Abused while standing at my car in a disabled bay

krisskross

peksy86 wrote: »

Complaint?! Hahahahaha! What would be done about a complaint? With the attitude in this country toward disabled people as it is, is a complaint going to make the situation any better? I doubt it. I'm sorry for sounding so cynical but when you have gone through what I have at the age of only 26, you quickly snap out of your bubble and realise, no amount of complaining is going to fix anything.

If no one ever complains about poor service then nothing will improve.

I always complain, politely and in writing, if the service standards are not met. I have often been thanked for pointing out deficiencies so they can be rectified.

peksy86

krisskross wrote: »

If no one ever complains about poor service then nothing will improve.

I always complain, politely and in writing, if the service standards are not met. I have often been thanked for pointing out deficiencies so they can be rectified.

I complained about the DWP once and asked them to find who was accountable. I was told there was no facility to deal with complaints and neither the decision maker or the assessor could be held accountable for their decisions. No joke.

Don't get me wrong, when I have something to say, I say it with utmost respect for the person I am speaking to and take my time to describe my issue with concise and intricate detail but after years of complaining and running around trying to do 30 people's jobs from varying agencies, you get fed up.

sheep-ali

I know exactly how the OP feels having been on the receiving end of something similar. I used to drive my disabled brother around & I parked in a disabled bay with the blue badge showing. Someone said that I had no right to the badge as I was not disabled. This was true but I was using it perfectly rightly as it was my brother's badge & he was with me at the time.
Now that I have a BB of my own, people seem to think that because I am not obviously disabled ( I have COPD amongst other things ), I should not have one either.
It would appear that the general public think that you are disabled only if you have a limb injury or something similar that is very noticeable. They also do not appreciate that the driver does not have to be the one who is disabled.

Tobermory

peksy86 wrote: »

Just wanted to tell everyone what happened to,my dad on a related topic. He is almost completely blind in both eyes and the damage is irreparable. He was sat in the car whilst my mum popped into the shop, the badges were on the dashboard and they were barked in a disabled bay.

I'm sorry the warden was so rude, but if the disabled person was not leaving the car, then it should not have been parked in a disabled bay and the BB cards should not have been used.

JimmyTheWig

peksy86 wrote: »

Just wanted to tell everyone what happened to,my dad on a related topic. He is almost completely blind in both eyes and the damage is irreparable. He was sat in the car whilst my mum popped into the shop, the badges were on the dashboard and they were barked in a disabled bay. So a parking warden knocks on the door where my dad is sitting and says"excuse me sir, you shouldn't be parked here, you aren't disabled, is that badge yours?" my dad being 18 stone and blind looks a bit like a bruiser but he isn't. The warden effectively called him a liar, jumped down his throat, made him feel undeserving and almost like a criminal all because a jobsworth was a bit of an idiot. People who are able bodied and able minded can't think beyond their own existence to even consider that someone may have a serious limiting health condition that you cannot see. You just have to put up with it because the majority of people are like that.

I may have the rules wrong here, but I thought if the disabled person was staying in the car then they couldn't use a disabled space.
Still doesn't make sense with what the warden said, but I think he was right to check if the blue baldge belonged to the person staying in the car because if it did then it was being mis-used.
Obviously you don't always get the full story online, but I see no reason why pesky's mum needed to park in a disabled bay in this instance.

forallotherthings

It isn't up to members of the public to be judge, jury and executioner regarding the use of BBs. If this guy was genuinely so heart felt and sticking up for the disabled, why couldn't he do that by checking the OPs blue badge displayed rather than making any kind of comment to him?

People do have different levels of sensitivity to things and these can obviously be affected by other events which are happening in their lives, people should try and have a little compassion rather than jumping down their throats for being upset about something.

Also I feel there is a world of difference between choosing to do a job which places you in the firing line for abuse (rightly or wrongly) and which requires you to take personal feelings out of the equation and air them in other more appropriate places and being a diabled person feeling vulnerable (for whatever reason) being verbally targetted in the street.

fedupconsumer

Had this debate on another thread a while ago but no one has the right (unless he or she is permitted by law to do so) to challenge you on your disability they have no legal right to challenge you at all. Best bet tell them in the politest and diplomatic way possible to go away and mind their own business if they kick off, calmly report them for a breach of the peace. They have no right to challenge you end off.

Errata

Why not just ignore them? Self appointed BB questioners hate to be ignored.

morrisoscar

forallotherthings wrote: »

People do have different levels of sensitivity to things and these can obviously be affected by other events which are happening in their lives, people should try and have a little compassion rather than jumping down their throats for being upset about something.

Also I feel there is a world of difference between choosing to do a job which places you in the firing line for abuse (rightly or wrongly) and which requires you to take personal feelings out of the equation and air them in other more appropriate places and being a diabled person feeling vulnerable (for whatever reason) being verbally targetted in the street.

Thanks, from my OP.

morrisoscar wrote: »

I know I shouldn’t be but I can’t believe how much this latest incident has upset me.

I think my sensitivity may come from the fact that this is not the first time this kind of thing has happened to me. :mad:
As I said in my OP I hadn't even stopped the car the first time I was approached and given the benefit of a smart comment about parking an expensive car (13 year old mazda):rotfl: in a blue badge bay.

SandraScarlett

Oh dear, another thread where posters feel that they, and they alone, have the God-given right to provide the scale by which others should feel upset.:(

If the OP was upset, that is their perogative. I too have a poorly DH, with Alzheimers, and all that caring for him entails, but that doesn't mean I can scoff at the plight of others.

It's like when someone complains of pain and someone else boasts of having a higher pain thresh-hold! Or when the media talk about someone famous "beating" or "fighting" cancer. It's as if those unfortunate enough not to survive, had thrown in the towel - it makes me so cross!:mad:

With regards to sensitivity, I could walk into a room with 100 people there that I knew, and 99 would say "hallo" to me - but I'd worry myself sick as to what I could have done to offend the hundredth! And there are many people, when they know full well that they are in the wrong, scrabble around for a way to avoid apologising and say, triumphantly "your trouble is that you're too emotional" - why does the word "sorry" choke so many folk?

Unfortunately the Car Park Police feel that they can say what they like, and to hell with the consequences, and they can be just as bad as the selfish sods who park in the disabled/wider places, when they clearly don't need them. OP, it's rotten that you were challenged, but you'll find there are more nicer people in the world than ignorant whatsits like this one.

I wish you well, and all those disabled or caring for the disabled.

xx