University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire - Parkingeye Parking Charge Notice

samzoe

Hi guys,
Thanks for your help in advance. 
I have another issue with UHCW and it seems to me that their attitude is a ploy to defraud motorists that brings their loved ones to the hospital.
On the 26th of Jan. 2022, around midnight, I had to rush my partner (she was really sick) to the Maternity ward of UHCW. She had to be wheeled into the ward as her situation was pretty dire and upsetting. After the wonderful help we received from the nursing staff and doctors in settling her down I proceeded to leave the hospital. When I got to the payment machine, it didn’t recognize my plate no as evidenced below and neither could I progress more than the screen below as it froze on me. Mind you as you approach the car park area you see this notice below stating that one should pay for the requested amount by the machine.

evidence of it not showing my reg no below 
I decided to go to the next machine by the hospital entrance as there were 2 payment machines situated there on the assumption that you can pay anywhere because at the entrance to the hospital there is a notice saying ANPR in operation on this site which I took to mean every car park in the hospital is covered under one car parking partner
I proceeded to make to use the machine and to my surprise, the message on the screen read I wasn’t owing and I just thought perhaps they don’t charge in the midnight.


I provided this evidence in my appeal to CPP but they weren’t reasonable at all, it seems to me that all they are interested in is money. Failing to realize that anyone who comes to the hospital is in need of help and perhaps might not be in a good place for them to start scratching their head on the best way to make car park payment if the process isn’t straightforward.




After rejecting my appeal. I contacted PALS and here was their reply: "Thank you for your email to PALS at UHCW NHS Trust.University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust operates under a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract and the car parks at University Hospital are managed by our Private Finance Initiative Service Provider, ISS and this is operated on their behalf by the Car Parking Partnership. Unfortunately, the Trust has no power to cancel penalty charges notices or intervene in any way.  However, we have forwarded your letter to our service provider and requested that they undertake a review into the circumstances surrounding the issue of the PCN and correspond directly with you".

 After combing through the internet of cases similar to mine, I saw many complaints of the same issue where the machine doesn't recognise plate nos and yet the ANPR captures the entry and exit time. It seems to me that Parkingeye intentionally refuse to rectify the situation so they can extort people and perhaps the Trust is in bed with them.

I will appreciate your advice in this regard.

samzoe

samzoe said:

Hi guys,
Thanks for your help in advance. 
I have another issue with UHCW and it seems to me that their attitude is a ploy to defraud motorists that brings their loved ones to the hospital.
On the 26th of Jan. 2022, around midnight, I had to rush my partner (she was really sick) to the Maternity ward of UHCW. She had to be wheeled into the ward as her situation was pretty dire and upsetting. After the wonderful help we received from the nursing staff and doctors in settling her down I proceeded to leave the hospital. When I got to the payment machine, it didn’t recognize my plate no as evidenced below and neither could I progress more than the screen below as it froze on me. Mind you as you approach the car park area you see this notice below stating that one should pay for the requested amount by the machine.

evidence of it not showing my reg no below 
I decided to go to the next machine by the hospital entrance as there were 2 payment machines situated there on the assumption that you can pay anywhere because at the entrance to the hospital there is a notice saying ANPR in operation on this site which I took to mean every car park in the hospital is covered under one car parking partner
I proceeded to make to use the machine and to my surprise, the message on the screen read I wasn’t owing and I just thought perhaps they don’t charge in the midnight.


I provided this evidence in my appeal to CPP but they weren’t reasonable at all, it seems to me that all they are interested in is money. Failing to realize that anyone who comes to the hospital is in need of help and perhaps might not be in a good place for them to start scratching their head on the best way to make car park payment if the process isn’t straightforward.




After rejecting my appeal. I contacted PALS and here was their reply: "Thank you for your email to PALS at UHCW NHS Trust.University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust operates under a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract and the car parks at University Hospital are managed by our Private Finance Initiative Service Provider, ISS and this is operated on their behalf by the Car Parking Partnership. Unfortunately, the Trust has no power to cancel penalty charges notices or intervene in any way.  However, we have forwarded your letter to our service provider and requested that they undertake a review into the circumstances surrounding the issue of the PCN and correspond directly with you".

 After combing through the internet of cases similar to mine, I saw many complaints of the same issue where the machine doesn't recognise plate nos and yet the ANPR captures the entry and exit time. It seems to me that Parkingeye intentionally refuse to rectify the situation so they can extort people and perhaps the Trust is in bed with them.

I will appreciate your advice in this regard.

Lest I forget I also sent an email to visitor.parking@uk.issworld.com about 3 days ago but no response as expected.

samzoe

@Umkomaas
@D_P_Dance
@Le_Kirk
@Coupon-mad
@SayNoToPCN

I await your helpful advice plsss

Fruitcake

What precisely is your question?

Have you complained to the head of the hospital trust/CEO?
Have you complained to your MP?

Did you get a PoPLA code with your rejection, and if so, have you appealed to PoPLA yet?

Who or what are visitor.parking@uk.issworld.com?

Have you read this, and reminded everyone at the hospital you have dealt with about their obligations?

NHS car parking guidance 2021 for NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

D_P_Dance

PE's  signs are pants, raed this and pmplain to your MP

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5972164/parking-eye-signs-oxford-road-reading/p1

Also read this

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles

Have they complied?

elsien

For future reference, if your car number plate isn’t recognised then there is an option to put your reg. number in and the number of hours you want to pay for.

Your photo says you put in 3 minutes rather than the time you were there for. So it’s not been  charged at the time as it’s less than the free 10 minutes they give. 

I fully appreciate that in the circumstances you had other things on your mind, and not in any way consuming the signs and the charge, but posting in case you have to go there again and you get the not recognised message another time. 

@Fruitcake, I think that ISS email is the one that PALS signposts any visitor parking queries to. 

Fruitcake

elsien said:

For future reference, if your car number plate isn’t recognised then there is an option to put your reg. number in and the number of hours you want to pay for.

Your photo says you put in 3 minutes rather than the time you were there for. So it’s not been  charged at the time as it’s less than the free 10 minutes they give. 

I fully appreciate that in the circumstances you had other things on your mind, and not in any way consuming the signs and the charge, but posting in case you have to go there again and you get the not recognised message another time. 

@Fruitcake, I think that ISS email is the one that PALS signposts any visitor parking queries to. 

I believe this is what the OP did on both occasions.

I think the first time either the VRM was entered incorrectly, or just as likely, the OP did enter their correct VRM but the ANPR system misread it. 

On the second occasion, I believe it was a different car park picked up by a different camera/system that was not linked to the first one, and this time the ANPR recorded the VRM correctly, and the OP also entered their VRM correctly. The system then simply showed the car had only been present for 3 minutes in the second car park, and up popped the No Payment message.

This shows that ANPR is systematically abused by parking companies because cameras are not linked together, and they refuse point blank to use software that will prevent a victim from entering the VRM of a vehicle that is not present in the car park.

elsien

Fair enough. I use the UHCW car park fairly regularly and have also had a few occasions with number plate not recognised, for no obvious reason but have entered the reg and paid with no issues. 

Have to agree it’s certainly not the most accurate of systems. 

Fruitcake

That's why councils and local authorities are prohibited by the UK Government from using ANPR systems for car park management.

Unregulated private parking companies use ANPR because the flaws and errors it produces generates income for them.

samzoe

Fruitcake said:

elsien said:

For future reference, if your car number plate isn’t recognised then there is an option to put your reg. number in and the number of hours you want to pay for.

Your photo says you put in 3 minutes rather than the time you were there for. So it’s not been  charged at the time as it’s less than the free 10 minutes they give. 

I fully appreciate that in the circumstances you had other things on your mind, and not in any way consuming the signs and the charge, but posting in case you have to go there again and you get the not recognised message another time. 

@Fruitcake, I think that ISS email is the one that PALS signposts any visitor parking queries to. 

I believe this is what the OP did on both occasions.

I think the first time either the VRM was entered incorrectly, or just as likely, the OP did enter their correct VRM but the ANPR system misread it. 

On the second occasion, I believe it was a different car park picked up by a different camera/system that was not linked to the first one, and this time the ANPR recorded the VRM correctly, and the OP also entered their VRM correctly. The system then simply showed the car had only been present for 3 minutes in the second car park, and up popped the No Payment message.

This shows that ANPR is systematically abused by parking companies because cameras are not linked together, and they refuse point blank to use software that will prevent a victim from entering the VRM of a vehicle that is not present in the car park.

you are absolutely correct @fruitcake because that is what I did. There was no error in inputting my Vrm. The payment machine by the woman and children area doesn't display reg nos and the time period stayed because I tried it today again and it did the same thing not recognising my reg no and requesting me to guess the time I arrived for me to be charged. On the previous occasion, I didn't even have the chance to input the time I guessed I drove in as the system froze on me hence me going to another payment machine unbeknownst to me that they weren't linked

Fruitcake

In that case, I refer you back to my post at 4.02 yesterday afternoon.

I think you are at the PoPLA appeal stage, but you should be hammering the hospital trust/CEO/whoever is in charge and your MP about this, reminding them all what the Government has said about hospital parking, and that the Government prohibits the use of ANPR cameras on council and local authority car parks because it is not fit for purpose.

If you have a PoPLA code, then you should use it near the appeal deadline if the charge isn't cancelled before then. Note that PoPLA codes last for 32 days.

You might also want to contact local and national press about the unregulated parking companies referred to as rogues, scammers, and bloodsuckers by MPs across all parties in open parliament.