Motorist did not know car was impounded

CORK’S clamping procedures were under fire last night after a car was towed and impounded for three weeks without its driver’s knowledge.

Sergey Tuchapskiy, 23, said when gardaí told him they had no record of his car being towed, he assumed it had been stolen.

Sergey's VW Polo was towed from Pope's Quay at 9.45pm on August 15, while he was at the cinema.

The city pound informed gardaí by fax at 11.10pm that night but garda enquiries to the pound the next day drew a blank.

Sergey assumed his car had been stolen and began an insurance claim.

However, a registered letter from Cork City Council dated August 25 arrived at his Wilton home on September 8 telling him his car had been at the pound since August 15.

He was told to either pay the €160 fine, plus €35 for every day it was in storage a whopping €735 or give permission for it to be scrapped.

Numerous phone calls to clamping and city officials later, Sergey managed to get his car back on Tuesday nearly three weeks after it was towed. He agreed to pay the €160 towing fine.

"It's not so much the fact that they towed the car I may or may not have been illegally parked it's the fact that I didn't have my car for a month," he said.

"I was denied access to work stuff in the car, plus the waste of my time trying to get it back," he said.

A council spokesman defended the procedures and said gardaí at both Anglesea St and Bridewell stations are made aware of all uncollected cars at the pound at close of business every night.