Regine Du Villier was left shaken from her experience with a wheel clamper in West Auckland.

Feeling unwell, Regine Du Villier parked her car on the way to the doctors to find help.

Instead of getting the help she needed, the 86-year-old grandmother had her car clamped in West Auckland.

The clamper from Elite Parking Services, working without a uniform, ID or EFTPOS machine, demanded $200 cash before he would remove the clamp off her car's wheel, witnesses said.

"I was amazed, I didn't know what to do," Du Villier said.

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The saga began when the unwell Du Villier parked her car in the Barfoot and Thompson parking off Great North Rd on April 9 while on her way to the doctor.

She went to Destiny Hairdressers to get help because she knew the manager, Gloria Baines, who fondly called Du Villier "nana".

"Maybe I was 15 minutes. I really felt awful. I didn't want to drive when I am like that as I don't want to hurt anybody."

However, when she left the hairdressers after resting, she came back to her clamped car.

CHRIS SKELTON/STUFF Regine Du Villier, 86, was confronted by a wheel clamper demanding $200 cash after she parked her car for 15 minutes to rest.

Du Viller said the clamper returned to the car at half hour intervals, demanding cash before saying he would return when she got it.

Unable to pay, Du Villier eventually went back to the hairdressers to tell them what had happened.

Baines was horrified by the behaviour of the clamper.

"Nana was frightened, shocked," Baines said.

"I phoned the company to ask them to undo the clamp and they said, nope, don't care.

"I told him that I would ring the police and he told me to go for it because they can't do anything about the clamps."

Baines said the situation was awful, but not unusual for the area.

"People in this area are on their last dollar and can't afford this."

Chris Skelton/STUFF Gloria Baines came to the aid of an elderly woman who was was confronted by a wheel clamper.

Senior Constable Marty Spear from the Massey Police confirmed he spoke with the clamping company.

"Clamping is usually a civil matter, however police are frequently called to attend clamping incidents usually to keep the peace and monitor any potential disorderly behaviour," Spears said.

"In this instance, the frail 86-year-old woman was found to be reliant on a walking stick and was also confused and visibly upset having been clamped.

"She explained she didn't realise the space she'd parked in was covered by no parking signs in another area nearby."

Spear had spoken with Du Villiers around the possibility of getting a mobility park.

Gordon Ward from Elite Parking Services said clamping companies don't get involved unless people were parked illegally.

"At the time, we didn't see the 86-year-old woman, we just saw the car, and it was illegally parked."

On site clampers were unable to void fines, which could only be done through the call centre.

In this instance, Ward said those involved got too emotional for the call centre to fully understand what was happening and therefore judge the case for voiding the ticket.

He said the ticket for Du Villier has since been voided.

Ward called on New Zealanders to stay out of parking spaces that weren't theirs.

"We are just protecting private property," he said.

"If you don't want to be clamped, park legally."

Automobile Association (AA) principle advisor Mark Stockdale has previously said the AA is against the practice of clamping and advocates for it to be made illegal.

"We would like to see clamping banned. It has been banned in the United Kingdom, and we see no reason why New Zealand should be any different."

Stockdale said the voluntary code of conduct for wheel clamping on private land encourages companies to use a breach notice before any enforcement is used. It clearly discourages the use of a wheel clamp.

"Clamping is a last resort, so if they were meeting standards in line with the code, they wouldn't be clamping."