Gemini Parking Solutions MCOL Stage

KeithP

Dully, have you seen this?...

NHS patient, visitor and staff car parking principles

Here's just one sentence from it:

Contracted-out car parking

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

Perhaps the NHS Trust would like to nominate a representative to answer questions at a court hearing?

dully1992

KeithP wrote: »

Dully, have you seen this?...

NHS patient, visitor and staff car parking principles

Here's just one sentence from it:

Perhaps the NHS Trust would like to nominate a representative to answer questions at a court hearing?

Ooh did not know this. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.

So I could quote this in my email to PALS and suggest that as, like you say, they are responsible for Gemini's actions- they should be at this hearing? (Unless they cancel this BS fine...)

Umkomaas

So I could quote this in my email to PALS and suggest that as, like you say, they are responsible for Gemini's actions- they should be at this hearing? (Unless they cancel this BS fine...)

PALS won't be, but the Trust would.

I would write to the Trust asking them for the name and status of the senior manager who you will call to the hearing. Ask that you are provided with dates of their non-availability for the next 6 months so the court can ensure they book a date that accommodates his ability to attend.

In terms of your PALS letter, I don't see any mention of the specifics about such things as congestion in the car park, difficulty finding a spot after wheeling around for x minutes, random abandonment of vehicles, which the hospital's tame parking company has singularly failed in resolving, preferring the opportunity to penalise drivers at £100 a pop, rather than doing what they are contracted to do - 'manage parking'.

Ask them to consider the proposition that the less well the PPC manages parking at the hospital, the more money it makes. How can a hospital trust square that with the well being of patients and visitors, who are probably the most vulnerable and worried cohort of any motorists using any kind of car park in the entire country.

Has the Trust no conscience, or shame?

dully1992

Umkomaas wrote: »

PALS won't be, but the Trust would.
...
Has the Trust no conscience, or shame?

KeithP wrote: »

Dully, have you seen this?...
Perhaps the NHS Trust would like to nominate a representative to answer questions at a court hearing?

Some changes as per your guys advice:


The date in question is when my grandmother was admitted to Queen’s Hospital following an acute stroke, sadly she passed away 11 days later. She was incredibly unwell when admitted and I had been travelling, hurriedly, from my University in Sheffield to visit her due to her uncertain prognosis, given the severity of her stroke. Unaware of the parking restrictions, unable to safely read any signs from my vehicle, waiting for a length of time in a snails-pace and protracted queue to enter the multi story car park, and due to my grandmothers condition, I reacted instinctively to park in a reasonable location in order to attend to my grandmother as quickly as possible. The state and condition of the car park, or lack thereof, is a testament to Gemini Parking Solutions’ failure to successfully manage the car park, opting instead to penalise drivers £100.

It is extremely disappointing in the first instance that BHR University Hospitals have chosen to work with such an unscrupulous organisation as Gemini Parking Solutions, I point you to an article in a national paper, highlighting the incredibly poor practices of this organisation, particularly at Queen’s Hospital Romford: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2709056/NHS-hospitals-patients-hit-cowboy-parking-wardens.html

Has BHR University Hospitals considered the fact that the less well managed their car parks are by Gemini Parking Solutions, the more money it is set out to make. How then is BHR University Hospitals comfortable with this notion, in tandem with concern for the well being of patients and visitors, who are likely the most vulnerable and worried cohort of motorists in the country?

Furthermore, I remind you of the NHS car parking principles, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles. This guidance clearly states that "NHS organisations are responsible for the actions of private contractors who run car parks on their behalf". I trust that no individual from BHR University Hospitals wishes to nominate a representative to be present to answer questions at a court hearing, should this case go that far. In any case, I will be writing to BHR University Hospitals Trust for the name and status of the senior manager who will be at this hearing.

dully1992

Hello everyone,

I have since had a response from the head of security, fire safety and car parking management at the hospital in question:

"My name is, I am the Head of Security, Fire Safety and Traffic Management at BHRUT, and your email has been forwarded onto me ref the fine from Gemini Parking Solutions dated XX.XX.17.

All parking fines issued at Queens Hospital are done so where a vehicle is identified as having breached the parking restrictions on site, and a PCN ticket is left on the windscreen of the Vehicle.
All car parks at BHRUT are managed by the Trust, not Gemini, and are regularly checked and monitored for serviceability, with aspects such as signage something we get our patient experience team to review as and when any amendments are made to ensure we have patient engagement regarding clear and conscience signage.

You do not state in your email where you received the PCN, but if you were not parking in the Multi Storey Visitor car park, I would assume the ticket was issued for either parking on a double yellow line or in one of the external disabled bays without clearly displaying a Blue Badge. There is a significant amount of signage in this area who these spaces are designated for as well as the line painting on the bays themselves if this is where you had parked.

BHRUT have chosen Gemini as a parking enforcement company prior to my arrival, and I regularly vet and check the way in which enforcement is carried out while on BHRUT properties and have confidence in the abilities of the regular officers who currently monitor our sites. The link you include names a significant number of parking enforcement companies. And as stated above, the Trust manages the Trust sites, Gemini are contracted to provide Carparking enforcement to stop individuals from ignoring the parking restrictions on site to keep our roadways clear.

BHRUT would not attend any court in a case like this unless summoned by the Magistrate, Gemini would present the photographic evidence from the time the PCN was issued clearly showing the vehicle in breach of the designated parking regulations, if you want to dispute the issuing of the PCN as you do not believe you were breaching any parking contravention, you would need to contact POPLA (Parking on Private Land Appeals - http://www.popla.co.uk/ ).

As a Junior Doctor in the NHS, I would imagine you would be aware of the requirement to keep the roadways, entrances and access to patients/visitors/staff clear and unobstructed, as well as the requirement to ensure individuals attending site did so in line with the parking allowances on site to keep order and allow such acute facilities that are under significant demand free flowing and regulated. Gemini are not ‘Rogue firm’, they do not ‘prey on patients’, if you have by the wording of your email admitted to having not followed the signposted route to parking in the Multi Storey, but instead “reacted instinctively to park in a reasonable and safe location”, then I would state the issuing of a PCN is not the fault of Gemini or BHRUT but yourself for not following the parking restrictions.

I fully agree the practices of Gemini, nor any Trust contractor should effect those who visit Queens hospital, but neither should the actions of patients, visitors or staff.

If you wish to continue your dispute, as stated above, please contact POPLA (Parking on Private Land Appeals - http://www.popla.co.uk/ )."

Wasn't really expecting much concession from the hospital. Unfortunate that he doesn't even recognise the circumstances in which I was parking/rushing into the hospital, nor does he even acknowledge it with any sympathy - which is a shame.

What do you guys think I should do in terms of replying to the hospital? Should the best course of action be a complaint to PALS about his reply?

Thoughts much appreciated.

dully1992

Have also drafted a SAR to send to Gemini; would appreciate any advice on whether its along the right lines please:

Dear Sir or Madam,
Subject access request (Data Protection Act 2018 / General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR))

Re: (Name, address)

Please supply all the data about me, which you hold, that I am entitled to under data protection law relating to myself.

In particular, but not limited to:

Please supply any vehicle registration number (VRN) data that you hold about me, including all images of any such vehicle.

Please supply any and all previous correspondence/letter(s)/notice(s) that you have sent to me, clearly showing the date(s) and proof(s) of postage of such correspondence/letter(s)/notice(s).

Please supply a full copy of the charge notice issued and notice to keeper. Please supply close up images of the signs in the car park taken on the day in question that this charge notice was issued.

Please supply all images of the vehicle in question at the time the charge notice was issued to this vehicle.

Please supply evidence that you have paid for a legal representative and/or debt collector.

If you need any more data from me to confirm my identity, please let me know as soon as possible. It may be helpful for you to know that data protection law requires you to respond to a request for data within one calendar month.

KeithP

That Data Subject Access Request should do the job.

I would perhaps pre-empt their request for further identification by including a penultimate paragraph something like:

I have enclosed a copy of my Vehicle Registration Document to confirm my identity. You will see that the address on it is the one you already have on record.

You might also want to include the Parking Charge Notice number in your 're' at the beginning.

dully1992

KeithP wrote: »

That Data Subject Access Request should do the job.

I would perhaps pre-empt their request for further identification by including a penultimate paragraph something like:

I have enclosed a copy of my Vehicle Registration Document to confirm my identity. You will see that the address on it is the one you already have on record.

You might also want to include the Parking Charge Notice number in your 're' at the beginning.

Thanks Keith.

Don't want to do that though as they haven't even mentioned my vehicle registration number on the particulars of claim:

"The driver of the vehicle registration (the "Vehicle") incurred the parking charge(s) on XX/XX/2017 for breaching the terms of parking on the land at...
The Defendant was driving the Vehicle and/or is the keeper of the vehicle"

So I'd rather they prove that they even have the details of my car (I'm guessing if they can't prove which car - they don't have a claim?!)

KeithP

OK, that makes sense.

Le_Kirk

From your post # 1

"The driver of the vehicle registration (the "Vehicle") incurred the parking charge(s) on XX/XX/2017 for breaching the terms of parking on the land at...

From your post # 20

So I'd rather they prove that they even have the details of my car (I'm guessing if they can't prove which car - they don't have a claim?!)

The two statements do not compute!