First the Queen, now clamping firm targets on-call GP
WATCH OUT The doctors car was clamped at Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth
A FIRM who once clamped the Queen has again come under fire, this time for targeting a doctor visiting a dying woman.
Dr Shruti Singh couldn’t believe her eyes when she returned to her car after calling an ambulance for her 81-year-old patient and discovered she had been clamped.
Despite pleading with an employee of Waterlooville-based firm Shoal Enforcement – and clearly displaying an essential visitors’ permit – she was forced to pay a £215 fine before she could continue her rounds.
The incident happened in the residential part of Gunwharf Quays close to where a clamper working for the same company immobilised an unmarked police car providing security for the Queen last year.
To make matters worse the woman who the doctor was looking after – grandmother Marion Spong – died in hospital three days later.
Her daughter Sally Brett also lives at Gunwharf Quays and told The News she was horrified to learn the woman who had taken such good care of her mother had been clamped – just for doing her job.
‘It is just an utter nonsense,’ she said. ‘She could have been visiting a sick child next, or someone in the same situation as my mother, it’s ridiculous that this can happen.’
Mrs Spong’s grandaughter Nicola Howell, 35, said she has written to industry regulator the Security Industry Authority to complain about Shoal.
She said: ‘It is a disgrace. They clearly haven’t learned anything from having one of their employees prosecuted last year.’
Dr Singh, who works at the Osbourne Practice in Southsea, arrived at around 1pm on Thursday, January 26 to treat Mrs Spong but immediately realised she required hospital care. Paramedics then took her to Queen Alexandra Hospital, in Cosham, in an ambulance.
Managing director of Shoal, Mike Eames, said: ‘I can confirm Shoal immobilised a car while parked in a clearly marked private bay, at Eastside Plaza.
‘There was no indication the vehicle was or did belong to a doctor on call and was not accompanied by any kind of emergency vehicle.
‘We advise all drivers to follow Shoal’s appeal process and in this case due to the mitigating circumstances it is likely that an appeal would be granted.’
QUEEN’S POLICE OFFICERS CLAMPED
Last October Gareth Andrews, of Privett Road in Fareham, was ordered to pay £750 in fines and £365 in costs after he immobilised a pair of unmarked police cars providing security for the Queen at Gunwharf Quays.
The 39-year-old had clamped an Audi and a BMW on the day the Queen was making an unannounced visit to the marina for a private lunch with her friend Sir Donald Gosling, the NCP founder, on his luxury yacht.
He also pleaded guilty to contravening the Private Security Industry Act by not displaying his badge.
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Comments
There are 42 comments to this article
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GADGET71
Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 02:51 PMNone of you know the full facts about either case, only here say and what the paper prints which should be taken with a pinch of salt too. We all know what happened to the news of the world! I was wrongly clamped to which i appealed to shoal who refunded me. They have an appeals process for mistakes as this is not a perfect world. I suggest the doctor uses it. I know if someone was parked in my private bay without permission doctor or not i would not be happy. An essential visitor permit is not a doctor on call notice and can be used by all manor of professions and besides that can only be used on portsmouth city council property. Not on private land, so they acted correctly. Shoal acted very professionally in my case and I appreciate that they are providing a service to private landowners and that their job is difficult, id also like to say that their signs are very clear.; How hard is it to read sign and act accordingly. Most of the people that get clamped by shoal must be idiots how difficult is it to display a permit or if there is a problem then calling the telephone number to discuss it? morons!
Le Critique
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 08:24 PMWhen the law changes these thugs will be out of work and who would give a job to a person who admits to once being a clamper? They may be lucky enough to get a job collecting for loan shark criminals as their style and manner would be about right for this. Breaking bones and duffing people up is as bad as extorting the amounts they do off people. What's wrong with a parking ticket for parking illegally? You could have a system where any car parked on private land got a similar ticket to a car parked on double yellow lines. This would be issued by private security but be legally enforcable. It would still a deterrent but not quite so harsh as experiencing these villains. There could also be an appeal system where if someone got a ticket and they were a Doctor or a Queens personal body guard they wouldn't have to pay. If they were just some chancer then they would. It seems much fairer to do things this way.
portsmouthgeezer
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 08:19 PMI SWEAR THIS CLAMPING COMPANY ARE RUN BY A BUNCH OF MUPPETS LOL NO OFFENCE TO THE ACTUAL MUPPETS LOL i also am sure this compeny was hired by portsmouth city council when they were patrolling the tesco are etc
Pompey BD
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 06:28 PMWTFudge said it better than I ever could. The sooner the law changes and this scum can't carry out their despicable and under-hand tactics any longer, the better. Clampers = SCUM! Your days are numbered clamperlady... but still, think of all the benefits you'll then get when out of work and all the Jeremy Kyle episodes you can watch. Enjoy! You might want to learn some English whilst you're out of work too. Your grammar and spelling is appalling! You wouldn't even get a job in McDonald's with that standard. Oh, you didn't. THAT'S why you became a clamper scum! LOL.
WTFudge
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 05:53 PMFor clamplady's info I'd rather see my taxes go on dole than have my car clamped by low life scum and having to pay £215 for being allowed to use my own property. One day what you are doing will be TOTALLY ILLEGAL for good reason. In the meantime NOBODY should use A1 services in New Lane Havant for car repairs recovery etc. They are the same lot and will rip you off for every penny they can! The whole bunch of them deserve a visit from Watchdog.
Graham Wheatley
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 03:46 PMHa. That's interesting! Does that mean that they have therefore been a) trespassing, b) acting without authority and c) taking money under false pretences? Oh I do hope so.
moonklash
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 02:04 PM@11, @13 - If you go into the residential area through the double gates, the Shoal signs were removed last year, as were all references to clamping. Indeed Shoal are supposedly not meant to be within that area. I've still seen them around the barrier at the bottom of the blue building (near Las Iguanas) - why they were only kicked out of one area I haven't a clue, however if it happened through the double gates then a) clamping isn't mentioned on the signs so to do so would presumably be illegal and b) what were Shoal doing there in the first place seeing as it's "South Coast" something or other that now patrol that zone? If it's outside the gates then that's a bit different. Where was this?
moonklash
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 01:56 PMI was clamped by Shoal in 2010 - the chap that did it was perfectly reasonable and had been forced into the profession owing to the recession killing his business. He said he couldn't remove the clamp but I'd need to use Shoals appeals procedure. Shoal, however, were ruthless, and didn't care a jot about the people they clamp, sending back a standardised letter rather than an actual response saying how you can't make a fresh appeal if the original is turned down. I'm really not surprised they've been up to their old tricks. However I seam to remember that Shoal were kicked out of the Gunwharf residential area and it's another company (south coast something) that now manage it - and the signs indicate they don't clamp, just leave a ticket, When and where did this happen? Either way this shouldn't have happened - the doctor on call was dealing with a medical emergency and it's disgusting that this shoal of piranhas care more about profit than human life.
oldhippy
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 01:03 PMShame on you Dr Singh. Not only do we have to put up with you fighting to save lives in our Hospitals, seeing the walking wounded in your Practice and being called out to those who are unbable to come to you, 24hrs a day. We also have to put up with you and your fellow Emergency Services colleagues parking a vehicle where somebody says you can't. Shame on you, How dare you help to save and protect lives, along with your fellow colleagues in all of the Emergency Services, this is just not PC. Shame on you. Acording to Shoal, and other companies of the same persuation you are the bane of their lives, fancy coming out to a very sick person and trying to save their lives. You made a poor individual get up from a nice warm chair, stroll across a cold bleak desolate landscape and place a heavey metal object on your car wheel. Shame on you. Next time any of you clamper companys have a Fire, Illness, Need of the Police or any other emergency at your place of work, home or other. Don't forget to put your signs up. NO PARKING HERE. SHAME ON YOU. ADVISE YOUR STAFF TO GO TO SPEC-SAVERS. AS ALL DOCTORS CARS, CAR A "DOCTORS" FLASH, OR "DOCTOR ON CALL" OR ESSENTIAL SERVICES" FLASH ON THEIR WINDSHEILDS.
Graham Wheatley
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 12:40 PMClamplady, "On both occasions, both vehicles were not displaying permits..." - it may come as a surprise to you, but emergency services vehicles do not require a permit to attend the scene of an incident. --- "... both parked in private parking bays and neither vehicle was displaying any notification of who they were or why they were there.." - I would have thought it pretty obvious that if an ambulance were there, then somebody was in need of urgent medical attention (as, clearly, are you). --- "Most of these comments were written this afternoon, whilst we were working. Where were you? No doubt sat in front of a TV,watching Jeremy Kyle waiting for your benefit pay day?" - Nope. Sorry. Some of us work from home and provide far more of a benefit to society than you leeches do. --- "....if your [sic] going to park illegal [sic] at least have the decency to admit you are the one in the wrong". These are civil, not criminal 'offences' and so technically are not 'illegal', perhaps you meant to use the word 'unauthorised'? --- "Read the signs and follow the rules, its not that hard". Indeed, it isn't that hard - except for people like you. Don't you feel that you should take your own advice on that point?
SouthseaMan
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 09:01 AM@clamplady I quote "you are the one in the wrong, instead of trying to worm your way out of it, don't blame everyone else for your own stupidity". What part of it was a doctor on call did you not get. With paramedics and ambulance vouching for the driver. You say both incidents the cars were in the wrong, well if that is the case then you better tell the Judge at the court that he was wrong for finding the clamper guilty when he was taken to court. Before you start spouting off about people commenting and being tax spongers, check your evidence before commenting, I for one am a hard worker and pay my taxes and work unsociable hours. It is your career choice to be a clamper so don't act all hard done by. This just proves the point of what others were saying that you clamper's are small minded and cant see further than the end of your noses.
Hibernian
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 07:58 AMWell said MikeK220 as for clamplady, perhaps its you who should get a life instead of spout out claims which you know are untrue and you have no proof . For once why don't you admit, you only do it to wind people up. Already one of your colleagues was found guilty of clamping an un-marked police car on duty, once again it is the clamper who failed to take into context that they police offices and showed their warrant badge. Yes I am against illegal parking but commonsense must prevail especially when a docotor is attending an emergency sometimes the situation the doctor mind will be on the event rather than think , I better stick the doctor on call notice on show, obviously the doctors credentials were not good enough or the proof that was given the clamper to prove who the doctor was. No doubt camperlady you would like to have doctors and the emergency services clamped all the time for parking illegally but then ONE DAY you may need them, remember that.
Le Critique
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 12:29 AMOh dear!!! Clampers how low can you go? I do hope one day you desperately need a Paramedic and someone has clamped the Paramedic Car so they are unable to come and save your life or the life of someone dear to you. That would serve you all right if that happened. It's called Karma you bunch of Vultures!!
MikeK220
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 12:17 AM@Clamplady - I take it then that you were one of the clampers that clamped the doctors car then as you seem to have so much knowledge of it all? People have already come forward on here saying that they witnessed the incident, and as for your comment about clampers needing a clean criminal record, that in itself is a joke, especially when you look at some of the miscreants who work for some of these firms. Before you launch an attack on me being benefit scum, I have spent most of my adult life either in the forces or working in the security industryin various positions including management, and am fully aware of the SIA rules before you start quoting them, and have seen for myself the depths some of these clampers go to in able to get their tally up, and it would also be an idea if clampers also read signs, as well as passes and permits before clocking up the pound signs in their eyes.
clamplady
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 11:56 PMReading most of this, all the stupid comments, about clampers not being clever, intelligent, human and all the other derogatory things you are saying. To be a clamper you have to have a clean criminal record, work unsociable hours, work hard, get abused and assaulted, pay tax and national insurance. This will be alien to a lot of you. Most of these comments were written this afternoon, whilst we were working. Where were you? No doubt sat in front of a TV,watching Jeremy Kyle waiting for your benefit pay day? Get a life, or better still get a job and stop bleeding the government dry. your the parasites, not us. Oh and bye the way if your going to park illegal at least have the decency to admit you are the one in the wrong, instead of trying to worm your way out of it, don't blame everyone else for your own stupidity. Read the signs and follow the rules, its not that hard.
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