Private PCNs issued to people getting COVID19 vaccinations - policy responses from the Trade Bodies

Coupon-mad

After raising this issue with both APAs I have this email today from Steve Clark at the BPA about Covid-19 Operational Advice

Supporting the national effort – BPA Community   Our BPA community continues to fully support the UK’s efforts to combat COVID-19 and we are immensely proud of the contributions being made by our members. We worked closely with Government throughout 2020 and this will continue until the end of the pandemic.  A good example of the sector’s collaborative working is how many of our members are providing free parking for NHS staff and critical care workers.   The vaccination rollout will save lives and keep our country running. NHS staff and volunteers will doubtless be working day and night to as they step up to the unprecedented challenge we face as a nation. In the next few weeks/months the elderly and those who are clinically vulnerable, and therefore the most likely to suffer the most, will be invited to attend a vaccination centre - this will be a stressful time for many of them and we believe that nobody should receive a Parking Charge Notice for attending a vaccination centre.   The NHS will be rapidly increasing the number of testing/vaccination centres in the coming days and weeks and AOS operators will need to consider the parking arrangements around these facilities. It may be appropriate to alter the payment, enforcement and management arrangements to accommodate the new pattern of use that will inevitably arise - this is a matter between Operators and their landowner clients of course. We know that some operators have already liaised with their clients to determine practical support measures for the NHS which include: free provision of parking sites; and extended grace periods etc. We encourage all members to explore the feasibility of these and other measures.   It is recognised that locations will often need to maintain some level of enforcement to ensure the effective parking management of landowners’ property. If people are required to pay to park or follow other Terms & Conditions when getting their vaccinations, then we encourage operators to consider additional options to raise awareness, such as the inclusion of parking arrangements within appointment letters. We also recognise that operators may need to continue to deploy their enforcement teams in some capacity and we would ask that they are focused on providing help and advice about where people can and can’t park and only issue a Parking Charge Notice (PCN) where absolutely necessary.   It is essential that our sector continues to positively engage in the national effort to control the virus and support the NHS. The vaccination programme is an important element of that effort; we must remove the potential for additional anxieties caused by inappropriate parking management and enforcement during this unprecedented period. We therefore expect that should a PCN be issued to a motorist at a vaccination centre who can prove that they were attending that vaccination centre on the day of the parking event, that PCN should be cancelled in the same way, as set out in Section 17 of the Code.   Thank you for your continued and invaluable support.   This note has been shared with the DVLA, MHCLG, Department of Health and Social Care NHS England. https://email.britishparking.co.uk/52KH-B5UT-207F07B0011F4CB5UI94Q2151733B474761C3/cr.aspx

Coupon-mad

EDIT - 24.1.2021 - THE POLICY ACCORDING TO THE INTERNATIONAL PARKING COMMUNITY

It is important to show the policies about vaccination centres, as published by both Trade Bodies.
Well...I just stumbled across this published by the IPC:

https://theipc.info/uploads/2dCaCOSCEc7hewCjqPzBzudPI0Wjru0Ngwc1IT5MBMQ/IPC Covid Vaccination Centre Guidance for Motorists V1 15012021.pdf

The IPC didn't reply to me when I raised the very real 'vaccination centre parking charges' concern with both APAs at the start of this month.  They still have not replied to me at all but that news article has appeared here:

https://theipc.info/latest-news

What can I say?

The IPC have decided to place the burden upon society's most vulnerable and elderly people and their carers/families, to have to appeal any extortionate parking charges they get.   The article makes it clear that it will be 'business as usual' for IPC member firms and they actually think that site rules like 'permit holders only' will continue to apply and PCNs can still be issued even though in many cases, to comply with rules like displaying some sort of 'permit' will be void for impossibility. 

This article talks about people having to explain and evidence why they might be late back to their cars in these extraordinary times.  

The IPC have made it clear that they have made no provision whatsoever (well there is zero indication) that they will extend grace periods, despite knowing that the best laid plans and timings of NHS services can result in people being delayed.  So, if your granny has to wait 15 minutes for her vaccination and is told to rest before she leaves the site, to make sure there are no adverse reactions, she will find a PCN on her windscreen to greet her when she staggers back to her car.

Of course these patients are permitted visitors - the article is written as if there will be carmageddon at vaccine sites with rogue ninety-year olds and people with serious medical conditions 'abusing' the landowners' land by parking willy nilly all over the place, even though the appointments are staggered to allow for safe social distancing.

The IPC member firms must be lurking, ramping up the site visits and ANPR monitoring at these test centres and rubbing their hands together with glee each time they hear that a location they 'manage' is being set up as a vaccination centre.

The difference in the statements is truly gobsmacking.  Where is their social conscience?  I am not sure how whoever wrote this sleeps at night. 

Imagine if vulnerable victims get a PCN and then refuse to return for their second vaccine.


Here it is in full:

IPC Guidance on Covid-19 Vaccination Centres and subsequent enforcement
The Government and the NHS are now rolling out a mass vaccination programme to combat the threat posed by Covid-19. The NHS vaccination programme, the biggest in the health service’s history, is being delivered as health service staff are treating record numbers of seriously ill patients with coronavirus, caused by rapidly rising infection numbers.

The first seven NHS Vaccination Centres have now opened at various locations across England. The seven large-scale sites, capable of delivering thousands of the lifesaving jabs each week, will be followed by dozens more. Hundreds more GP-led and hospital services are also due to open, along with the first pharmacy-led pilot sites, taking the total to around 1,200. The new large-scale NHS Vaccination Centres – including one on the site of the London Nightingale Hospital, Bristol’s Ashton Gate stadium and Manchester’s Etihad tennis club – offer a convenient alternative to GPled and hospital services.

The mass vaccination programme will mean that people will be required to travel to receive their vaccine. It is not feasible for operators to cease enforcement at all sites in and around vaccination locations.

Importance of Parking Management
To the general public, parking on private land is almost always associated with the operation and management of car parks. Parking management is about aiming the right people can park in the right places at the right time. During the pandemic that is increasingly important.

Parking on private land covers many more situations than just privately-owned car parks. It relates to all privately-owned land which includes:

 • Disabled bay
 • No Parking areas
 • Privately owned roads leading up to airports
 • Residential parking areas
 • Lawn and garden areas
 • Verges
 • Office car parks
 • Electric charge bays

As well as causing a major inconvenience for private landowners, unsolicited parking is a potential hazard for road users and pedestrians, especially on private land adjacent to public amenities and schools. With the increasing need for social distancing rules some areas are now running with reduced capacity for vehicles which inevitably creates problems.
Parking enforcement to uphold the rights of landowners is commonplace nowadays. Many landowners would rather their land was respected by those not invited upon it, but many are forced to engage the services of a private parking management company as a measure to protect their land from unsolicited parking.

Finding the correct balance between the contrasting needs of landowners, private parking management companies and motorists is no easy task, especially when considering the ever-growing number of private motor vehicles on UK roads.


Guidance for Motorists 

Avoiding a Parking Charge
Receiving a parking charge on the window of your vehicle or through the post can be upsetting, annoying and stressful. Here are the most important ways to ensure you never incur a charge at the outset.
 
Plan
Look
Read
Comply
Leave

Plan ahead –
 If you are travelling to a vaccination centre or an area where you have not travelled before then plan your journey. Do not assume there will be designated parking or free parking. Speak to the centre or look on the website. If there is parking look to see whether you will need to pay and how you are able to pay. Can you pay in advance and pre-book, do you need cash, card or a mobile app to pay? These are the questions you should consider. If there is no parking at the centre itself then look to see what facilities there are nearby and again see if you can book and how you will need to make payment. Failing to plan ahead can result in difficulties in finding a parking space. If you are stuck in traffic or delayed, then it could put pressure on you to park somewhere unfamiliar where you may be unauthorised to park.

Look for signs –
All private land which is managed for parking will have signage. Where parking is allowed either for paying customers or perhaps free for a period there are likely to be signs at the entrance which give a clear indication the car park is private land and some of the key pieces of information such as that it is a pay and display car park or there are 2 hours free. These signs will refer you to the full terms which will be located at signage throughout the car park. If there are payment machines, then it is likely there will be signs close to them.

Read the signs –
It is important that having seen the signs motorists read them. The signs will set out what you need to do. For example, they will set out;
• The time you are allowed on the car park for free
• Whether there is a payment required
• If you need to display the ticket in the windscreen
• If you must be parked in marked bay
• Any special restrictions for certain areas such as accessible bays
• The need to enter a registration number into a payment machine and/or registration kiosk

Comply with the requirements –
Motorists may feel it is ok for what appear small deviations from the terms such as not paying because they will only be 5 minutes, or that they are only in an accessible bay while they nip to the cash machine. However, these can cause difficulties and often what starts as a 5-minute trip to a shop can result in a longer stay. If you are parked in breach of the terms there is a chance you will receive a parking charge, either on the windscreen or in the post.

Do not park if you cannot or do not wish to comply with the requirements –
If you park in breach of the terms you are taking a chance. The rules are in place for a reason and you are at real risk of receiving a parking ticket if you breach the terms and conditions.

TOP TIP
If there is no parking at the vaccination centre then look to see if there is a pay on exit car park. This can prevent you either paying for too much time or being caught out by staying longer than you had paid for.

Motorists Receiving a Parking Charge
Motorists should remember that a car park attendant or operator will only have issued a parking charge where they believe the parking charge should have been issued. They will not know of any circumstances that have occurred which may justify you asking them to cancel the parking charge. The only way they will know is if you contact them, tell them and provide evidence of what occurred.

A breach of the terms and conditions may result in a motorist being issued with a parking charge. The motorist will be notified in writing either at the time of the event with a notice on the windscreen, or soon after the event with the registered keeper being notified in the post

Parking Charges Correctly Issued
If a motorist receives a notice affixed to the windscreen or in the post and they think it has been correctly issued they should accept and pay the parking charge. A discounted fee is available for payment received within 14 days of the ticket being issued. If the charge remains unpaid after 28 days, it may increase by up to a further £60 and could result in enforcement through the courts with additional costs being awarded.

Parking Charge on the Windscreen
If a motorist receives a notice affixed to the windscreen and they think it has been incorrectly issued they should: • Obtain evidence – keep the pay and display ticket or the parking permit • and compile photographic evidence which supports their case. • Follow the appeals procedure on the notice. • Identify themselves as the driver. • Provide their name and address. • Produce their evidence. If the operator rejects the appeal and the motorist still wishes to contest they should appeal to the Independent Appeals Service by following the process set out by the operator when they rejected the appeal. If the motorist appeals to the independent adjudicator they may lose their ability to pay at the reduced rate.

Postal Parking Charge
If a motorist receives a postal notification, and they think it has been incorrectly issued on the basis that they are not the driver they should:
• Identify the driver by providing the operator with the name and address of the person driving the vehicle at the time of the parking event. Details of how to do this will be on the notice.
• Once you have provided the correct name and address for the driver of the vehicle they will contact the driver. If they were the Driver they should:
• Obtain evidence – keep the pay and display ticket or the parking permit and
• Compile photographic evidence which supports your case.
• Follow the appeals procedure on the notice.
• Appeal to the operator.
• Identify themselves as the driver.
• Provide their name and address.
• Produce their evidence.
• Keep the parking operator informed about any changes of address whilst the parking charge is in dispute.

If the operator rejects the appeal and the motorist still wishes to contest they should appeal to the Independent Appeals Service by following the process set out by the operator when they rejected the appeal. If the Motorist appeals to the independent adjudicator they may lose their ability to pay at the reduced rate.

Not dealing with the charge within the timescales allowed can cause motorists to lose any discounted rates applicable.
Not dealing with the charge can lead to enforcement of the debt and ultimately action through the Courts to recover it.

Top Tips
Don’t be confrontational or misleading. If you were parked in breach of the terms and conditions and are asking a parking company to cancel a parking charge based on mitigation then be polite, follow the steps and provide evidence.

Parking companies understand the difficulties many people face. They find themselves needing to balance the needs and desires of land owners and users of the car parks or areas where parking is not permitted. If you are asking for a parking operator to consider cancelling the parking charge they have issued to you then provide as much evidence as you possible can. If you have been late returning to your vehicle then explain what happened and why you were late. Also provide evidence. It is hard for parking operators to consider appeals without evidence that can prove what you claim happened did occur.

If you had difficulties following your vaccination, or the appointment was delayed then provide evidence of your appointment and explain what occurred. 

Umkomaas

Well let's see how this plays out in practice!  With the vaccination effort ramping up, we'll soon know. 

It will be interesting to see how little Willy responds.

Well done @Coupon-mad on getting this out of the BPA. 👏

Redx

Excellent response by the BPA and absolute common sense , but good to be spelled out for the numpties and selfish people at the parking companies like ECP and CEL etc !! 

Coupon-mad

I read this update from the NHS (of course there are lots of smaller local centres and GP Surgeries also offering vaccinations:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/2021/01/new-nhs-vaccination-centres/

The seven Vaccination Centres opening this week are:

• Excel Centre in London (London)
• Ashton Gate in Bristol (South West)
• Epsom racecourse in Surrey (South East)
• Millennium Point in Birmingham (Midlands)
• Robertson House in Stevenage (East of England)
• Etihad Tennis Club in Manchester (North West)
• The Centre for Life in Newcastle upon Tyne (North East and Yorkshire)

Don't know about anyone else but I recall the Centre for Life at Newcastle, as being a horrific scam PCN site for many years, a while back.   It had awful hidden signs and an unknown permit scheme and ANPR.  Can't recall if it was ParkingEye or Excel but pretty sure it was one or the other. 

I suspect the other locations above also have a PPC scammer, so let's hope they are BPA members.  

Umkomaas

If any PPC is active at any of those sites they'll be completely torn between the opportunity of a feeding frenzy of PCNs to mitigate their COVID losses, and complying with their regulating authority's apologist's latest guidance. 

Coupon-mad

If any PPC gets this wrong there will be scope for every victim to sue the PPC for failure to make a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act, for a visitor who they 'knew or ought to have known' had protected characteristics, by definition of being in the early vaccination group. 

And I'd far rather see PPCs sued than the NHS so I'm not going to suggest the latter.  Bad publicity will also explode against the industry if there are further victims now.  Hopefully that person on pepipoo got theirs cancelled but I didn't get the PCN number of either of them (CEL victims, I think). 

Steve C did ask for the PCN numbers so he could get them cancelled so fair play to him for that, and this policy.

Umkomaas

Hopefully that person on pepipoo got theirs cancelled but I didn't get the PCN number of either of them (CEL victims, I think).  

I did post there on the thread asking for a 'position statement', but the OP has never responded. I check it daily, but nothing .....

Half_way

a couple of words on there probably spell things out

we believe that.....

And not forgetting

 It may be

I beleive that we may be back to normal by mid february,as the great Bojo told us so

BrownTrout

Doubt the ipc will respond

beamerguy

We therefore expect that should a PCN be issued to a motorist at a vaccination centre who can prove that they were attending that vaccination centre on the day of the parking event, that PCN should be cancelled

FLAWED
So a person gets a letter to attend for a covid jab.  Jab done, will most people keep the letter ?
Walk in centres ....  walk in, have a jab and walk out.  People should be given a card to keep but  .... The cards will not contain any personal information.

Perfect for a parking operator to decline .....  what will people do then ? go back to the NHS or their GP to get positive proof ..... millions of them maybe ?

Another badly thought out idea from the BPA