parking rules.

The fact that someone has been working on a premises for many years has nothing to do with the regulation of private car parks. I lived in an private apartment block for some years but it didn't stop my vehicle being clamped in our carpark when the permit blew off the windscreen onto the floor of my car!
 
By the sounds of it, what we have here is "illegal" parking and illegal clamping!

What company clamped the vehicle or was it a County Council?
 
Nothing to do with the council. This is a private issue between the student and the college.

I heard last week that the government were considering legislation for the regulation of private clampers operating on private properties.
 
ajapale is correct. There is a commitment in the Programme for Government to regulate private clamping but at present, as this area is unregulated, parking on a private premises (as in the college in the example above) is a private matter (between the student and the college).

The issue of legislation to regulate private clampers was raised in a PQ in the Dail last week and got a bit of coverage in the media. I'll see if I can find the response to the actual question asked and I'll post it if it is of any assistance.

CMCR.
 
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RonanC said:
What company clamped the vehicle or was it a County Council?
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It was a privately owned company that have been recently been hired by the college.

In fairness to that company they provided my sister with a complaint form and told her how to go about making a formal appeal to their head office if she is unhappy about being clamped. So she is doing that. She took about 16 photographs of her car and the area in which it was parked. And the person who clamped her also took a few photographs.

She is adamant that there was no information anywhere to be seen stating that no parking was allowed there. I guess that will be the crux of the matter.

She has gone to the security office and got all of the available material in writing concerning parking restrictions, and she still thinks she is in the right. I will see her tomorrow, and will see all this information an pictures.

Thank you all for your answers.
 
As there is no legislation regarding private clamping are there laws that can be used to excuse yourself from paying out if you get clamped (and lets please leave aside any discussion regarding the morals / ethics of parking on someone else's private land...)?

For example... if you are able to remove the clamp without damaging it, are you free to leave without paying a fine?

If you receive only a ticket, where is the obligation to pay it?

Are there laws regarding the detaining of property that could be utilised against private clampers?
 

Parking on private property is a contractual issue between you and the owner of the property. If the owner of the property states (via a sign, or say, notification at the entrance to the carpark) that parking is for 1 hour, or requires a permit, or is only permitted in certain parts of that property and so on, then you have a choice about whether to accept those terms or not. Failing to comply with the rules of parking on a private property, means you also accept the consequences. That may include receiving a ticket or being clamped.

The bottom line is that parking on private property is a contractual issue between you and the owner of the land. Issues that subsequently arise regarding the payment of tickets and the clamping of vehicles are between you and the owner of the property.

CMCR
 
CMCR - Thank you for the above post. That sounds right to me, and I find it quite helpful. Thanks again.
 
johnmck said:
you should to notify Galway City Council of this illegal clamping
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We don't know that it's illegal clamping yet. Other posters have said they've seen signs in GMIT/UCG. The OP hasn't come back to update so we're none the wiser. My guess is that there are signs and the OP's sister didn't see them.
 
johnmck said:
you should to notify Galway City Council of this illegal clamping
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Why? Galway City Council would appear to have no role what so ever in what is an issue between two private parties (the university and the student).
 
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