An Auckland community is up in arms after a Mercedes was snapped parking illegally across two mobility parks at a supermarket.
The photo posted online shows a white Mercedes-Benz parked across the two carparks at Countdown Grey Lynn at 6pm on Saturday.
Aucklanders responded in fury with one person saying, "Ignorance (or arrogance) is not a disability" while another added, "Is narcissism a recognised disability now?"
A third person wrote, "This takes privileged to a whole new level. I would've called the towing company ... what a prick."
Another frustrated person wrote, "Clearly didn't want someone to scratch the sides of his car in a normal parking spot and, he's self-entitled and ignorant," while someone else added, "If that's not entitlement then I don't (sic) what is."
A spokesperson for CCS Disability Action told Newshub the photo shows an example of the "range of abuse" people with disabilities constantly contend with when trying to get a mobility parking space.
"This example is on private land - Countdown - and unfortunately we have no control over this, it is Countdown's responsibility to monitor the correct use of such parks," the spokesperson for CCS Disability Action said.
CCS Disability Action said it's worked with Countdown and other large retailers over the years with mixed success in getting them to address the misuse of mobility parks.
"When we ran the Access Aware app, whereby observers could record the abuse and we collated it, these businesses appeared regularly in the feedback," the spokesperson said.
"Unfortunately, it is an attitude problem with a portion of the population, and despite numerous campaigns over the years to address and help minimise the level of abuse, nothing changes."
CCS Disability Action said it's a "huge frustration" to the community that depends so heavily on the car parks and can mean they cannot complete a planned activity because they cannot park appropriately to meet their needs.
CCS Disability Action added the photo shows an "even more despicable show of arrogance" by parking across two mobility parks.
A Countdown spokesperson told Newshub in a statement they're "disappointed" to see the driver park across two mobility parks.
"Our mobility parks are designed to be accessible and convenient for those customers who need them, and we're disappointed to see this incident at one of our stores," the Countdown spokesperson said.
"We'd encourage anyone who sees an incident like this to chat to our friendly customer service team in-store who will be more than happy to help."
