Parking stories in the News/media

Jenni_D

How can you be invoiced for doing something not authorised? (They have no authority to penalise anyone). 😎

Nellymoser

Gobowen Orthopaedic Hospital to stop using a private parking firm to manage it's car parking.

From May the parking will be managed in-house. The hospital said "the move will result in savings, allowing more funds for frontline services."

Group Nexus delivered the service since 2009 are 'disappointed' their contract will not be renewed.

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2025/03/28/disappointment-for-company-that-manages-car-parking-at-major-county-hospital-as-contract-to-end-with-control-taken-back/

patient_dream

Nellymoser said:

Gobowen Orthopaedic Hospital to stop using a private parking firm to manage it's car parking.

From May the parking will be managed in-house. The hospital said "the move will result in savings, allowing more funds for frontline services."

Group Nexus delivered the service since 2009 are 'disappointed' their contract will not be renewed.

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2025/03/28/disappointment-for-company-that-manages-car-parking-at-major-county-hospital-as-contract-to-end-with-control-taken-back/

Well done the Hospital, Nexus clearly caused a problem and best they were sacked

Coupon-mad

Funny how they avoided saying that there have been issues. The hospital will now be able to keep all the parking revenue and (I predict) not issue even a tenth as many PCNs.

We should be able to find this out. This is worth someone doing an FOI now to ask:

- how many PCNs were issued in the past 3 years (year on year numbers)

- how many complaints about the parking regime/PCNs were received by the Hospital and Group Nexus (both) from staff, patients and visitors in that same period (year on year)?

Then diarise to repeat the FOI in six months time after May (i.e. send the second FOI in November to provide a full 6 months of figures following GN being binned off).

Could be great evidence.

Trainerman

patient_dream said:

Nellymoser said:

Gobowen Orthopaedic Hospital to stop using a private parking firm to manage it's car parking.

From May the parking will be managed in-house. The hospital said "the move will result in savings, allowing more funds for frontline services."

Group Nexus delivered the service since 2009 are 'disappointed' their contract will not be renewed.

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2025/03/28/disappointment-for-company-that-manages-car-parking-at-major-county-hospital-as-contract-to-end-with-control-taken-back/

Well done the Hospital, Nexus clearly caused a problem and best they were sacked

This is very interesting. My partner and I have been 'customers' at this Hospital for many years, hence using the car parking a lot.

Parking has got worse there due to lack of spaces related to building work. However, I have never seen a PCN stuck to a windscreen and I doubt ANPR because there are usually a couple of 'Nexus' employees there in a little hut. There is also no requirement to enter reg no in the machine.

Given that this is probably the most reasonable Hospital for car parking in the country (£3 per day), I wonder whether in this one case it is not a case of too many PCNs but that there has been a direct (and steep) charge from Nexus to Hospital, hence the remark about leaving more money for front line services

patient_dream

Trainerman said:

patient_dream said:

Nellymoser said:

Gobowen Orthopaedic Hospital to stop using a private parking firm to manage it's car parking.

From May the parking will be managed in-house. The hospital said "the move will result in savings, allowing more funds for frontline services."

Group Nexus delivered the service since 2009 are 'disappointed' their contract will not be renewed.

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2025/03/28/disappointment-for-company-that-manages-car-parking-at-major-county-hospital-as-contract-to-end-with-control-taken-back/

Well done the Hospital, Nexus clearly caused a problem and best they were sacked

This is very interesting. My partner and I have been 'customers' at this Hospital for many years, hence using the car parking a lot.

Parking has got worse there due to lack of spaces related to building work. However, I have never seen a PCN stuck to a windscreen and I doubt ANPR because there are usually a couple of 'Nexus' employees there in a little hut. There is also no requirement to enter reg no in the machine.

Given that this is probably the most reasonable Hospital for car parking in the country (£3 per day), I wonder whether in this one case it is not a case of too many PCNs but that there has been a direct (and steep) charge from Nexus to Hospital, hence the remark about leaving more money for front line services

Interesting indeed.   Maybe you were lucky.
For the hospital to boot out Nexus, it must have been serious

Nellymoser

Trainerman said:

patient_dream said:

Nellymoser said:

Gobowen Orthopaedic Hospital to stop using a private parking firm to manage it's car parking.

From May the parking will be managed in-house. The hospital said "the move will result in savings, allowing more funds for frontline services."

Group Nexus delivered the service since 2009 are 'disappointed' their contract will not be renewed.

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2025/03/28/disappointment-for-company-that-manages-car-parking-at-major-county-hospital-as-contract-to-end-with-control-taken-back/

Well done the Hospital, Nexus clearly caused a problem and best they were sacked

This is very interesting. My partner and I have been 'customers' at this Hospital for many years, hence using the car parking a lot.

Parking has got worse there due to lack of spaces related to building work. However, I have never seen a PCN stuck to a windscreen and I doubt ANPR because there are usually a couple of 'Nexus' employees there in a little hut. There is also no requirement to enter reg no in the machine.

Given that this is probably the most reasonable Hospital for car parking in the country (£3 per day), I wonder whether in this one case it is not a case of too many PCNs but that there has been a direct (and steep) charge from Nexus to Hospital, hence the remark about leaving more money for front line services

Nexus weren't sacked their contract ended and the hospital decided not to renew it.

Think you could be right @Trainerman looks like Nexus charge the Hospital for their car parking management as opposed to providing it free and gaining income by issuing pcns.

https://www.bordercountiesadvertizer.co.uk/news/24849281.shrewsbury-telford-hospital-trust-made-1m-parking-fees/

At the end of this article it states 
"the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Gobowen collected £270,000 in car parking charges. The data showed the trust also spent £103,000 on parking services, which meant it made a total of £167,000 from parking." Figures are for 2023/24.

@Coupon-mad re the FOI, with Nexus being a private company I'm not sure Hospital Trust would hold info on number of complaints Nexus received or pcns issued. 

Coupon-mad

But as Nexus were their paid agents I would argue the Hospital should obtain this info and respond.

LoneStarState

How to challenge a CCJ: 'I overstayed car park by three minutes and ended up with debt marker unknowingly'

Originally published in the Daily Mail.  Correctly uses the parking charge notice terms.  Highlights the ongoing issue of default CCJs, lack of proper tracing and DRAs lying that the DVLA lookup address is the only thing that needs to be relied on.

Seems to mention a "ChallengeCCJ" online tool for people with default CCJs that inlcudes free templates and also a paid for service where they help you apply for set aside.  Can't speak of the quality of that service but the article helps to continue shining a light on rogue practice.

Nellymoser

Secret recordings reveal how London parking wardens are being pressured to issue tickets.

Managers ‘threaten to discipline staff who fail to issue 10 or 11 tickets a shift.

Ealing Council said it “does not set PCN targets but used the rate of tickets issued each hour as a “performance measure”. The council use different words but the meaning is the same.

Unite union, accused the council of “ripping off residents” over parking and putting the wardens in danger, by pressurising them to issue tickets while working alone at night in a bid to hit the expected rates.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/secret-recordings-ealing-council-targets-wardens-parking-wardens-b1211166.html