Parking Fine at Hospital - Broken Machine

Ohsofedup123

Hi ,
I got a parking fine after parking in the car park at Lincoln Hospital. The barrier was up when I drove in which I thought was odd. I walked around the car park looking for a ticket machine but was told by someone the car had been photographed and all I needed to do was pay as I left at the machines just outside the door. 
I went to my apointment, came out and tried to pay. I couldnt. There were two machines there and neither worked. There were a couple of other people there trying to pay at the samre time.
I thought as the barriers had been up obviously it was because the machines didnt work so left the car park. 
I then received a parking ticket from Parking Eye, 
I appealed and told them what had happened. I asked them to check any camera footage, I presume there must be cametras outside the hospital door but had no reply. 
I then got a follow up , reminder ticket. I again wrote to them and told them exactly the same story and again advised them to check the camera footage . 
This was in Sept and Oct. I then went away in November and was away until January 25th. 
When I returned I had a letter sent to me in December saying I had so many days to appeal through Popla and a warning of possible court procedings. 
I tried ringing Citizens advice ,and other help lines and of course tried to contact Parking eye again, to no avail.
I have now had a Claim form sent to me and have 14 days to appeal this. I dont know what to do .
It is so unfair. If I have legal help it will cost me more than the parking fine.
I think Parking eye are such a disreputable firm . 
I have not had a letter saying my appeal has been rejected .
Does anyone have any advice? Is there any legal advice out there that does not break the bank?
Any help gratefully received.
Thank you.

KeithP

Ohsofedup123 said:

I have now had a Claim form sent to me and have 14 days to appeal this. I dont know what to do .

Hello and welcome.
What is the Issue Date on your Claim Form?

Why didn't you complain to the hospital at the time?
This document - NHS car parking guidance 2022 for NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts - places responsibility directly with the hospital...

Coupon-mad

It's not legal advice but out our advice is free and we know EXACTLY how to defend this.

You won't pay a penny.

"have 14 days to appeal this."

Wrong on both counts. You don't only have 14 days and it's not an 'appeal'. It's just a defence and it's dead easy.

"I don't know what to do."

That's because you haven't yet read the 2nd post of NEWBIES PLEASE READ THESE FAQS FIRST.

We know what to do.

Ohsofedup123

Hi , 
Thank you for your reply.
The issue date is 17th Feb. 
I have now sent off an acknowledgeme nt of service  form so the time will be 28 days not 14.
I didnt complain to the hospital because I didnt think the hospital controled the car park. I thought because the barriers were up it was obvious that the machines wetrent working.
Rightly or wrongly.

And thank you to Coupon-Mad I will read the Newbies thread.

Gr1pr

When it happened,  you should have complained about the PCN to PALS and insisted that they tell Parking Eye to cancel the PCN 

What do you mean by "sent off "  ?  I hope that you dont mean by post 

Login on mcol via the government gateway and complete it online,  even if you posted it 

Then start drafting your defence 

KeithP

Ohsofedup123 said:

The issue date is 17th Feb. 
I have now sent off an acknowledgement of service form so the time will be 28 days not 14.

To avoid the risk of that Acknowledgment of Service('AOS') form going 'missing' in the post or not received properly by the CNBC, I suggest you file an AOS online as described below...

With a Claim Issue Date of 17th February, you have until Monday 10th March 2025 to file an AOS, but there is nothing to be gained by delaying it. 

To file an AOS, follow the guidance in the Dropbox file linked from the second post in the NEWBIES thread.

Having filed an AOS in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 24th March 2025 to file a Defence.

That's over three weeks away. Plenty of time to produce a Defence, but please don't leave it to the last minute.

To create a Defence, and then file a Defence by email, look again at the second post on the NEWBIES thread - immediately following where you found the AOS guidance.

Don't miss the deadline for filing an AOS, nor that for filing a Defence.

Do not try and file a Defence via the MoneyClaimOnline website. Once an AOS has been filed, the MCOL website should be treated as 'read only'.

Ohsofedup123

Thank you ,
I have sent, by registered mail an AOS but I will do it online as well.
Does anyone have any ideas obout what I should say in my defense? 
Is there anyone or any orginisation who can give me legl advice . 
do I need it or should my defense just be to say what I said in my apeal , that the machine wsn not working. I suggested to them in my appeal that they check the cameras ( Im sure there must be some outside the front door of the hospital) 
Any siggestions please?
  Thanks
  Helen

Ohsofedup123

Gripr
I didnt know anything about PALS until I read about them on this site.
I have tried to contact them but as yet havent been able to get through to them. Ill keep trying.
Thank you for your help

Nellymoser

You don't need legal advice follow advice in the recommended announcement threads and from regular posters. Don't miss any deadlines. There is a template defence written for you to copy the thread tells you what paragraphs you change and you can post them here for advice.
KeithP post on 28th Feb said:

To create a Defence, and then file a Defence by email, look again at the second post on the NEWBIES thread - immediately following where you found the AOS guidance.

Nellymoser

And if you want to see Parking companies practice improve then sign the petition linked in the post below. Ask family, friends and work colleagues to sign too. 

Once your signature is confirmed use the shown link to 'Contact your MP to let them know you have signed this petition'. Our MPs are the ones to make this happen. 🙏

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81195013/#Comment_81195013