Dublin City Council has sought a report from the clamping company Control Plus over a controversial clamping incident last Thursday. Control Plus is also investigating the incident.
A Dublin City Council spokeswoman said the council expected a report from the company later this week.
Mr Nicky Potterton was working at Middle Abbey Street, when his jeep was clamped in a parking bay on Thursday. He removed the clamp, claiming it was clamped in error because he had goods vehicle tax and commercial insurance. As he tried to drive away, he said he was surrounded by seven clamping vehicles, 16 traffic controllers and several gardaí.
Mr Potterton said it was "very intimidating and humiliating". Mr Potterton's story gave rise to a spate of complaints about the behaviour of clampers. Yesterday, the Today with Pat Kenny radio show detailed five separate incidents where people found fault with the actions of clampers. In one case, a midlands couple had to wait from 12.30 a.m. to 2.15 a.m. to have a clamp removed from their car at Donnybrook before they began the 80-mile journey home. Several calls involved residents whose cars were clamped at their homes.
Mr Neil Cunningham, managing director of Control Plus, said there was a full appeals system in place if people felt they were unfairly dealt with.
It was a two-pronged system, he said. If people felt Control Plus did not deal adequately with the complaint, then they could appeal to an independent appeals officer employed by Dublin City Council. The incorrect clamping of a car was "very, very rare" , he said. "All our staff are fully trained in parking regulations and by-laws, including written examinations."
They were trained in customer relations and in defusing difficult situations. People complained about the intransigence of clampers but Mr Cunningham said it was not fair to ask them to make a judgment call on certain situations. If there was a complaint, it would be investigated, he said.
He reminded motorists that it was an offence to interfere with a clamp or to obstruct a clamper. "People have been arrested and prosecuted for this," Mr Cunningham said.
He could not say how many cases had resulted in prosecution and a Garda spokesman said that information was not readily available to gardaí as the cases would be filed under "criminal damage".
Last April, a man was cleared of assaulting a clamper after a court heard from witnesses that the clamper had wielded a bar at the motorist. While there have been several reports of motorists removing car clamps, Mr Cunningham said the offence was actually "rare enough".
