Repeated hospital parking fines for taxi driver working for ambulance service

twhitehousescat

FestiveJoy wrote: »

You know what they say about those who continue to do the same thing and expect to obtain a different result.

Just buy a ticket in future


https://www.nhs.uk/services/hospitals/facilities/defaultview.aspx?id=1271

are you stupid , hes a TAXI DRIVER

Fruitcake

FestiveJoy wrote: »

You know what they say about those who continue to do the same thing and expect to obtain a different result.

Just buy a ticket in future

https://www.nhs.uk/services/hospitals/facilities/defaultview.aspx?id=1271

Picking up and dropping off goods or passengers is not parking. This is explained by the judge in the case of Jopson vs Homeguard.
In any case, the former Secretary of State for Health and Welfare, Jeremy Hunt stated that parking at hospitals should be free, as does the NHS parking principles already linked in an earlier thread.

MistyZ

FestiveJoy wrote: »

You know what they say about those who continue to do the same thing and expect to obtain a different result.

Just buy a ticket in future

The OP is indeed a taxi driver AND they are working for the NHS Hospital Transport Service!!

Umkomaas

Treesrgreen wrote: »

The problem is, this is crippling my income to such an extent that I may be out of business very soon.

Umkomaas wrote: »

Have you threatened to remove your services?

Treesrgreen wrote: »

As for removing my services, this is my bread an butter and while I understand that this could be a useful tactic for rectifying this situation, I would be too scared that it would backfire in my face and that I would lose the work altogether.

From what you've said above, you're not far off losing your business. I'm not asking what you earn per trip, but if it's less than £100, you are potentially unviable. You may have no control over whether your business fails unless you take proactive action.

I'll repeat what I asked ....

Have you threatened to remove your services?

Go talk it over with the key hospital people who deal with ParkingEye (Estates or Facilities Management are usually involved) and explain how your business is faced with bankruptcy because of the impossible position you are being forced into, and the only way to avoid that is to withdraw from that particular hospital site.

KeithP

That may not be straightforward Umkomaas.

The OP has told us:

I am a taxi driver and regularly do work for the NHS hospital transport service via another company.

So he is not taking work directly from the hospital, but through a third party.

That third party may not care about the OP's predicament if there are plenty of other taxi drivers in the area, and the hospital may not care either as long as their needs are met.

Half_way

Have you paid any of these parking charges?

FestiveJoy

Fruitcake wrote: »

Picking up and dropping off goods or passengers is not parking. This is explained by the judge in the case of Jopson vs Homeguard.

You seem to refer to a case of an appeal from Deputy District Judge Wright’s decision on 26 January 2016 to award the claimant judgement said to be due for parking for a period of one minute, although there was undisputed evidence it may have been a few minutes whilst she carried a desk and other items to her new flat.

Futhermore, the appellant in that appeal argued that she was unaware of the imposition of parking charges that had been introduced - she only became aware of the change after she had entered her flat which she was in the process of moving into.

Here the OP admits to staying for a period in excess of 20 minutes.
That's a heck of a lonmg time for passengers to disembark!

Indeed, the appellant in the above case argued "that this is not a simple case of parking without permission on somebody else’s property having seen a notice imposing financial conditions for doing so".

So, I don't really see the relevance of the case law you attempt to rely upon in this instance.

I think to attempt to apply the above case law to this situation really is a bit of a stretch.

The OP should just by a ticket like everyone else.

Fruitcake wrote: »

In any case, the former Secretary of State for Health and Welfare, Jeremy Hunt stated that parking at hospitals should be free, as does the NHS parking principles already linked in an earlier thread.

Fwiw, I tend to agree with the sentiments of the former Secretary of State for Health and Welfare, Jeremy Hunt, but at the moment, the law of England allows parking charges at hosiptals.

FestiveJoy

MistyZ wrote: »

The OP is indeed a taxi driver AND they are working for the NHS Hospital Transport Service!!

I know the OP is a taxi driver. It's stated in the OP
Who they actually work for is open to debate ... but its probably not relevant.

What is actually stated is

Treesrgreen wrote:

I...do work for the NHS hospital transport service via another company.

What is relevant is

Treesrgreen wrote:

I am not on the hospital premises for long but I sometimes go over the 20 minute waiting limit while looking for patients that are not where they are supposed to be or they are delayed waiting for a doctor to discharge them or awaiting medication.

as well as the fact they have now done this not once, not twioce, not three tiome, but four times ... and each time it unsurprisingly results in the same outcome.

The OP should just buy a ticket

Half_way

The OP should just by a ticket like everyone else.

Does that apply to all vehicle visitng a hospital? such as other Ambulances as well? maybe the St john ambulance or red cross ambulances should also buy a tickt like everyone else.


The OP is a contractor for the Hospital(s), invovled with patient transport .


Maybe the OP should sue the Hospital via MCOL to reclaim the expenses/cost as you could argue that these costs on the contractor are entirely the fault of the Hospital, for not ensuring that patients are in the correct place for transport/pick up, and fo allowing an unregulated parking company to operate in their name on their land.
The above may put the OP back in a reasonable postion, but it would be a huge waste of resources.
As previous the vehicle should be whitelisted, the Hospital should (must) make sure that pateints are where they are suposed to be for pick up and any pakring charges the OP has paid to the Hospital ( via the parking cmpany) should be refunded in full without dealy

FestiveJoy

Half_way wrote: »

Does that apply to all vehicle visitng a hospital? ...

No, my advice is provided to the OP, based on the sitiution outlined in this thread