A woman, dealing with the death of her son, was clamped in Auckland
Louise Allen had her car clamped while dealing with the death of a loved one at the Henderson Police Station.
A grieving mother is the latest clamping victim – minutes after she went to give a statement about her dead son at an Auckland police station.
Louise Allen, who accompanied the grieving mother to the Henderson Police Station on June 12, said they were clamped outside 20 Sel Peacock Dr, in West Auckland.
Allen said they parked there because there was no parking at the police station.
"These clampers had no sympathy at all," Allen said.
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"My best friend had to give a statement about her most beloved son's death, it was a very traumatic experience already."
Louise Allen said she would fight to get her money back.
Allen said she went back to the police station and asked a detective to talk some sense into the "filthy bottom feeders".
"We pleaded with them to have some empathy for us under the circumstances of my friend's grief at such an awful time but the slug and manager on the phoneline refused to even consider letting us off.
"They said they'd just tow the cars right now."
Louise Allen said they asked a detective to talk some sense to the clampers but to no avail.
Allen said she was furious, and she promised to get her money back and fight Elite Parking Services with the law.
"My friend was beside herself because her son had just died, where was their sympathy?
"These bastards better prepare themselves for a god-awful fight. I'm going to go for them, I will get my money back."
Clamping was common at this parking lot on Sel Peacock Drive in Henderson.
The pair had planned to have a coffee at a cafe in the car park after visiting police, she said.
Elite Parking Services owner Gordon Ward said given the circumstances, the grieving mother would get her $200 refunded because, "I'm a human being first and foremost".
"If she appeals in writing, I will make sure she gets her money back because I will be involved," Ward said.
"She is under immense stress and we don't want to add to that anymore. But I'm not too sure about her friend."
Ward said the parking rules at the entrance of the parking lot were clear.
The car park was for customers only and one of the rules stated customers weren't allowed to leave the property without their vehicles.
The women were clearly in the wrong, leaving their parked cars on the property to go elsewhere, he said.
"My clamper was doing his job," Ward said.
"He, nor anybody in my staff, are allowed to make decisions on site on removing our clamps if someone protests. If we did that then everyone we clamp could extort or lie to us."
Police Waitematā area commander Inspector Scott Webb said he had a great deal of empathy for the women who were at the Henderson Police Station.
"The officer the women had been speaking to endeavoured to reason with the clamping company on their behalf.
"However, the company was not negotiable and demanded payment before the vehicles were unclamped," he said.
As the clamping took place on private property, it was a civil matter and dealt with by the owners of the property, not police, he said.
Henderson Police had 15 designated parks outside the station for public use, or street parking if those spots were occupied, he said.
- Stuff
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