PARKING “fines” issued to 4,229 patients and other users of car parks at Warrington and Halton hospitals are not legally enforceable, according to the Citizen’s Advice Bureau.
A report prepared by Halton Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB) and Healthwatch Halton claims there is a valid case for the “fines” to be cancelled and any money paid out to be returned.
It claims Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is not complying with the British Parking Association’s approved operator scheme because of inadequate signage at the hospital entrances.
This means there is no valid contract between the car driver and the Trust.
As a result the Trust could only claim damage cause by the “trespass” by the driver – that is, the normal parking fee.
The Trust has stated that the Automatic Number Plate Recognition system which is used to operate the parking operation starts as soon as a car enters the hospital grounds.
This means the Trust regards the “controlled area” – that is, the car parking area – as beginning at the entrance to the hospital grounds.
The CAB report states: “We have visited the entrances to the site of Warrington Hospital and found no signage which complied with the British Parking Association’s Approved Operator Scheme.”
The signs should be clearly understandable to drivers – but in fact the main signs state that that the hospital grounds are a “no smoking area.”
The CAB also argues that that because the NHS aspires to “the highest standards of excellence and professionalism, and that patients should be treated with dignity and respect”, the Trust should be contacting patients who have been incorrectly fined and informing them of their right to appeal.
“Many of those fined will be vulnerable adults and not doing this would suggest that officers of the Trust are more interested in making money.”
The CAB urges patients who have been affected by the Trust’s current parking policy to lodge an appeal.
9 Comments
Dear Mel Pickup (Chief Executive Warrington & Halton Hospitals)
Please end this car parking policy as it is causing great stress for people, at times when many are already suffering from stress and anxiety, visiting loved ones in hospital.
If someone is visiting a sick relative, the last thing they need to be worrying about is receiving a parking fine.
Whether the fines are illegal or not, there must be a fairer and more humane way of dealing with the issues.
i too had a parking issue at the hospital recently. I had to drive around for 10-15 mins to find a parking spot, my wife, who is sight impaired had to make her own way into the hospital rather than miss her appointment. The upshot was that i had been “parked” for a total of less than 20 mins and as the sign says ” free parking for 30 mins ” i left without paying the fee. Needless to say i recieved a parking fine, which i disputed and the accepted. However, the closing statement from them was that it isnt a parking fee at all…its a charge for bringing a vehicle on site !
My dad passed away in the hospital in March and I was visiting/staying over for 5 days. I paid on every occasion with the exception of one when I parked in a drop off/pick up space for 30 mins as there was nowhere else to park and I knew I was only going to be a very short time as they were taking my dad for treatment. It was outside of visiting hours and I had a blue badge displayed. Some weeks later I received one of these ‘fines’. The fine was for the instance above and also on the day previous to this, which I knew I’d paid for. A friend directed me to the Pepipoo website which contains lots of useful advice and info such as draft reply letters. I also sought legal advice. I sent them a letter back pointing out that their records were incorrect, cited other legal cases where parking companies were in the wrong and sent them a similar type of contract advising that any further correspondence from them would be their automatic acceptance of the contract in which I outlined my plans to sue them for harassment and my own fees for having to read and reply to their letters. They responded, cancelling all costs and apologised. Speaks volumes. The letter also goes through all aspects of what is wrong with their contract and calculations for their charges. Will happily share it if it will help. I may just have been lucky but I’d have gone to court before paying.
Any claim for money from whoever is enforceable unless you refute and defend it, otherwise a County Court bailiff WILL visit!
It is worth checking with WBC if Planning Approval is required for the installation of the ANPR cameras (usually is if over 9 feet high).
Also, if you can establish the minuted reason for employing the firm (i.e. ‘stop abuse of the car park facility’) and the financial arrangement (FOI request) to see who pays who and how much, you will probably find the parking company relies upon these fines in order to be financially viable on this site, so it is therefore a predatory operation – and is there a kick-back due to the hospital from the PCN . Also worth asking if the firm is reliant generally on fines to pay it’s way.
This might amount to enough evidence to complain effectively to Jeremy Hunt that the hospital is using a clearly predatory company to harass the vulnerable, and to make a profit from it.
See my ‘open’ correspondence with CEO of BPA in my blog ‘www.thequestionis.me.uk’
I am campaigning for a change of private parking regulation which at present is ‘self-regulated’ which means no regulation.
Good luck.
Keith, your post just adds weight to the scaremongering tactics these car parking crooks use…. saying a “bailiff WILL visit” is clearly wrong because I am not aware of ANY bailiff visits to any person in Warrington who has ignored these tickets or the ones given out at Riverside
The companies first have to take people to court in order to get a County Court judgement. Then and only then can bailiffs get involved.Please stop adding to peoples fears as this only serves in the interests of the parking companies because more people will then pay for fear of bailiffs arriving at their doors
Just to add one final thought, an awful lot of drivers with disabled badges do sometimes see it as a god given right to park where they wish at any time they see fit…. I used to have an office on Town Hill next to the carpet shop, there is a small car park at the rear and we once had six cars stuck on the car park because one disabled driver decided to park across it, on double yellow lines and to hell with the consequences. Thankfully a Traffic Warden got involved and gave him a ticket for obstruction…. they guy was waving his disabled badge around like it was some kind of “get out of jail card”
Barry I totally agree with you on the disabled blue badge scheme nuisance drivers that think it’s their god given write to be able to put their car where ever they see fit. It does clearly state that the blue badge is only valid for parking on double yellows IF you are not causing an obstruction to other vehicles and stopping on double yellows with a no loading or no waiting sign doesn’t excuse blue badge holders either, no waiting or no loading signs are used where stopping would most likely cause an obstruction and so therefore blue badge holders are also not allowed to park. Blocking a car park entrance is clearly causing an obstruction. In Ludlow we have a car park here that used to be free for blue badge holders, since it started charging blue badge holders started parking awkwardly on the entrance to the car park which does have double yellows and no loading signs. There have been many incidents where accidents have nearly been caused by these selfish idiots who think that just because they have a blue badge they can park where they like. At times the co-op delivery truck hasn’t been able to make deliveries and I’ve had a few near misses which would have involved head-on collisions due to these idiots because you can’t always see things entering the car park if you start going round them, and if cars meet there one car can end up stuck right across a main road with a blind corner and is at serious risk of being hit by a car coming round that corner not expecting a car to be stopped right across, this is why there are double yellows there with no loading, and despite the amount of tickets the warden keeps issuing to blue badge holders they still park there. Mind you then again the council in Ludlow did make the problem worse by charging disabled people the same rate to park in the car park as the general public.
My wife and mother in law have both received penalty notices and both had put money in to the machine at Warrington Hospital.
My wife had even took a photo of her reg, to ensure she didn’t get it wrong. She was also with her brother, who witnessed her putting in the fee.
We will not be paying the fine and the fine is £75, way to much.
Russ Jones
Just had a fine from highview parking took my daughter to A&E straight from GP park at the general right outside A&E took her straight in and was seen straight away the took for scans not thinking of anything else my wife came and took over and then I left to go to sort my mum out who has been ill and just lost her husband and my dad I’ve got a letter here for a fine £50 more added stress is this legally endorsed or do I bin it..
Seems they are on a roll i just recieved one too for taking my son to an appointment at the hospital ! Will be interested to know if it’s a legally enforcable fine or an “invoice” .