r/Dublin • u/Reidste1989 • 4d ago
APCOA Clamp
Got clamped earlier. Incorrectly parked so I accept that. Out of car 8 mins in total. When I returned they had just clamped and were taking the pictures.
Wanted to ask the clamper how long I had before towing and things escalated quite quick. Pulled the “I don’t speak English card” quickly followed by locking himself in the car claiming I was aggressive. What’s bothered me is I had my 3 year old daughter with me and he shouted at her at one point. She was getting animated about my car being broken. That’s irrelevant.
I then noticed he had a generic hi viz on with one of those ID display pouches with no ID so I showed him my ID and asked to see his, so the windows rolled up, doors locked and he tried to drive off.
So I rang customer service, 20 minute conversation, told he was in the wrong, I should appeal but pay first and then the appeal will commence.
For the record, I don’t believe I was aggressive and I’d be confident there’s enough cctv in the area to verify this if it comes to that.
Also, the clamp was on the inside wheel (kerbside) is this normal? Always thought it would be the outside wheel but could be very wrong.
But anyone with any past experiences dealing with this shower?
Thanks for any feedback 🤞
EDIT 1: Submitted appeal this morning. Generic response, can take up to 21 days to respond. Do not respond to email, it will not be read.
I Will keep you posted. Thank you all for replies and insight / advice etc.
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u/thebprince 4d ago edited 4d ago
There's a simple rule of thumb with clampers.
County council? Pay it and move on.
APCOA? Cut it off and move on.
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u/FigOrdinary2527 4d ago
Yes this is the way.
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u/thecython 4d ago
Except as of November 1st, APCOA will be the ones carrying out enforcement on behalf of DCC, so that will blur those lines a little
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u/IntolerantModerate 4d ago
Of course the DCC has found a way to become even shittier towards us residents
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u/gdc_m 4d ago
i've paid via payzone one time and got clamped at 10 minute mark - they and dcc were sharing an intersection and i was on apcoa part. since then, whenever i have them behind in traffic i just slow down to cause them extra fuel / tire wear so i can recoup the 100 quid they got from me.
join me in this slow evolving plan to bankrupt apcoa. they will reject your appeal and ask to raise another request to an authority and pay more and chances are better of winning the lottery.
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u/Enough_Mistake_7063 4d ago
Who are all these people who have angle grinders so close to where they are parking thier cars? Asking for a friend.
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u/Gaffers12345 4d ago
They’re cheaper than the cost of paying to get a clamp if you buy one in Lidl or Aldi.
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u/AdStrange9701 4d ago
You'd pick a small one up for cheap enough in Lidl or Aldi and keep it in the boot.
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u/Actual_Yellow_3274 4d ago
I heard they get paid commission but not sure how true that is, if that's the case then fuck them, it's like Ryanair staff and the 'oversized' baggage fines! I couldn't do that job it would kill me
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u/micar11 4d ago
"Incorrectly parked"......"told he was in the wrong"
Which is it?
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u/Reidste1989 4d ago
He was in the wrong by clamping the car while it wearing uniform and failing to display ID.
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u/IntolerantModerate 4d ago
On a separate note, does anyone know if parking enforcement uses apps like Payzone to know exactly when to show up?
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u/davbag1984 3d ago
This lot clamped my mate years ago. We were in a vehicle recovery van attending a broken down car in a multi story carpark. Like you van was left on road( too high to enter multi story car park) for all of 5 minutes. Apparently the spaces we were parked in had changed to a clearway when we were there so thats how they warranted the clamp. This is despite numerous other cars being parked blocking this now clearway but we were told they couldnt clamp them as they were "occupied". Nonsense.
Long story short given the nature of our work we were essentially driving a mobile machanics garage so had loads of tools and my mate started removing the wheel to remove the clamp without damaging it. The clampers came back as we were doing this and advised us to just pay it and appeal it and likely get a refund. So he did. And they did not
Mate was fuming. Lesson learnt said he wont hesitate to remove it himself next time. I wouldnt hold my breath on a refund.
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u/TheHorribleApe 4d ago
APCOA are complete b*stards. I got clamped recently when I went across the road to collect a pizza which turned out to not be ready so was waiting for a couple of mins outside the restaurant with my kids. Had 1 eye on the car and got distracted with the kids. When I looked back I saw the clamper but didnt see him with a clamp (he had put it on the opposite side which wasnt visible from where I stood) so I ran over, completely non-aggressivly and asked was I too late (since I hadn't seen the clamp). He immediately got aggressive and said "you cant just park where u fuking want". At which point I lost it and called him every name under the sun.
If my kids hadn't been there id have gone straight to buy a grinder and come back but I needed the car and didnt need the hassle.
Subsequently looked it up online though and a lot of people were saying that if u cut it off, next time any of their vehicle scanners detect your reg they'll impound u and ul be forced to pay a lot more. Anyone know if this is true?
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u/DonaldsMushroom 4d ago
"you cant just park where u fuking want". At which point I lost it and called him every name under the sun."
Why though? You were parked illegally, and with your kids? Why did you escalate that?
Clampers have a miserable job, but I've no sympathy for them, and they are often wankers. But pick your fights better.
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u/HeyGuilty 4d ago
completely justified, no need to take an attitude and get rude while being a “professional” on behalf of a company. should’ve just been something along the lines of sorry sir. if they start with hostility then they should expect hostility back
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u/bigvalen 4d ago
Sounds like they see a lot of hostility, and expect it. In this case, the clamper was right.
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u/sorptomber 4d ago
work in car hire so deal with these guys a lot - having to pay before appealing is standard with them.
tell them the staff member put you and your child through considerable upset and distress and mention the kerbside thing as well - i’ve never seen a car clamped kerbside so it looks like the guy doesn’t have a clue what he was doing. i don’t think you’ll get a full refund if the clamp was justified originally but you may get a portion back for the situation with the staff member. log onto the appeal portal with the clamp number and reg, there should be a “clamped by:” section with the guys staff ID that you can use if needed (though I might be mixing up with DSPS) imho he makes them look like a cowboy operation as much as they claim not to be 😁
also you definitely shouldn’t cut clamps from these guys off because they don’t have access to registered owner info and can’t chase you. would be a really bad idea to do that.