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PARKING TICKETS GETTING turned upside down because of the wind and getting clamped while trying to find a working machine were just some of the recurring complaints Dublin City Council (DCC) received from people who have been clamped in recent times.
Last month, TheJournal.ie revealed the most common areas and offences that DCC receive clamping complaints about.
Today we’re looking at exactly what those complaints were about. From May 2016 to May 2017, the council recorded 63 complaints about clamping on its appeals system. A number of them led to refunds or partial refunds.
According to information received under a Freedom of Information request, a number of these complaints had recurring themes. Namely, pay machines being out of service; tickets being turned upside down because of wind and a few cases of clamps not being put on properly.
Broken machines
In one case a man described how, while parking on 9 October at the start of Rathdown Avenue in Terenure, the nearby machine would not take any of his coins. He had two €2 coins, two €1 coins and three 50 cent coins.
He said he spent 15 minutes walking around looking for another machine but only found other people in the same situation – and no working machine.
A resolution note on this complaint read, “Refund with caution, gesture of goodwill.”
Two of the complaints about machines not working were in Lotts North in north Dublin, both of which resulted in refunds.
The first complaint, dated 16 February, describes how the complainant noticed the pay machine was broken and continued to walk around looking for one until being told by a passerby that they could buy a ticket in Spar. On the way to the shop, the person noticed their car was being clamped and said the clamper “wasn’t very interested” when they explained the situation.
The second complaint about being clamped at Lotts North, also dated 16 February, described how the complainant ran back to their apartment to get their phone and add the recently rented vehicle to park-by-text when the machine was broken and they couldn’t find another one nearby.
They said the back gate to their apartment was “no further than 100 metres away from the parking location”, adding “it took no longer than six minutes until I was back at my car”.
The complainant spotted their car being clamped on their way back and the Dublin Street Parking Services (DSPS) staff member told them they should have gone to another machine. The person states in the complaint, “I agreed and explained that it would have taken the same amount of time if not longer to go to another machine.”
The person also urged the DSPS staff to feel the heat of the car engine and showed screenshots of previously paid parking through texts.
In another complaint, a parent described parking on Grenville St in the north inner city while attending an appointment with a sick child in Temple Street Hospital. They said the nearest machine wouldn’t take their coins but a machine on Mountjoy Square South worked. The person paid up until 12.10pm – one hour after the appointment time.
On the way back to the car to top up as the appointment was delayed, two machines were broken. They paid at the third machine but “went around the corner to find the clampers at my car”.
The complaint states, “I informed them of my situation and the fact that if the first two meters were working I would have got to my car before them.
It’s stressful enough taking a child from Donegal to Temple Street without being clamped for a ticket being 15 minutes out. With your grace period of 10 minutes that meant I was clamped after five minutes, I had the new ticket bought on my way down at nine minutes.
A note on this complaint said, “Refund”.
Another person described how they parked next to Holles Street Hospital but the two nearest pay machines were out of service. They said they left a note to explain but they were still clamped. A note on this complaint said ‘declined’.
Blown Away
Another common issue seems to be tickets being blown upside down by the wind – thank you Irish weather.
One driver put in a second appeal after being clamped near Temple Street Hospital on 28 July 2016. It stated:
I put a ticket on my dashboard but when I closed the door it blew over and was upside down on my screen. I called the clamper who was just up the road and tried to explain, but he just stared blankly at me, saying nothing.
The person added that they’ve worked in Temple Street for 17 years and have never been clamped. A note on this complaint read, “50% refund with caution, gesture of goodwill”.
Another driver described a similar situation where their ticket was displayed upside down. They stated in the complaint:
I was unaware of the ticket being upside down. When I returned to my car it was clamped.
They also took issue with the manner in which they were dealt with, saying they were told to “pay and complain later or your car will be towed away”. The complainant said:
I couldn’t believe this tone. This is unacceptable to older people and I was bullied into paying forcefully or I would not see my car again. How dare anyone treat me like this.
A note on this complaint also read, “50% refund with caution, gesture of goodwill”.
A third complaint about being clamped because of an upside-down parking ticket also stated that they had paid for their parking in full.
Parking was paid in full and the ticket was placed facing the correct way up however 23 October was a very windy day in Dublin and the ticket must have blown over. The ticket was not in the original place where I had left it.
The note on this ticket echoed the other two stating, “50% refund with caution, gesture of goodwill”.
Loose clamp
Two complaints based in the same area of Dublin and just three days apart describe being clamped even though there was no road signage or markings stating they could not park in the location and, oddly, neither vehicle was correctly clamped.
The first complainant parked on Inchicore Road on 15 April 2016 while visiting Kilmainham Gaol. The driver said there was no signs or road markings indicating it was a pay and display area.
They also described being confused over how their car was clamped:
The person said they were unsure if this was a hoax but decided to pay the fine as they were told they had to either pay the fine or the car “would be located and towed”.
A note on this complaint read, “refund”.
A similar set of events occurred on 18 April 2016. Again the driver noted that they passed no signs indicating that parking restrictions existed in the area, writing “neither did I see any road markings or pass any parking metres”.
The complainant also said, “The clamp was not correctly fitted to my vehicle as it had fallen off.”
A note on this complaint stated, “Refund with caution, gesture of goodwill.”
In another case, a complainant described how “the clamp did not immobilise my car as stated by Dublin Street Parking Services”.
The clamp was not fitted to the wheel at all. The heavy chains were locked around the spring and shock absorber. This is a dangerous practice as brake pipes are also in this area.
The person questions the regulations around this, “I would like to know what Dublin City Council bylaws state about clamps causing damage to any road vehicle.”
The note on this complaint stated, “Refund with caution, gesture of goodwill.”
Safety was also brought up in a complaint where the driver stated the sticker informing them of the clamp was not on their car window and they attempted to drive the car as they did not see the clamp.
I now have the sticker and I can show that the sticky backing was not removed at all and remains on there. No sticker was there when I came to my car and I tried to drive the car.
They also claimed they had paid for parking all day and moved their vehicle as needed but that they had a problem with the app at one stage and thought they were paid for that period.
The note on this complaint read “refund”.
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While not in any way religious, it’s a step forward. There are people who are religious and gay and it might allow them to be more authentic to who they are innately without shame.
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
Kind of ironic that alot of priests are gay yet they are told to disapprove gay marriage, how could you be part of an organisation that represses what you are
@CP: Whether clergymen are homosexual or heterosexual is actually irrelevant – the point is, they have to be celibate.
@Antóin Ó Cumamothóin:
Studies suggest at best 50% of the clergy are celibate. So long as it’s between consenting adults, no big deal.
@P.J. Nolan: which studies? Very interesting if true.
@CP: being celibate is repressing who you are regardless of your orientation.
@Antóin Ó Cumamothóin: and the moon is made of cheese
It’s not uncommon for gay people to be religious, this is a good news story
As one in a same-sex marriage and long time atheist/heretic, I could give a donkey’s long one what the church says I can and can’t do. Nothing but a huge crowd of hypocrites anyway.
@Wicked Hedgehog: no offence but isn’t that kinda totally irrelevant….like I abhor gambling but I love watching the footie
@Ken Mc Carthy: But are your day to day actions and lots of legal standings based on what The Hypocrites say/believe? They’re saying that the sacrament of marriage is only between a man and a woman and a this belief spills into many inheritance, adoption, surrogacy laws. Who are They to start dictating play? I don’t believe in any of the Sky Fairy nonsense. Separation of church and state is what we’re talking about.
@Wicked Hedgehog: you obviously do care as it triggered you enough to make a very intense response. It may not mean anything to you but it does to many others in your community. Happy Christmas to you and your partner.
I’m gay and I do not want approval from a religious institution that believes I’m “fundamentally disordered”. Why would I even want it?
What’s next? Blessing butt plugs at midnight mass?
@Ray Farrell: There are certain sacrifices that come with being gay, such as being a member of the Catholic Church. Too many want to have their cake and eat it – even if it means rewriting scripture.
@Antóin Ó Cumamothóin: I don’t think you’re gay at all, you’re just trolling
@Antóin Ó Cumamothóin: it was never in the scripture in the first place
@Antóin Ó Cumamothóin: To what scripture are you referring ?
@GVR: No, I’m gay AND I’m trolling.
@Boris Blank: Are you daft? The terms ‘gay’, ‘homosexual’ and ‘same-sex’ don’t appear in the Bible, but there are clear references to homosexuality.
@Antóin Ó Cumamothóin: no condemnation, so no rewriting of any scripture, if you’re going to troll, at least do it properly
@Ronan Meagle: Corinthians 6:9-10 – “Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers—none of these will inherit the kingdom of God.”
@Boris Blank: Maybe your interpretation of “sodomite” is different? I don’t think it’s limited to homosexuals, but it probably includes them. At least the Catholic Church thinks so.
@Antóin Ó Cumamothóin: So: female prostitutes and gays who don’t do an*l are ok? Straight people who do an*l not ok? Got it
@Antóin Ó Cumamothóin: so, nothing to back up your claims? Thought as much
@GVR: Strictly speaking, sodomy is any non-copulatory sexual act. You can choose whatever orifice you like.
@Antóin Ó Cumamothóin: serious? So no B j ‘s then, even? We’re all doomed so
@Antóin Ó Cumamothóin: so many rules
@Antóin Ó Cumamothóin: Christianity is in the part of the bible called the New Testament, with the Jewish back-story in the Old Testament.
If you are a follower of the Old Testament then you are practicing Judahism.
Or a corrupt form of it.
@Antóin Ó Cumamothóin: imagine how bejewelled and magnificent a papal cock ring must be!
@Jimmy Wallace: The 10 Commandments give the laws of Christianity.
There is no prohibition of homosexuality in those.
Further, from the gospel of Matthew:
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Odd that the commandments in the Bible should be so specific about things like “Thou shalt not covet”, but make no mention about homosexuality.
If it was in any way important, then it would be there.
And as this Jesus chap didn’t make any mention of it either, but was so upset at money lending in the temple, then we can only assume he didn’t have an issue with it either.
@Jimmy Wallace: The history of Christianity is…
fascinating.
Those that research/investigate such things fall into two camps:
1) Those that believe that the Jesus character is pure fiction
2) Those that believe the Jesus character is a conglomeration of various others
Putting that aside for the moment, somehow a religious cult began and spread to become a worldwide religion.
And those that follow Christianity (generally) have no clue about the history of their religion. (If they did, they would be unlikely to remain Christians.)
The very first split in the Christian movement – according to its own history – came between (Simon) Peter and Paul (Saul). According to the Bible, Jesus said to Simon that he would be the leader of Christianity after his own death. Simon would be the rock (Greek, peter) upon which he would build his church.
But there arose a huge dispute between (Simon) Peter and Paul (who was Saul) which Saul won. And the church is known as the Pauline church as a result. By any accounting the Christian church is therefore not the Church of Jesus (Greek, The Christ), but that of Paul.
A second major split occurred with the directive of Constantine, who decreed that a single text – which became the Bible – should be created that would contain the teachings of Christianity. What had long been oral history and teachings were to be compiled into this one book. Two major camps arose, which became the Western (Roman) and Eastern (Greek) churches, with the major difference between them being the divinity of Jesus (which had not been claimed until that point).
There were further splits, with the next most major in the Western church leading to the Protestant movement.
But the entire thing rests on a foundation laid by Judahism.
And who were the Jews, and how did their religion come to be what it was (is)?
The people who came to be known as Jews were Caananites/Phoenicians living on the coast who migrated inland to the hills west of the river Jordan. They brought their Caananite gods with them. Over time, they made one of these gods – the Caananite god of war – more and more powerful, and ultimately their one supreme god, which they wrote as Yhwh, and later Jehova, and which Christians with great conceit call God.
(Note that the Bible does not claim that this god is the only god, despite what Christians may claim. Indeed, the Bible specifically claims the opposite – that there are other gods.)
The Christian Bible is made of 2 parts – the New Testament which details Christianity, and the Old Testament which gives the Jewish back-story.
Any reasonable reading of the Old Testament would clearly show that its claims are a nonsense.
The Old Testament is, in essence, a story of a good guy versus a bad guy.
The Bible makes the claim that the Yhwh/Jehova character is the good guy and another character is the bad guy.
The Old Testament then goes on to list all the evil done by the good guy – from mass murder, to ecocide, to little individual acts of cruelty.
And what is the evil done by the bad guy, according to the Bible? To try to bring knowledge to mankind.
Put that in front of a jury in any court of law and the Yhwh/Jehova/God character would clearly be labelled as the bad guy.
But that is just a very brief accounting of the nonsense that is the foundation of the Abrahamic religions – the nonsense that such a large number of people believe and allow to run their lives, the nonsense that has been used to cause so much suffering.
So it possible now but not before. What a joke of a religion
@Wicked Hedgehog: You cared enough to presumably read the article and then evidently post a comment. Quite a strange remark you made.
The Catholic Church was infiltrated decades ago.
the end!
@Bass Boss: Amen!
@Bass Boss:
And the Catholic Church moves into the twentieth century
People speaking of scripture when at best they may have spent a couple of hours in their whole life reading it. They say Christ never spoke of who should marry whom, here is what Christ said, Matthew 19:4-9, pay attention to the use of the words male and female. Rome as is their unbiblical practice ignore biblical doctrine and follow the teachings of men, Matthew 15:8-9, another passage in relation to blessing same sex practice is found in first Corthians 6:9-11, for those who don’t care what the scriptures say fine. But don’t pretend to be an authority on it.
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