Parking outside marked bays... set up to fail!

shaun_from_Africa

neilmcl wrote: »

you could have just parked alongside the ticket machine and activated your ticket or in a lot of cases just driven to the exit barrier and used it to leave.

If the ticket needed activating/validating then this may well not have worked.
In my local hospital (Redhill), you get a ticket when you enter the car park and you get up to 15 minutes free parking.
However, to exit the car park you need to insert a validated ticket into the exit barrier machine and you can only get your ticket validated in one of the payment machines.
These are only located inside the hospital building and it can't be done at the entrance or exit barriers.

waamo

This really needs to be on the Parking Tickets sub forum. I've got a feeling Stoke Mandeville do their own ticketing and don't use a parking company. It would help if the op could confirm that too.

neilmcl

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

If the ticket needed activating/validating then this may well not have worked.
In my local hospital (Redhill), you get a ticket when you enter the car park and you get up to 15 minutes free parking.
However, to exit the car park you need to insert a validated ticket into the exit barrier machine and you can only get your ticket validated in one of the payment machines.
These are only located inside the hospital building and it can't be done at the entrance or exit barriers.

But the OP implied the ticket machine was in the car park hence why I mentioned if it needed validating then they could've simply parked near the machine, validated it and drove out.

I've been in a lot of hospital car parks over the past few years to also know that you can often drive out immediately without "validating" the ticket specifically to allow people to leave when there are no spaces.

neilmcl

waamo wrote: »

This really needs to be on the Parking Tickets sub forum. I've got a feeling Stoke Mandeville do their own ticketing and don't use a parking company. It would help if the op could confirm that too.

I believe it's UKPC, according to Google street view.

Gilly631

Thanks for your replies everyone.... even the sarcastic ones !!!128077;

At that particular car park you have to get out of the car, leave the car park and go back to the entrance of the hospital in order to get to the ticket machine. And you cannot go through the exit barrier without validating your ticket.

Basically, the two options I was left with was to park in a disabled bay (which I didn’t want to do in case someone needed it) or park the car somewhere out of the way while I went back to the ticket machine.

Anyway, I was really after some guidance as to what to do next... do I wait for something to come through the post or do I appeal it now or do I complain to the hospital?

Robisere

Refer back to posts 3, 6 and 13. You have already been given the guidance you asked for.

From Pogofish (Post 13):
" Get this into the Parking Tickets Subforum and start by reading the Newbies Sticky for the best help.

After doing that, when you are properly informed, I would suggest a strong complaint to PALS, who can normally get these cancelled. "

Nilrem

Johno100 wrote: »

You seem to know a lot about this car park and how the specific system works there, are you local or just guessing?

I have to go to the hospital in question on a regular basis*, and like most such systems it gives you a ten minute grace period after you get the ticket in which to get out without paying, from memory it has it noted on/next to the barriers (and the pay machine) in all of the site car parks.

It's one of the better hospital pay and display car parks (I've had too much experience of them this last year, L&D is terrible:p).


*Last visit was to the eye department a couple of weeks back giving a friend a lift.

System

In our local hospital the way the car park entrance is set up you cannot reverse out if the barrier was not to open. When it is full you get your ticket as you enter, if you can't find a space you just go to the exit, put the ticket in the machine and it lets you out without charge.

neilmcl

Tarambor wrote: »

In our local hospital the way the car park entrance is set up you cannot reverse out if the barrier was not to open. When it is full you get your ticket as you enter, if you can't find a space you just go to the exit, put the ticket in the machine and it lets you out without charge.

As do a lot of them.

Johno100

Nilrem wrote: »

I have to go to the hospital in question on a regular basis*, and like most such systems it gives you a ten minute grace period after you get the ticket in which to get out without paying, from memory it has it noted on/next to the barriers (and the pay machine) in all of the site car parks.

It's one of the better hospital pay and display car parks (I've had too much experience of them this last year, L&D is terrible:p).


*Last visit was to the eye department a couple of weeks back giving a friend a lift.

I think we have moved on somewhat with the OP confirming that the machine to validate the ticket is not one of those where you can lean out of your vehicle as you reach the barrier but have to leave your vehicle somewhere to use a machine.