Minerva Security Limited, Whitehall Square Appts, Belfast

s3rk

SevenTowers wrote: »

Hi S3RK,
I'm glad that you got the note and found the forum, and there will be others, please spread the word. The Whitehall Square Management Company and their agents CSM have brought a legal sh1tstorm upon themselves. I'm not at all surprised that you think Minerva are thugs, who else but thugs would carry out an extortion racket. I can assure you that they will not return one penny unless they are forced to by a court of law ruling. Even then, they will probably liquidate and phoenix to get out returning money.

The next thing you need to do is to report this as a crime, see my advice in other threads, don't let the police palm you off, be VERY assertive.

Come back to this forum daily, together we will formulate a plan, there will be many others who will join the forum when they get the message.

For information, I don't live in Whitehall Square, but as I am probably the most active member of this forum in NI, I was contacted by a Whitehall Square resident who was gravely concerned about what was happening, I will do everything I can to legally help you recover your money from the scumbags.

Thanks SevenTowers, I plan to phone the police first thing tomorrow so I'll let you know how it goes. If you want, I'm also happy to PM you the email I sent earlier.

Coupon-mad

You need to rehearse first what you mean when you will say to the Police that it was an unlawful clamping. The Police will NOT know and may well have the mindset of being on the clampers' side. So no rush to phone first thing. Line your bullets up first, read around the subject and take on board what seven towers has said.

SevenTowers

Coupon-mad wrote: »

You need to rehearse first what you mean when you will say to the Police that it was an unlawful clamping. The Police will NOT know and may well have the mindset of being on the clampers' side. So no rush to phone first thing. Line your bullets up first, read around the subject and take on board what seven towers has said.

And the most important point of all is that it matters not one jot what was agreed by the Management company, they have no authority whatsoever over your parking space, that you own and pay rates on. Whatever agreements or rules they made are exactly that, it is not the job of the police to uphold the agreements or rules of a property management company. It is the job of the police to uphold the law of the land.

SevenTowers

s3rk wrote: »

Thanks SevenTowers, I plan to phone the police first thing tomorrow so I'll let you know how it goes. If you want, I'm also happy to PM you the email I sent earlier.

Great, I look forward to hearing how you get on, please post on this thread. Call Lisburn Road police station, they are the local station to Whitehall.

It is only if people report these crimes that the police will actually do something.

Please do PM the email, we can produce some template letters that all residents can send the managing agent stating that Minerva do not have permission to trespass on their private parking space.

The_Deep

If this clamping is indeed illegal, then surely removal of the clamp with an angle grinder and its confiscation would not be a criminal offence. However, with luck, the clampers might think it is and take action against you.

SevenTowers

If the clamping is illegal, then the removal of the clamp is legal.

If somebody comes on to my driveway, without my permission and leaves something on my car, be it an advertising flyer or a wheel clamp, I regard that something as a gift, for me to do with as I choose. It became my property when they gave it to me.

Whilst the possibility of criminal damage charges cannot be ruled out completely, it is highly highly unlikely that any court would find against you for protecting your property, in your privately owned parking space, against illegal clampers.

http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/8980822.Woolworths_developer_who_cut_off_wheel_clamp_wins_court_battle/

SevenTowers

As Coupon Mad has said, you need to spell out explicitly to the Police what the problem is, so even though this is a bit of repetition of what has already been said in this thread, it is worth spelling out exactly what bullet points need to be raised.

• Let's be absolutely clear, this is extortion, the police must take seriously, and you must report it as extortion. You may need to remind the police that extortion is a very serious crime and demand that they investigate it.
• The first thing that you need to point out is that the space belongs to you (or your landlord) and that you are using it withfull lawful authority.
• The Management Company, The Management Agent and Minerva have absolutely no authority or right to dictate rules to your landlord, or to you, and Minerva have absolutely no right to trespass on your privately owned space and they are acting illegally by depriving you of the quiet enjoyment of your parking space, and your car.
• Tell them that it is just like living in a private estate where the management company may have the authority to clamp people on the roadways, but what happens on your own private driveway is none of their business.
• Ask them what they would do if clampers came onto their own private driveway and clamped their car.
• If possible, show them your lease agreement that includes quiet enjoyment of your own parking space.
• Remind them that any agreements or rules of the Management Company are exactly that, agreements and rules, that certainly don't trump the law of the land.
• Remind them that they didn't take an oath to uphold the rules of property management companies, they took an oath to uphold the laws of the land.
• If they still fail to take your complaint seriously, tell them that you will be making a complaint to the Police Ombudsman about their failure to investigate the extremely serious crime of extortion.

If you haven't given into the ransom demand yet:

• Tell them that if they do not get the clamp removed immediately, you will be forced to bring in a professional locksmith and that you will be making a court claim against Minerva for the cost of the locksmith.

• Tell them that if Minerva left a clamp, on your car, on your property, then that clamp is lawfully a gift, which they have chosen to give to you, and for you to do with as you please.

• Remind them that the removal of an illegally fitted clamp is perfectly legal, and that you will have lawful excuse for any damage that may necessarily be incurred when the clamp is removed.

You need to be really assertive and don't let them palm you off. What Minerva are doing is trespassing, illegally clamping and extorting money. It is the job of the Police to sort this out and to Prosecute Minerva.

It is only when enough people start making serious complaints that the Police will act to stop the illegal activities of the clampers.

bazster

Any clamp can be removed with a bit of dismantling of the car's steering and suspension. With some cars and clamps you just need to jack up, remove the wheel, remove the ball joint pinch bolt, drop the ball joint stud, slide the clamp chain out, push the stud back in, refit the pinch bolt and refit the wheel. 10 minutes with a following wind.

Then flog the clamp on eBay.

bazster

And then there's the Homer Simpson approach (caution: sound!).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QIkTZaqtow

The_Deep

bazster wrote: »

Any clamp can be removed with a bit of dismantling of the car's steering and suspension. ... and refit the wheel. 10 minutes with a following wind.

or two hours if the wind is in the other direction. An angle grinder might be quicker.