Clamper left doctor crying
Alex Gore • Published 17 Apr 2012 13:10
8 Comments
A JOBSWORTH wheel clamper crippled a doctor's car while she made a home visit to an elderly cancer patient.
Shocked neighbours who tried to intervene had to look on helplessly as Dr Melanie Wyn paid the £130 release fee so that she could continue the rest of her house calls last Thursday.
Vic Goody, 71, a neighbour at the Burford Court sheltered housing development in Reading's Caroline Street, returned from a shopping trip to find Dr Wyn in tears and said: "It's disgraceful.
"I wish I'd been 30 years younger, I'd have punched him in the mouth. I told him the woman she was visiting has got cancer and said, 'What if she was visiting a sick relative of yours? He said, 'I would have clamped her, it's my job.' They should use their common sense."
Fellow neighbour Mick Breakspear, also a patient of Dr Wyn's Melrose Surgery, spotted the Parking Control Management (PCM) clamper from his window but his protests fell on deaf ears.
Mr Breakspear said: "Fair enough, she didn't have doctor's badge but I explained to him she was a doctor. It's not good enough."
He said last year he saw a care worker's car clamped while she visited a sick woman. Mr Goody, a part-time driver, was clamped himself last month after parking a company car for a "few minutes" to collect something from his flat and had the £190 fine docked from his wages.
Neighbours say they celebrated when Reading Borough Council hired PCM to prevent drivers from other areas using Burford Court as a car park but want to see clampers using common sense.
Neither Dr Wyn not PCM would comment but council spokesman Oscar Mortali, urging residents to get visitor permits, said it will ask the clampers to rescind the penalty.
Abbey ward councillor and transport leader, Tony Page, who stressed the firm is employed at no cost to the council or residents, said Dr Wyn should have been displaying a doctor's permit but pledged to review the guidelines given to clampers.
He added: "In the circumstances, when he was told this was a doctor, I'm appalled the clamper went ahead anyway. He could have verified it quite easily."
This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 17 Apr 12
Have your say. Post a comment on this article.
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dickemery
Unregistered User
Apr 17, 14:03
Report commentand he even knew who she was and what she was doing a doctor surely has a badge in the car they should revoke the 130 pounds and hand it back with a sincre apology
Recommend?
Yes 13
No 10
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Logan
Unregistered User
Apr 17, 14:12
Report comment"Fair enough, she didn't have doctor's badge but I explained to him she was a doctor...".
And there is your answer. It is all very well to blame the guy just doing his job but if you cannot prove who you are anyone could try this tactic. By this inane logic a 15 year old could go in a pub sans ID and get an older person to vouch for him/her and be served booze. Simply put the doctor was at fault for not having credentials on display but we now live in a politically correct/"any old excuse" society where those at fault will try blaming someone else. Where ultimately it is their own ineptitude that is to blame...
Recommend? Yes 20
No 10
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That Fella
Unregistered User
Apr 17, 16:55
Report commentVic Goody is clearly the MacGyver of Abbey Ward and the man's man you need in times of great peril. Imagine a bank heist with Vic in tow, you'd only need to walk into the place, get Vic to say to the guards "I know the fella, he works for the bank" and that would be it, no questions asked or ID required; next stop the Algarve!
Recommend? Yes 8
No 3
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Gareth
Unregistered User
Apr 17, 17:21
Report commentPage is supposed to be in charge of this department. But his weasel words give the opposite impression. He is either dishonest, incompetent or both.
Recommend? Yes 18
No 1
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******
Apr 17, 17:56
Report commentThis comment has been removed by a moderator
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Toilet Tony
Unregistered User
Apr 17, 19:05
Report comment -
******
Apr 17, 20:20
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BigDot
6 posts
Apr 18, 18:39
Report commentI just love the impartial reporting "A JOBSWORTH wheel clamper ..." :0
Recommend? Yes 6
No 2
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Nat 33398
Unregistered User
Apr 30, 00:57
Report commentBeing a clamper myself, our brief is to clamp cars which do not carry a permit,We hear so many excuses and stories it is easier just to carry out our job as directed.I work mainly monmonitering disabled bays and the abuse we get is terrible.Had this doctor had the correct badge on display this would not have happened as the clamper was safeguarding the tenants bays.
Recommend? Yes 0
No 3
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Gillybobs
Unregistered User
May 9, 06:40
Report commentMy daughter was clamped last week, on a mercy mission to a Spanish girl who has no UK based family or friends and has rented in a 'residents only' parking area. We were there for no more than 10 minutes and returned to the car to see the clampers still there after clamping her vehicle. She is a student revising at the moment for exams and didn't carry cash or cards. After I paid the men we were told that my daughter 'could go back to see her friend now' as they were the only operatives in the area on Thursday. I thought there job, according to the council, was to ensure parking bays were only used by residents? It seemed to me that they were only interested in getting an 'easy' £130 from two women. (My daughter had a disabled badge on her windscreen for Kingston University but this wasn't mentioned either.
When the clampers left a resident came to speak to us, stating that residents initially agreed to having clampers but insisted they should use their initiative - it seems to me that Reading Council are aiding and abetting a cowboy industry - according to the clampers they'll be out of a job in November - I know Residents Meetings are taking place over this as where do visitors like my daughter park - even for a very short term. We intend writing to the company and the council over what happened, bearing in mind what the operative said once they received a debit card payment.
Recommend? Yes 0
No 1
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