Hospital Parking Charge Notice

Richie-from-the-Boro

ParkingEye & Hospital Blue Badge Parking - applies to BB holders parked legally in a BB bay, or where BB parking is permitted in any parking bay.

I mentioned in a~n~other post the [STRIKE]forced into it by public protest[/STRIKE] adjustments necessary made to get their geedy grabbing hands on the £150,000 per year potential Hospital parking fees in Sunderland by both the Hospital Authority and ParkingEye, and :

Version 1

Do it their way .. .. very politely and register your vehicle with the Main Desk in the hospital, if they refuse to help, note the date & time and leave your pre-prepared form with them and photograph the people you were trying to register with on your mobile phone or camera.

Write and print in advance multiple copies of the front & rear of your Blue Badge, and your vehicle registration number, and the date & time .. .. nothing more .. .. no contact details or other personal information and make sure you or your helper does so in any Hospital in the country.

Version 2 - belt & buckles option.

Write and print in advance multiple copies of the front & rear of your Blue Badge, and your disabled tax disk, and the date & time .. .. nothing more .. .. no contact details or other personal information and make sure you or your helper does so in any Hospital in the country.

Version 3 - belt & buckles & braces option, send them in addition to 2 this letter unashamedly stolen from ' GAN #10 , as follows :

I note your letter

I deny any debt to your company and will under no circumstances make any payment in the absence of a court judgement. If you believe that you have legal grounds for the payment please take action within ten days. If you do not take such action I will draw the obvious conclusion that your claim does not have any legal basis and regard the matter as closed.

If you continue to demand payment I will regard it as harassment under the Protection from Harassment Act.

Let me be clear about this. If you are not legally entitled to the payment, your application to the DVLA for my details was, by definition, fraudulent. I will immediately report any further examples of your business practices to the appropriate authorities.

Do not contact me again
______________

NOTE : Even without being a Blue Badge holder many Hospitals do not apply to disabled drivers on income support or pension credits for example and for patients with cancer.

my thanks to ttlowton #2 for the heads~up

.. .. and lastly don't you just love this story

sparky260500

At the hospital I go to quite a bit they have disabled bays outside of the normal car park. but if all the disabled bays are all taken and you have to park in the main carpark then you have to pay like everyone else.

rotoguys

Why is there such a problem here. As Sparky has just said, if there is no free parking for the disabled (I have a Blue Badge and the vehicle tax disc is 'disabled') then pay at the meter and park in the next available space - problem solved.

On my many hospital visits, I always pay for two hours if there is no disabled bay available. I just don't see what the problem is.
It is no different than trying to find BB only parking in the High Street. Few and far between as councils are now marking most main roads in towns with double yellow lines on the pavement edge as well. This stops the 'inconsiderate' BB holders just stopping wherever they like like.
To me some people are never satisfied, they have a BB & a disabled tax disc and seem to be wanting to DEMAND free parking whenever and wherever.
You just wait until when ALL onstreet parking even outside your house will be chargeable. The disabled will receive 1 free permit (but no guarantee of a space) and you will have to buy another for a visitor. Current prices up and down the country are now running at between £45 to £650 a year per space.

Richie-from-the-Boro

34 # in the thread :

31 # addressed the actual subject of being fined I]legal question[/I for parking correctly [Blue Book rules] in a free Blue Badge bay in hospital grounds.

The subject and the advice asked for by by the O/P 'sunnyone' was not about whether hospital Blue Badge should be free or charged I]political debate[/I for, that's a whole different debate, debating it here takes the thread 'off topic'. Doing so pollutes the debate and devalues any support and advice 'sunnyone' and others might get in their thread.

rotoguys

The BB scheme does not apply to parking other than 'on street' places.

Conditions

Off-street car park operators should provide
parking spaces for disabled people. However,
it is up to the car park owner to decide whether
badge holders can park free of charge.

Do not assume you can always park

for free.

When parking anywhere (other than 'on street' using a BB, you must satisfy yourself if (a) parking is free for BB holders (b) where that parking is situate (c) the duration of the free parking.

If there is any doubt or if there is no signage or if the signage is unclear, then you must assume that it is not free and that you must park within the bays laid out and pay the required amount.

Double yellow lines mean nothing as far as the law is concered. The owners of a private car park such as a supermarket or a hospital can dictate whatever it likes as regards parking regulations when someone enters upon its land to park a car on it. You have the choice of either parking elsewhere off site or accepting the conditions of the car park as laid down.

In my case, if there is any doubt on private land I always display my badge, clock AND a valid parking ticket bought from the machine. I assume nothing and trust no one!

Geebs

lol dont feed the troll. Clearly someone who knows nothing.

rotoguys

I have done some research on this subject and found out what the rules are in my area - all ten hospitals. I have already posted this info on another thread, but for those that still think I am wrong - I will repeat them here.

Car parking rules

1. Parking is prohibited in the following areas and these rules also apply to holders of disabled blue badges.

• on double yellow lines and hatched areas
• in ambulance bays
• access roads
• on pathways and soft grassed areas and verges
• fire access routes and by fire escapes
• all areas not designated for parking.

2. No stopping/waiting on red lined or red hatched areas.
3. All vehicles parking in pay and display areas must display a valid parking ticket clearly in the windscreen.
4. Vehicles must park within the marked bays.
5. Parking in areas designated for “Staff” requires a valid permit. Only holders of Hot Permits may park in the Hot Parking Zones.
6. Only vehicles displaying a valid blue badge may park in the marked disabled bays. The vehicle must display a valid parking ticket clearly in the windscreen. Permit also required for Staff parking.
7. Motorcycles must park in designated areas not in car park bays.
8. No vehicle shall occupy a drop off bay for longer than 15 minutes.
9. Any vehicle observed parked in contravention of the above rules will make the owner/driver liable to enforcement action for which a fee will be payable.

I would ask the OP if they did in fact contravene any of these rules when parking as it seems that most authorities now use a similar parking scheme.

AllanF_2

I have just received a parking charge notice today 10th november 2012, asking for a payment of £40 or if not paid within 14days £70. there is a photo of my car entering the sunderland royal hospital 24/10/12 at 16.58 and leaving hospital 17.39 there is an assumption made that my car was "parked" in a parking bay during this time, i was dropping my partner off, first at the main reception, then waited for her while she found out which building/out patient area she had to attend for a scan, she then came out of reception and we proceeded to the building where she had to attend for a scan, at both times, the car was not parked, was not left unattended, but was in areas for either waiting, dropping off, collecting,, question is, do i have to pay this fee? as the car was not parked in a parking bay. do i go to the police and question the legality behind this? pay it, ignore it, thanks

Geebs

Ignore it, they wont do anythiing about other than send a few begging letters. Just ignore them all.

Richie-from-the-Boro

I'm unclear, is this a parking question or a Blue Badge parking question ?, assuming Blue Badge .......

Register today here, its after the event I know, but will save you messing about if you ever return. They, Sunderland have a unique in the UK style of online pre-registration system, almost unheard of elsewhere. They have no 'boots on the ground' only camera surveillance on the entry & exits as far as I'm aware. Contact PALS [informal complaint] and complain, they're in an office just off the main concourse on B Level, or give them a bell on : Free phone: 0800 587 6513. If that bears no result contact the Chief Executive's office [formal complaint] and make your case.

In any event don't pay, its a speculative invoice not a fine, there is no legal requirement for you to pay a fine because you have not broken any law of the land. No one has ever been prosecuted ... ever !



BTW - ignore any utterances on this or any other thread by rotoguys who was a troll and is now banned.