Only one quarter of clamping appeals succeed because “they don’t make it easy”, one driver has argued. 

Last year. 143,000 cars were clamped and of those who appealed, only in four were successful. 

On Lunchtime Live, Pádraig Wilson McCarthy has appealed his “so many times” but never been successful. 

“I went through a period of time thereat the start of the year where I found myself being clamped, I think in the space of eight weeks, I was clamped three times,” he said. 

“Look, I will admit, some of them were my own fault. 

“There was one time I got out of the car, I was paying by the app, I didn't press, I didn't go through with the payment, it didn't work, that was my own fault. 

“Another time I was parked in the wrong space.” 

However, there was one instance which still irritates him to this day. 

“I was in a rush anyway, I entered the details because it wasn't my car, I wasn't familiar with the registration plate, I put the wrong digit in,” he recalled. 

“The very last digit of the registration plate was wrong, when I got back to the car, the man was just putting the clamp on, I went over immediately. 

“I was like, ‘Look, I've paid for this parking, I just hit the wrong digit, wasn't hearing absolutely any of it.’” 

Pádraig appealed to the company and, after they turned him down, took the issue up with the NTA. 

Overall, it made him realise that “they don’t make it easy” in any way at all. 

“I'm assuming that's a filtering system or it's to deter people from trying to,” he said. 

“It's not an easy process and it's quite a lengthy process and you could be waiting a long time to get any response at all.”

Main image: A clamped car. Picture by: Alamy.com.