Hospital parking fine for staff

Driver8

steve1500 wrote: »

You can also hit them with a Freedom of Information request. AS a Trust employee I would recommend that you do it via email. I leave it to you as to what name you use but do not use D Duck as they may well refuse that. Could try M Gibson, J Roberts, C Gable

http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/

I would sincerely using that site to get information from councils and the like. They have to reply within 20 days or ask for a judicial review.

Trust me it works.

West Yorkshire Police don't like me for being pertinent and getting a judicial review for taking their time in replying. I also got a 3rd of a page in the local paper exposing the local council.

If you have any awkward questions you need answering from a public body just use that site. It works.

sleepystar1975

The hospital I work for also charge for parking permits that don't guarantee you a space. They argue that the £20 a month I pay is for the permit to allow me into their carpark, and not for a space!
The one thing they did that really pee'd me off was when I had to use my Dh's car (mine was having the cambelt changed). Dh drove a Vauxhall Omega, and overhung their paltry spaces both ends, they tried to charge me for not parking within the marked areas. So I took photos on my phone, walked up to their office and argued that I can't do anything but park hanging out the space! They let me off, but made a big deal out of it, making out they were being so generous.
I have been off longterm sick since July, following major ortho surgery, but I still have to pay this charge, if I don't I have to go to the bottom of the waiting list.
Unions have been involved in the past, but nothing was ever resolved.
What irritates me the most is that their company vehicle is parked in a space right outside their office in the staff carpark - and not displaying a permit! Bunch of robbing hippocrites!:mad:

Juliette_Devine

Hi there,

I am in a predicament with a parking fine I got at my hospital yesterday. Can you help???

I pay £15 a month to park for work but that doesn't guarantee me a space and they have brought in a private firm to control parking fines. I was in a staff parking area but supposedly not in a 'designated bay', so they slapped a ticket on 5 mins after i walked away (were they watching me?!). It is £85 or £60 within 14 days. However on returning to the space today to check, the notice that is up clearly states terms of parking there - all of which i was abiding by, and it says nothing about having to be within lines of a designated bay. I was tucked in neatly behind a row of 4 cars, next to the curb and on no double yellow lines. I wasn't obstructing anyone or anything and don't believe the ticket is justified.

I'm worried about ignoring it completely in case I end up paying a fortune eventually but don't hold out much hope of being able to contest it once I've paid.

Can anyone advise???....

anewman

Hi Juliette. If it's a Private Parking Company I understand the advice would be to ignore, do not contact, and do not pay. If any pressure is put on your employers or money deducted from wages (hopefully both are unlikely) then I guess you would need to involve the Unions and perhaps seek further advice. Remember it is not a fine, merely an invoice for a supposed breach of contract. As you categorically state the contract was not even breached then they can do nothing about it.

taffy056

Juliette_Devine wrote: »

Hi there,

I am in a predicament with a parking fine I got at my hospital yesterday. Can you help???

I pay £15 a month to park for work but that doesn't guarantee me a space and they have brought in a private firm to control parking fines. I was in a staff parking area but supposedly not in a 'designated bay', so they slapped a ticket on 5 mins after i walked away (were they watching me?!). It is £85 or £60 within 14 days. However on returning to the space today to check, the notice that is up clearly states terms of parking there - all of which i was abiding by, and it says nothing about having to be within lines of a designated bay. I was tucked in neatly behind a row of 4 cars, next to the curb and on no double yellow lines. I wasn't obstructing anyone or anything and don't believe the ticket is justified.

I'm worried about ignoring it completely in case I end up paying a fortune eventually but don't hold out much hope of being able to contest it once I've paid.

Can anyone advise???....

You are not going pay a fortune unless you give in to their threats, just ignore them completely as they have no grounds legally to your money, and besides you've paid already!

nic_santorini

Oh it really annoys me too - do you know what - write to blooming watchdog and get them to embarrass them on national tv!!!

Juliette_Devine

nic_santorini wrote: »

Oh it really annoys me too - do you know what - write to blooming watchdog and get them to embarrass them on national tv!!!

Ha ha, that's what my husband keeps saying too!! Scared of whistleblowing my trust but think i'm just being a scaredy-cat!!

dzug1

A what if question - if your contract of employment says 'thou shalt observe site parking regulations', does that make these penalties any more enforceable?

Coupon-mad

They'd still have to take the driver to Small Claims Court, and cannot assume that the employee actually drove & parked the car there on arrival (even though it is her place of work). Any judge worth his/her salt would not allow an assumption on a major point like who was driving, they have to prove it.

Plus there's always a host of other details PPCs haven't a clue how to get right, and the fact that 99.9% of them NEVER take drivers/keepers to court. The whole scam is akin to a protection racket, just based on threats.

I challenge anyone to convince me there is actually a difference in the modus operandi. The PPC scammers approach the landowner and say 'we can look after your manor for free guv, you'll have no more trouble with parkers but anyone parking on your land (including your mates, your customers, your Mum) will have to [STRIKE]sign away their soul[/STRIKE] pay us a rip off amount for no reason. If they don't pay up we'll make their life hell with bully-boy tactics and threats'.

How is that NOT a protection racket?

esmerobbo

dzug1 wrote: »

A what if question - if your contract of employment says 'thou shalt observe site parking regulations', does that make these penalties any more enforceable?

They would have an excellent defence "well your Honour my trust charges me £20 a month to park but don't give me anywhere to do it"