HELP! Hospital parking fine - SCS Law and UKPC - Letter before Claim

drstre

Dear All,
Thank you for your advice on the parking matters. I am at a loss of what to do next but believe I have grounds to fight the parking charges.
In summary, I have been issued with a letter before claim pursuant to the pre-action protocol for debt claims from SCS Law. These are regarding parking 'offences between the years 2016 and one in January 2018.

I would like to stress that during these years, I have been a staff member at the hospital and pay a monthly parking fee to the hospital. This is deducted directly from wages.

I replied to the prior letter which had a deadline of 30 days with evidence for the charges and a copy of the contract.

Firstly the copy of the contract they sent is valid from 1st jan 2014 - 31st of march 2015, which therefore bears no relevance to me.
Secondly, the appendix that they have sent with details state the restriction that 'no parking in a staff area without a valid NHS permit' of which I held one during that period.

Could I start with those points or should I contest each ticket as in some I am displaying a note saying that I am awaiting my new permit to be issued etc!

Lastly, following the post of the evidence from SCS law, they did not give me a timeframe. It purely ended with ' We hope the above clarifies matters and we look forward to hearing from you'.
I have been on holiday and have come back to ' As no response has been received, we will issue a county court proceeding to recover the unpaid parking charges.

Will writing back quickly to say that a clear deadline was not written in the previous letter help or is a county court proceeding inevitable?

I find it hugely unjust as a member of the NHS and the pressures we are already under so would be willing to fight this!

Thank you for your help!

KeithP

What has your employer said about this?

Is it your employer that didn't supply replacement permits in time?

Have you seen The NHS patient, visitor and staff car parking principles?

Particularly this bit:

NHS organisations are responsible for the actions of private contractors who run car parks on their behalf.

drstre

Hi Keith, I have yet to ask them. They have been known to support UKPC. They did not supply a replacement permit in time for one of the offences.

I shall write an email to them this weekend!

Umkomaas

Press hard on your employer. They don't need scammers harassing staff.

What is your Trade Union doing on your behalf?

drstre

I will contact them over the weekend. I wonder if I should go straight to the chief executive.
I'm not sure if this is something the BMA would get involved in but I'll give it a go!
This 14 day deadline that they have mentioned in their second letter stating they are now commencing court proceedings, should I reply to that now and challenge them or see what they do next?

System

I'm not sure if this is something the BMA

You'll carry insurance if you are one of the more qualified NHS staff. Does that insurance cover other legal issues apart from medical ones.

Coupon-mad

drstre wrote: »

I will contact them over the weekend. I wonder if I should go straight to the chief executive.
I'm not sure if this is something the BMA would get involved in but I'll give it a go!
This 14 day deadline that they have mentioned in their second letter stating they are now commencing court proceedings, should I reply to that now and challenge them or see what they do next?

Reply if you feel you haven't 'seen their hand' before a court claim. e.g. have you got:

- all photos taken on the day

- all letters they say were sent

- a picture of the signage terms they allege were breached?

- a clear picture from them, of what the contravention was, and if they are pursuing you as keeper or as admitted driver? i.e. are they using the POFA, or not?

As for an NHS Complaint, usually the Facilities Manager can cancel it for employees.

drstre

Thank you for your replies!
I have pursued this through the trust and they have continued to support the overinflated PCNs of UKPC.
I have achieved all of the things below with photos, letter and signage. They are pursuing me as registered keeper at present.
They have offered me a 'discount' with court action if I don't settle.
As I did not display a valid permit and have sent countless legal letters to SCS law, I feel like my only option now is to pay! I feel I have exhausted all avenues and that the key was to appealing at the point of the PCN, not to ignore it.
Totally exasperated!

System

Before you pay (and it is understandable why people do this) may we have sight of the paperwork/contract that UKPC have produced.

A second question is - is the offer "full and final" for all tickets they have and not the ones they have shown you. Best to have it all out in the open. One of their favourite tricks to press on a few then hit you with others after you've paid the few.