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Why don't service station staff try to help disabled drivers?

I felt I had to write to say how appalled I am of my husband’s treatment at petrol stations. He is severely disabled (a paraplegic who uses a wheelchair) but a car driver. Although he has a call aid button to summon assistance at participating garages, I would like to point out that this is, on most occasions useless. The other afternoon, whilst trying to fill up, he found several garages refused to send anyone to assist including a BP station. When at last someone came to his aid at a Morrisons garage, not only could they not remove the petrol cap - a simple screw on - so had to ask another motorist, but as they do not have portable card machines he was left with no alternative but to hand over his card and pin number as by this time he was desperate and had no cash. Let this be a warning to others; no cash, no petrol, or risk having your card details abused. That is if you are lucky enough to find anyone who has the decency to serve you at all.

Asked on 15 December 2012 by PM, Malvern

Answered by Honest John
Sadly we now live in a country where businesses cannot afford to have people on hand to offer this sort of assistance. In countries like Thailand, A "disabled motorist" is a cripple on a skateboard holding a tin cup by the side of the road hoping to get some charity. Thais cannot even begin to comprehend a government handing out cars to disabled people, as ours does on Motability. The irony is, with no social security at all, Thai fuel stations are overstaffed with workers paid no more than £6 a day and the situation your husband found himself in would not have occurred in Thailand.
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