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Rs19,000 for 19 km: RTO serves showcause notice to ambulance owner for overcharging patient
PUNE The Regional Transport Office (RTO) has served a notice to an ambulance service provider for charging Rs19,000 for a distance of 16km, officials said on Thursday
PUNE The Regional Transport Office (RTO) has served a notice to an ambulance service provider for charging Rs19,000 for a distance of 16km, officials said on Thursday.
The ambulance service operator claimed that his service has not charged this amount. He claimed that the receipt book was stolen from his vehicle and someone must have forged the bill.
“After the incident came to our attention, we served a notice to the registered owner of the ambulance. Concrete action will be taken in next three days. Ambulance operators should not overcharge patients. They should abide by the rates decided by administration,” said Sanjeev Bhor, deputy regional transport officer, Pune RTO.
A 45-year-old Covid patient had to be shifted from Naidu hospital to another hospital on March 28 at 2am. The kin of the patient alleged that the ambulance they had booked demanded Rs19,000 for just for 19km, despite of the fact the there is a cap on rates.
“The claim of the owner that his receipt book was stolen is preposterous. We didn’t see any other option, but to book the ambulance. The charges were paid through UPI mode,” said Mayur Bolade, a friend of the patient who was present at the time.
According to officials, the showcause notice has been issued to Green Park ILF, which owns the ambulance. Babasaheb Kand, owner of the ambulance, claimed that one Morya Ambulance service borrows this particular cardiac ambulance, and his company owns the ambulance, but doesn’t run the service.
On the other hand, Sachin Bhagat, owner of Morya ambulance service, claimed that his receipt book was stolen and someone must have forged the bill.
The overcharging incident is a reminder of last year, when many service providers faced action after they overcharged patients, as ambulances were in short supply during the peak of the pandemic.
