Hospital Parking Charge Notice

sunnyone

I am so annoyed, I got a parking ticket in todays post for not paying to park at Sunderland royal Hospital and I cartainly didnt pay, because I dont have too!

I always park in the same bay, most people dont park their because its got old signage saying "wheelchair users only" and they (2 disabled bays together) are a fair distance from doors but they are wide enough unlike many of the disabled parking bays their.

Its illogical to fit parking eye cameras to a site that offers free disabled parking, after all any badge holder could arrive in a diffrent car each visit if they wanted to so recording no. plates entering/leaving the site to fine anyone who hasnt bought a pay and display ticket is plain daft.

Ive emailed the parking company and the Trusts headquaters, I am half expecting a reply telling me they are going to introduce parking charges to blue badge holders but if thats the case they should have done the cameras at the same time and not beforehand or have the cameras and no fines till chargers were introduced.

I am very careful where I park, always have been and we all know these parking charge notices are a waste of paper but its still upsetting to get one through the post, and I checked the board right beside where I park every single visit.

Richie-from-the-Boro

sunnyone wrote: »

I am so annoyed, I got a parking ticket in today's post for not paying to park at Sunderland Royal Hospital and I certainly didn't pay, because I don't have too!

I always park in the same bay, most people don't park their because its got old sign-age saying "wheelchair users only" and they (2 disabled bays together) are a fair distance from doors but they are wide enough unlike many of the disabled parking bays there.

Its illogical to fit parking eye cameras to a site that offers free disabled parking, after all any badge holder could arrive in a different car each visit if they wanted to so recording no. plates entering/leaving the site to fine anyone who hasn't bought a pay and display ticket is plain daft.

I've emailed the parking company and the Trusts headquarters, I am half expecting a reply telling me they are going to introduce parking charges to blue badge holders but if that's the case they should have done the cameras at the same time and not beforehand or have the cameras and no fines till chargers were introduced.

I am very careful where I park, always have been and we all know these parking charge notices are a waste of paper but its still upsetting to get one through the post, and I checked the board right beside where I park every single visit.

If it was not an 'ambulance bay' / not blocking an exit - entrance and you were displaying a BB, even if not in a BB bay, treat it as a private parking invoice, throw it away and ignore any correspondence from them, it has no legal weight, and is virtually unenforceable.

NOTE1 : from whom .. .. did you get an invoice ?
NOTE2 : inform in writing, enclosing a photograph of the bay the SRH, and ask if .. .. in your future visits to the hospital you are permitted to park there for the 'wide bay needs' it offers if displaying a BB.
NOTE3 : the 'parking eye cameras' will have picked up evidence of the BB on display / or otherwise !

MrsManda

According to the hospital's website the automated plate recognition is coupled with photography in order to produce a parking fine so it should be easy to prove you were displaying your blue badge and have your fine cancelled.

Just in case you need to prove that having a BB means you don't have to pay:

Registered Disabled Persons

A number of parking bays are reserved for registered disabled persons displaying a valid permit. When these bays are occupied disabled badge holders may park in any other bay, but must not park outside an authorised marked parking bay. Disabled badge holders may park without charge.

http://www.chsft.nhs.uk/content.aspx?__taxonomyid=144

kurgon

Posted twice for clarity:
Fixed Penalty Parking Fine

Cars not parked in an authorised bay or parked without a ticket or permit will be issued a fixed penalty parking fine and charged a maximum of £20.00. Payment within 24 hours will be charged £5, 7-days £10 and 14-days £15. After 14 days the full charge will be payable. Information is printed on the reverse of the fixed penalty notice issued.
Parking tickets are available from the ticket machines on site.
Disabled badge holders may park without charge.

I would also ask for an apology.....

Terry_Price

My wife also received a car parking fine to-day for parking in a disabled bay and displaying her blue badge along with the arrival time. Total parking time was one hour and thirty six minutes. I have been on the Hospitals Trust website and it clearly states that blue badge holders may park free, so what should be my next step?

Terry_Price

Oh and I forgot to mention that the two photo`s on the letter show the car entering and leaving and not in the actual disabled parking bay showing the blue badge, any advice would be most helpful.
Thanks Terry Price

sunnyone

Richie-from-the-Boro wrote: »

If it was not an 'ambulance bay' / not blocking an exit - entrance and you were displaying a BB, even if not in a BB bay, treat it as a private parking invoice, throw it away and ignore any correspondence from them, it has no legal weight, and is virtually unenforceable.

NOTE1 : from whom .. .. did you get an invoice ?
NOTE2 : inform in writing, enclosing a photograph of the bay the SRH, and ask if .. .. in your future visits to the hospital you are permitted to park there for the 'wide bay needs' it offers if displaying a BB.
NOTE3 : the 'parking eye cameras' will have picked up evidence of the BB on display / or otherwise !

I know its not a real parking ticket but that dosnt mean its not annoying when you have done nothing wrong!

You would have thought that since BB holders dont pay they could at least take a picture of the windscreen to check for BBs before sending out notices instead of just photos of your number plates.

The two wheelchair user bays are alongside the Trusts dedicated bays, I think I will call into the offices when Im there next week to complain because they will ignore the complaint Ive made no doubt.

sunnyone

Terry_Price wrote: »

My wife also received a car parking fine to-day for parking in a disabled bay and displaying her blue badge along with the arrival time. Total parking time was one hour and thirty six minutes. I have been on the Hospitals Trust website and it clearly states that blue badge holders may park free, so what should be my next step?

Terry_Price wrote: »

Oh and I forgot to mention that the two photo`s on the letter show the car entering and leaving and not in the actual disabled parking bay showing the blue badge, any advice would be most helpful.
Thanks Terry Price

Same here, mine number plates were photographed going into/coming out of the Chester Road entrance, Ive emailed parking Eye, the Trust and the Sunderland Echo because Ive done nothing wrong and my badge was on full display on/during/leaving the site and I expect the ticket to be cancelled and Ive asked for an apology and for it never to happen again.

sunnyone

kurgon wrote: »

Posted twice for clarity:
Fixed Penalty Parking Fine

Cars not parked in an authorised bay or parked without a ticket or permit will be issued a fixed penalty parking fine and charged a maximum of £20.00. Payment within 24 hours will be charged £5, 7-days £10 and 14-days £15. After 14 days the full charge will be payable. Information is printed on the reverse of the fixed penalty notice issued.
Parking tickets are available from the ticket machines on site.
Disabled badge holders may park without charge.

I would also ask for an apology.....

It must have gone up, the notice is for £60 reduced to £40 if I pay now :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Ive asked for an apology but the chances are slim, I even check the notices of places I go all the time to make sure nothings changed because more and more places are charging BB holders.

bleepandbooster

Just to make you all more p1ssed off ........ we have free hospital parking and free perscriptions :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Cofion
David
PS Oh and a better rugby team ! :eek::eek::eek:

Richie-from-the-Boro

sunnyone wrote: »

I know its not a real parking ticket but that dosnt mean its not annoying when you have done nothing wrong!

You would have thought that since BB holders don't pay they could at least take a picture of the windscreen to check for BBs before sending out notices instead of just photos of your number plates.

The two wheelchair user bays are alongside the Trusts dedicated bays, I think I will call into the offices when I'm there next week to complain because they will ignore the complaint I've made no doubt.

If only it was that moral on their [ the trusts ] part.

The trusts up and down the nation make many mi££ions each year out of the unsuspecting by farming out the responsibility to companies like ParkingEye I've no idea what the Kayll Road site made last year but you can bet it was a lot.

Most just cough up and whine about it later. Like you I would not pay, personally I'd treat it as a 'private invoice' and ignore them completely and see what hits the fan. Its unlikely that any trust wants the headlines when prosecuting a BB holder who was causing an obstruction, and even less likely in the case of a BB holder in a parking bay displaying the badge. They would have to produce evidence of the vehicle not displaying as per the Blue Book.

Don't waste your life chasing them, sit back & wait or tell them to produce the evidence and then wait. The next time you go take a good quality high res photo of your car with that days Sunderland Echo showing the date next to the Blue Badge etc.