DISCRIMINATION!!!!
We have been using this company Green Trips, since 2020, when my mother was brought home from rehab because we could no longer afford $16,000 a month. She is an 81-year-old woman who is homebound with little mobility. She must use a wheelchair to get around. We live in a house with stairs leading out the front door, which makes it extremely difficult to get her to a doctor's appointment without assistance. She is also in a predicament where she is having difficulty obtaining Medicaid; therefore, we must pay for all services, including medical supplies, which is costly.
I googled ambulettes services, and we chose Green Trips as an affordable option. We used this service many times and paid them a $250 roundtrip with the assistance of an extra man to take my mother to the doctor, which is only 10 minutes from our house. Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, I scheduled an ambulette. They arrived on time, but we had to wait for the second man. The second man driving another ambulette van arrived (Green trips purchased this other company). He saw my mother and immediately said in front of us, "She's heavy! I can't carry her". I was furious because I couldn't believe he said that in front of my mother. My mother is 240 lbs, not including the weight of the wheelchair (which is not that much). I completely lost it. I couldn't believe he would say something so offensive to an elderly person who is unable to walk and is in a wheelchair. I did not want him to touch my mother. I carried my mother down seven steps along with the main ambulette driver. I immediately called GreenTrips to complain. After this incident, I was having problems getting my mother to go back to the doctor in an ambulette. After much pleading, my mother decided to make another doctor's appointment and unwillingly agreed to take an ambulette.
On Thursday, November 11, 2022, I called Green Trips to schedule another trip. He proceeded to take my order, then stopped to tell me they could no longer service my mother! He said they have a policy where they could only serve people under 200 lbs!! He tried to explain they always had that policy, which was a lie because they took our money in 2020. Then the dispatcher changed his story and said this was a new policy because it's a liability to their drivers to lift someone over 200 lbs. I told him this was DISCRIMINATION!!! I was so upset and hurt. It's one thing if they told me this in 2020, but 2 years later, they have a new policy not to serve people over 200 lbs. If my mother was capable of walking down the stairs, I could get her in my car and take her to the doctor myself. I was in tears at work because of this cruelty. How sad that a disabled, elderly person is denied service due to her weight. I can never tell my mother this happened. I now have to come up with a story as to why we are not using this insensitive company.
I would NEVER recommend Green Trips to anyone. I told all my coworkers what happened and they couldn't believe it. They all got on their computers, googled, and called other companies to help me find a caring company that has no weight restrictions to take my mother to the doctor. My friend also put me in contact with a city official to share how our story how we were discriminated against by this company Green Trips. read more
