My disabled Mum has paid several parking fines by uKPC What can I do?.

nrmakin

My 89 yrs old ( disabled) Mum has received and already paid parking fines from parking at her Gp surgery. It's a private car park, they allow 90 minutes parking but then charge a fine . My Mum is anxious about missing appointments and about finding a car park space and it also takes her longer to get into the surgery and out again, so she arrives early to every appointment. So  she ends up going over the 90 minutes. We did get the GP surgery to appeal the first fine which was several years ago, but since then they say they can't do anything. So my Mum is getting fines at nearly every GP appointment. She keeps hiding the fines so I only find out about them after she's paid them. What can I do? Can I complain to UKPC? 

Flugelhorn

Might it be cheaper to get a taxi?

ChirpyChicken

Get the surgery to put her on thier white list.

tacpot12

Does she have a Blue Badge? Is there disabled parking that is closer to the surgery?

Is there some sort of aid that might help her get into the surgery and out again more quickly?

Coupon-mad

nrmakin said:

My 89 yrs old ( disabled) Mum has received and already paid parking fines from parking at her Gp surgery. It's a private car park, they allow 90 minutes parking but then charge a fine . My Mum is anxious about missing appointments and about finding a car park space and it also takes her longer to get into the surgery and out again, so she arrives early to every appointment. So  she ends up going over the 90 minutes. We did get the GP surgery to appeal the first fine which was several years ago, but since then they say they can't do anything. So my Mum is getting fines at nearly every GP appointment. She keeps hiding the fines so I only find out about them after she's paid them. What can I do? Can I complain to UKPC? 

Complain to her MP immediately and get the MP to demand that she is fully refunded and her vehicle placed on the whitelist.

This is illegal under the Equality Act 2010.

Flugelhorn

I am intrigued, was a GP for years but never heard of a "white list" - what is it?

Sloppyjoe

Flugelhorn said:

I am intrigued, was a GP for years but never heard of a "white list" - what is it?

Well don't worry it's nothing to do with being a GP!

A whitelist just mean they add the VRN to a list of exempt vehicles.

But as for the suggestion of getting a taxi I get your point, but why should a greedy unregulated intransigent scammer force a disabled lady to use a taxi?

Flugelhorn

Sloppyjoe said:

Flugelhorn said:

I am intrigued, was a GP for years but never heard of a "white list" - what is it?

Well don't worry it's nothing to do with being a GP!

A whitelist just mean they add the VRN to a list of exempt vehicles.

But as for the suggestion of getting a taxi I get your point, but why should a greedy unregulated intransigent scammer force a disabled lady to use a taxi?

Thank goodness for that! we had a "gold standards" list but that was the only special one I could think of  - who can put people on a "white list" ?

re the taxi - depends if they can get anywhere with this organisation, just taxi is likely  to be cheaper than endless fines and stress. 

Coupon-mad

The GP surgery must have the ability to exempt staff or visitors. UKPC certainly can.

The OP must help by getting mum's constituency MP to complain to UKPC, the surgery manager and the BPA. She's got to be refunded in full and exempted completely.

Threaten the national press and/or try emailing Simon Williams at the RAC; he might be interested as the RAC have clout and are currently absolutely on the case and are incensed by this sort of example.

The surgery should be ashamed of allowing an agent to breach the Equality Act 2010 and it won't just be affecting this patient.

This is very clearly illegal.

You can't hold disabled persons to the same free parking time limit as able bodied patients. Explained in this 2010 (oldie but a goodie) BBC article about this illegality at Supermarkets. This article is from a time when the applicable law was the old DDA:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8488737.stm

To get away with it, UKPC would have to have compelling justification. Impossible. There is no lawful excuse for this at a GP surgery.

Apart from my contact at the RAC, I do have two legally qualified persons (including a solicitor and pro bono barristers) who stand ready to help vulnerable people against parking firms. Would you like their contact details @nrmakin ? 

Flugelhorn

Coupon-mad said:

The GP surgery must have the ability to exempt staff or visitors. UKPC certainly can.

The OP must help by getting mum's constituency MP to complain to UKPC, the surgery manager and the BPA. She's got to be refunded in full and exempted completely.

Threaten the national press and/or try emailing Simon Williams at the RAC; he might be interested as the RAC have clout and are currently absolutely on the case and are incensed by this sort of example.

The surgery should be ashamed of allowing an agent to breach the Equality Act 2010 and it won't just be affecting this patient.

This is very clearly illegal.

You can't hold disabled persons to the same free parking time limit as able bodied patients. Explained in this 2010 (oldie but a goodie) BBC article about this illegality at Supermarkets. This article is from a time when the applicable law was the old DDA:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8488737.stm

To get away with it, UKPC would have to have compelling justification. Impossible. There is no lawful excuse for this at a GP surgery.

Apart from my contact at the RAC, I do have two legally qualified persons (including a solicitor and pro bono barristers) who stand ready to help vulnerable people against parking firms. Would you like their contact details @nrmakin ? 

does the car park belong to the surgery?

I have visited several health centres where there are car parks that everyone has to pay - in the buildings there may be a couple of  GP surgeries, physio, community nurses,  

Coupon-mad

Yep I get that, and we don't know who owns it but the on site businesses 'should' have details about how to contact UKPC even if they didn't contract with them.

Did you see this appalling situation that a GP surgery DID cause (signed up for it without properly considering the - obvious to us - horrific implications on patients, who were sued):

https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=812074820923096&id=100063617558246

Egg on the faces of the Doctors.  And they couldn't stop CEL. Even worse, at first Yarm Surgery BLAMED the patients publicly...