A woman who has mobility problems has been left in a desperate situation after she had the car she uses to get about taken from her.
Patricia Pickett, 65, from Theale, used to have an automatic Renault Clio that helped her get about, as she suffers from a spinal condition.
She received the car from the Motability scheme, which allows disabled people to lease a car to help them perform daily tasks like shopping.
But Ms Pickett had been away for seven months due to being held in custody for a crime she has since been acquitted of.
Just days after her return, the car was taken from her.
She said: “It’s all happened because I was incarcerated.
“The housing benefits people have stopped paying the rent, I’m back in my property now and I’ve been released, but I don’t know where to go from here, I’m housebound.
“I’m disabled, I have a spine condition that impairs my walking abilities. When I pluck up the courage to leave, by the time I get to the laundrette, I am sweating. I have severe panic attacks, I can’t even walk to the nearest bus stop.
Ms Pickett was acquitted at Reading Crown Court on October 7 on arson with intent to endanger life. Two days later, the car was repossessed.
She said: “They picked up the car and took it away, I can’t get any more mobility cars until I’ve paid that debt, how wrong is that?
“I can’t get around. They took me out of one prison; theoretically, they’ve put me in another.
“I was with the scheme for over 20 years, I feel like the whole world is against me.”
She is currently using food delivery services to make sure she can eat.
Ms Pickett has been provided with benefits to help pay for her rent, but is in debt for around £2,000 with the Motability scheme.
She used Disability Living Allowance (DLA), a heritage benefit now part of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP), to pay for the car.
The Motability Scheme was asked to either return the car or provide Ms Pickett with a replacement, but it has denied this request.
A spokesperson said: “The Motability Scheme enables disabled people to lease a vehicle using their enhanced mobility allowance.
“If someone goes to prison, this allowance from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) stops and therefore they no longer qualify for a vehicle on the Scheme.
“In this case, the customer did not inform us of their change in circumstances, which meant they continued to lease the vehicle after their allowance had stopped. Once we were notified by the DWP that her allowance had stopped, we made several attempts to contact her.
“It would be unfair for other disabled customers’ allowances to cover this debt. However, if she is able to repay the outstanding amount, she could rejoin the Scheme.”
Ms Pickett said: “All my debts have piled up, I’ve lost my car, and that was the most important part of my life. If you need more cigarettes or pork pies or anything, you just can’t get them.
“The local bus stop is 10 to 15 minutes to walk, but for me it’s half an hour because of the pain I’m in.
“I can barely get about any more, I can hardly walk.”
A DWP spokesperson said: “DLA is not payable if you are in prison or on remand.
“Motability is wholly responsible for the terms and administration of the Scheme, including decisions on repossessing vehicles.”
