Parking ticket at work

matthewfox

Good evening. Just signed up to the forums for a bit of advice - I'll explain so please bear with me...

On Wednesday I received a PCN for parking in the NHS car park where I work, as I have done for the last five years. On this occasion, as many others, there were insufficient parking bays available when I arrived so I parked in a gap as many I and others have done many times.

That afternoon I received a PCN issued by Armtrac (KBT Cornwall Ltd) with the reason of obstructive parking. The gap I parked in is in front of steps that lead to a disabled entrance to the building but 1) there was plenty of space beside my car to walk to the entrance, 2) there was clear access to a ramp that also lead to the same entrance, 3) this is secondary to the main entrance and 4) I wasn't blocking in any other vehicle (I have photos on DropBox link but cannot post links as a new member). There are no daytime patient facilities at the office. I have a parking permit clearly displayed in the window of my car.

Those are the facts that I have used to appeal the ticket with Armtrac

Not visible in this photo are two other cars not parked in marked bays and they were not ticketed (when I questioned the attendant when I saw him the following day, he admitted to not seeing them)

The following day, two further vehicles were not parked in bays and one was parked on yellow hatch marks, both violating terms of the displayed parking conditions but the manager that asks the parking attendant to do his rounds said that the two vehicles were parked with his knowledge and that the other vehicle was a "service vehicle" and allowed to park there, so basically a case of one rule for them, one rule for everyone else.

So most of the advice I find is for patients etc visiting a hospital whereas this is where I work. I guess the first half of my post is regarding the appeal and the second half is issues that need sorting within the organisation!

I hope that makes sense - it really is winding me up (again!) as I'm typing...

Redx

use a dead link to dropbox , changing http to hxxp before submitting it

maybe you should be complaining to HR as to why they are not following the NHS guidelines issued 2 years ago by Jeremy Hunt ?

you will be wasting your time with Armtrac but go through the motions anyway with the correct appeal to them (see the NEWBIES thread and use the correct template)

pointless arguing with the parking operatives , they can do nothing

hoohoo

This is now going to happen a lot, so unless you want to see most of your salary going to Armtrac you need to get clear written instructions from your manager on what to do if there is not a parking space when you arrive.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles

NHS trusts should publish:

their parking policy
their implementation of the NHS car parking principles
financial information relating to their car parking
summarised complaint information on car parking and actions taken in response

Ask for these documents

Coupon-mad

And do not pay Armtrac!

matthewfox

Thank you all for your help! I haven't paid Armtrac and have started (for what it's worth) the appeal process. More importantly, I have been in touch with our chief executive who is now investigating whether the organisation that has the contract with Armtrac are actually allowed to do so within the NHS policy. If they're not, then the ticket was not issued correctly in the first place... bit more waiting and hopefully this can all be forgotten!!