PCN in hospital car park - staff member

milliemonster

Hi everyone, I'm going to have a good read of the PCN thread but I've just got in from work after a hellish day and wanted some quick advice.

I am a staff nurse who went to work this morning and the only place I could find to park was in a disabled spot on some rough ground on the hospital site where an old ward was demolished. I pay for a parking permit monthly which is deducted from my salary at source and my permit was displayed correctly. However, because i wasn't parked in a staff parking spot (as there weren't any) I have received a parking charge notice from the trusts car park contractors.

The notice is from 'legion group' based in Gateshead and the pcn says they are members of the bpa, I have the choice of paying £30 in the next 14 days or it will go up to £60, it says I can appeal but must supply evidence as to why I believe I was parked in compliance with the t and cs displayed on the contractual warning says (I have t argue that there were no warning signs on this bit of ground apart from the yellow wheelchair disabled sign printed on the actual parking spot.

Can anyone tell me if I have to pay this? It's galling when I already pay through my salary to park at work and I still get charged!

Fruitcake

milliemonster wrote: »

Hi everyone, I'm going to have a good read of the PCN thread but I've just got in from work after a hellish day and wanted some quick advice.

I am a staff nurse who went to work this morning and the only place I could find to park was in a disabled spot on some rough ground on the hospital site where an old ward was demolished. I pay for a parking permit monthly which is deducted from my salary at source and my permit was displayed correctly. However, because i wasn't parked in a staff parking spot (as there weren't any) I have received a parking charge notice from the trusts car park contractors.

The notice is from 'legion group' based in Gateshead and the pcn says they are members of the bpa, I have the choice of paying £30 in the next 14 days or it will go up to £60, it says I can appeal but must supply evidence as to why I believe I was parked in compliance with the t and cs displayed on the contractual warning says (I have t argue that there were no warning signs on this bit of ground apart from the yellow wheelchair disabled sign printed on the actual parking spot.

Can anyone tell me if I have to pay this? It's galling when I already pay through my salary to park at work and I still get charged!

You do not need to pay as the parking company have suffered no loss.


Read the Sticky thread for NEWBIES at the top of the main page here and then appeal as keeper using the template letter contained therein, exactly as it is on about day 21 from today. On no account reveal who was driving. Never say things like, I did his or I parked there because ... Use words like, the driver did this or the driver parked there.
You could include an additional point that as keeper you have a permit that was correctly displayed that allowed the driver to park and therefore legion group have suffered no loss.



If/when it is rejected then you come back here and make a second stage appeal to PoPLA.


Meanwhile complain to PALS and hospital admin that you pay for parking already therefore you are not required to pay this scam notice.
You could also get your union involved as well if you can find someone knowledgeable. They should be fighting your corner on this anyway.

milliemonster

Thank you for your reply, the union and hospital aren't interested as they say our permits give us the right to park but do not guarantee a space and if we do not park in the correct space then the car parking police will issue tickets, end of. We have argued for the last couple of years as staff argue that there aren't enough spaces for staff which has led many staff being late for work after driving round and round waiting for an appropriate space to become free, even if there are loads of patient spaces free, if we used one of those we'd get a ticket, but the trusts stance is either to use public transport, car share or walk instead, they won't budge and won't get involved with any car parking disputes.

But I will have a good read of the sticky thread tomorrow when I get in from work and let you know how it goes.

Fruitcake

milliemonster wrote: »

Thank you for your reply, the union and hospital aren't interested as they say our permits give us the right to park but do not guarantee a space and if we do not park in the correct space then the car parking police will issue tickets, end of. We have argued for the last couple of years as staff argue that there aren't enough spaces for staff which has led many staff being late for work after driving round and round waiting for an appropriate space to become free, even if there are loads of patient spaces free, if we used one of those we'd get a ticket, but the trusts stance is either to use public transport, car share or walk instead, they won't budge and won't get involved with any car parking disputes.

But I will have a good read of the sticky thread tomorrow when I get in from work and let you know how it goes.

You need to elect new union reps then. I'm a Unite rep and have helped two of my members get tickets overturned when they got PCNs whilst driving hire cars on company business, although I work in the private sector.
Does the permit actually specify where you can and can't park? A redacted copy scanned and posted might help. Also, scan and copy the windscreen ticket so the experts can pick holes in it.
Pictures of signs would also be useful.
Upload pic and scans to a web hosting site such as tinypic or photobucket, then post the URL here but change http to hxxp as Newbies can't post pics or links. Someone here will then convert the URL so it can be viewed.
Do your research then send the appeal template around day 21/22. This is because it will hopefully confuse the parking company and make them forget to send a notice to keeper which is a winning appeal point at PoPLA should you need it.


Do not pay, do not ignore, do not reveal who was driving, do not miss the appeal deadline.


You have a tough job and don't need all this extra hassle. Stay strong and the regulars here will help you beat this scam.

steve1500

You can also use Freedom of Information to ask the Trust have they ever taken anyone to court for parking & also what the outcome was.


You can make the request via email & don't have to use your real name, but if you use something like mmouse they can refuse the request, but mlewis would be fine.

fisherjim

My wife has the same problem at the hospital where she works, and her car is part funded by the NHS for her job.
Saying use public transport or car share is a cop out by these Muppets that can't answer a straight question.

She sometimes has to pay to park in the normal public part of the car park, there is nothing they can do about if they don't know who was driving, it could be me driving and sometimes is!

milliemonster

Thank you everyone, I live 30 miles away from work and work unsocial hours so public transport is not an option.

There is nothing on the permit itself which states where you can or can't park however the parking policy on the trusts intranet does say where we can and can't park, the problem is there just aren't enough staff spaces available, so even though there may be plenty of other spaces available, we are not allowed to use the. Or we get ticketed.

I have tonight gone back to my car to another ticket stuck to the windscreen, although this one is just a threat of a pcN as I had to park in a patient spot today.

I had a good look where I was parked yesterday and there are no signs up to say staff aren't allowed to park in this spots, there are no signs at all.

I'll take photos of everything and post up over the weekend, I'm not a newbie so shouldn't have an issue uploading pics.

Guys_Dad

steve1500 wrote: »

You can also use Freedom of Information to ask the Trust have they ever taken anyone to court for parking & also what the outcome was.


You can make the request via email & don't have to use your real name, but if you use something like mmouse they can refuse the request, but mlewis would be fine.

You might find that they answer "None" as the Legion Group might have been the company that did court. They would not be covered by FoI.

Choose your FoI question carefully.

Fruitcake

milliemonster wrote: »

Thank you everyone, I live 30 miles away from work and work unsocial hours so public transport is not an option.

There is nothing on the permit itself which states where you can or can't park however the parking policy on the trusts intranet does say where we can and can't park, the problem is there just aren't enough staff spaces available, so even though there may be plenty of other spaces available, we are not allowed to use the. Or we get ticketed.

I have tonight gone back to my car to another ticket stuck to the windscreen, although this one is just a threat of a pcN as I had to park in a patient spot today.

I had a good look where I was parked yesterday and there are no signs up to say staff aren't allowed to park in this spots, there are no signs at all.

I'll take photos of everything and post up over the weekend, I'm not a newbie so shouldn't have an issue uploading pics.

Lack of signage plus pics = proof that the signs were inadequate and don't meet the BPA CoP means you have at least one winning appeal point at PoPLA. Pictures of the entrance to the car park where you were parked with inadequate or better still, no signs, should win hands down at PoPLA.


Win your first appeal then use that as your template for any and all PCNs you get in the future. Once you have cost the parking company enough money they will probably leave you alone. (It costs the PPC 2.50 per DVLA request and 27 quid plus VaT per PoPLA appeal, win or lose.)

bod1467

Fruitcake wrote: »

(It costs the PPC 2.50 per DVLA request and 27 quid plus VaT per PoPLA appeal, win or lose.)

And they must seek keeper details from DVLA for every PCN ... they cannot retain keeper details to send info out next time.

Fruitcake

bod1467 wrote: »

And they must seek keeper details from DVLA for every PCN ... they cannot retain keeper details to send info out next time.

Correct, but the only way to find out if this happened is to send a FOI to the DVLA. Whilst it might help for the second and any subsequent windscreen tickets it is not a point worth progressing until the OP has the first win under their belt.