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Original poster

To not pay hospital parking fine

478 replies

StupidFine · 09/01/2018 08:19

Last week Dd (8 months) suffered an allergic reaction and was taken to the hospital. DH followed in the car and parked without paying (we live on the border and our usual hospital is in Scotland where parking is free, but this is our first emergency and we were taken to the nearest hospital which is in England). Either way the last thing on DH mind was the bleeding parking.

Thankfully Dd was ok, but a week later DH and I are reflecting on what to do about the parking fine. Our options as we see them are:

A) pay the fine and draw a line under this incident (£40).
B) contest the fine as it was an emergency and we have a hospital note with time and reason for admission (if contest is denied fine will go up to £80 as takes 35 days to review).
C) don't pay and just ignore the fine. A colleague of mine said as we live in Scotland we don't need to tell the parking company who was driving (apparently this loophole was closed in England) and since they don't know who was driving it's very costly/time consuming and not worth the company's effort to raise a case to claim the fine.

My head says to go for option A) as I don't want things like this hanging over our head. But my heart says option C) as it's ridiculous anyone should need to pay for parking at a hospital and the fine is just an arbitrary number pulled out of the company's backside (not quite but you get the point).

WWYD?

OP posts:
Dungeondragon15 · 10/01/2018 17:37

This is a different company but certainly in this case it appears that the money from the fines all goes to the company rather than the NHS.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/nhs-nurse-hospital-parking-tickets-university-hospital-of-wales-cardiff-indigo-park-services-150000-a7845126.html

Dungeondragon15 · 10/01/2018 17:44

According to this report, the private company made 2.8 million in one year from staff in the Cardiff hospital. No suggestion that the NHS received any of it.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/hospital-parking-firm-makes-28million-10462855

missyB1 · 10/01/2018 17:53

Dungeon the parking company at our Hospital take all the profits as I stated earlier in the thread. Apparently this is ok as they "provide a service" to the hospital???

FitBitFanClub · 10/01/2018 18:14

Well actually they are. FitButFun says Imweebles and her husband should have taken the time to buy a parking ticket before taking their baby with suspected meningitis into hospital.

No, I didn't say that, actually. I was asked if I thought Imweebles should pay the fine given. My response to that was, along with many other posters on this thread, that their situation (whilst stressful and worrying and all the rest of it - I've been there myself, remember, several times) is not very different to many other people using hospital car parks and that, whilst very annoying, yes, it should be paid.
I've been accused (in a roundabout way) of not caring or attending properly to my own daughter who's been in a similar situation. Not true at all (not to mention, downright offensive) - I suppose I'm just good in a crisis! Wink Oh, and an adult, who knows that when I park my car, there is highly likely to be some sort of charge, and if I don't pay it then I take the consequences.

Dungeondragon15 · 10/01/2018 18:34

FitBitFanClub rushing a young child to hospital with suspected meningitis is very different to the situation that the great majority of people using hospital car parks will be. The fact that you would stop to get a parking ticket in that circumstance doesn't suggest that you are good in a crisis at all. Quite the opposite. Imweeble did what any reasonable and sensible person did and considering that I don't get why you think she should be punished for her actions by having to pay a fine.

FitBitFanClub · 10/01/2018 18:36

I think she should be punished?! Point me to where I've said that.

Dungeondragon15 · 10/01/2018 18:48

I think she should be punished?! Point me to where I've said that.

What do you think a parking fine is?!

FitBitFanClub · 10/01/2018 19:25

Well, Dungeon, clearly I know what a parking fine is. What is not clear is exactly where I'm supposed to have said that imaweeble deserved one.
My main point on here, along with many other posters, is that having incurred one, it should be paid. Pleading an emergency is hardly unusual, as many people outside an A&E department would be in the same boat.

Dungeondragon15 · 10/01/2018 19:42

Well, Dungeon, clearly I know what a parking fine is. What is not clear is exactly where I'm supposed to have said that imaweeble deserved one.

Eh? You said she should pay the fine several times. That strongly implies that you think she deserved the fine. If you don't think that she deserved the fine why do you think she should have paid it rather than appeal? You're allowed to appeal if you don't think you have should be charged and the companies/hospital will only let you off if they agree with you so what's the problem with appealing first rather than just paying? I really don't get your logic.

FitBitFanClub · 10/01/2018 19:57

Look, saying someone "deserves" something, implies you're glad about it. Or that it serves them right. That is not the case here.
However, we are all responsible for our actions, and no one else is responsible for the fact that the OP's dh parked without a ticket. We all know the reason for that, but it doesn't negate the fact that he broke the Parking "rule." If everyone in an emergency situation was let off, there would be no point in even charging for parking in the first place (and there's a debate to be had on that).

IsabellaTruffle · 10/01/2018 20:09

Dungeon you just seem to be picking apart everyones words now and I don't see why you aren't dropping it.

Yes not paying for the ticket was a mistake, yes it was understandable given the circumstances but yes the fine is "deserved" and should be paid.

Otherwise where does it end? If the hospital say okay don't worry about parking if you have a child taken to A&E, what about someone who has rushed in to see a critically ill family member or parent? What about every other emergency/urgent situation that a hospital would see multiple times a day.

Original poster
StupidFine · 10/01/2018 20:29

Isabella As Dungeon has said a dozen times or so why do they have an appeal process? Why would they waste time and resource reviewing and judging appeals if none were successful? Just to make up jobs and give false hope?

As some PP have pointed out most people are sheep and just blindly stump up without another thought, even though many would have extenuating circumstances that warrants the charge waived. I probably would've been one of those sheep, but advise given on here has made me appeal it as I feel I have grounds to appeal. I might be successful, I might not, but it's worth a try.

OP posts:
Dungeondragon15 · 10/01/2018 20:29

Look, saying someone "deserves" something, implies you're glad about it. Or that it serves them right. That is not the case here.

Well you used the word "deserve" not me.

However, we are all responsible for our actions, and no one else is responsible for the fact that the OP's dh parked without a ticket. We all know the reason for that, but it doesn't negate the fact that he broke the Parking "rule."

Yes we are responsible for our actions but the action was certainly a sensible one in imaweeble case which is why they let her off the fine when she appealed. You can't say that she broke the "rules" as you don't know exactly what they are. The parking companies or hospitals probably have set criteria for when rules have and haven't been broken and when they will grant an appeal.

If everyone in an emergency situation was let off, there would be no point in even charging for parking in the first place (and there's a debate to be had on that).

That is rubbish. The vast majority of people won't be in a true life and death emergency situations and I'm sure that if everyone appealed the majority woudn't be let off.

Imaweeble · 10/01/2018 20:57

I didn't reply to the original post to be controversial, just to share my experience and advise the OP that if she felt the ticket was unjust then to appeal it.

Dungeons (sorry I got your name wrong before) thank you so much for fighting in my corner, I don't believe what I did was wrong as there is an option to appeal so I did what I believe anyone would do.

In my opinion there should be a leeway if anyone is taken to hospital by ambulance, whatever their age as it's more often than not an emergency and the last thing the person who is following the ambulance will be thinking about is scrabbling with change to pay for a parking ticket when worrying about their loved one.

Every other time that I have been to the hospital (not often) wether it's been to A&E or a normal appointment I have always paid for parking, usually overpaid my time to make sure I'm covered.

IsabellaTruffle · 10/01/2018 21:00

Every parking company would need an appeals process for genuine errors, like when you can prove you had a ticket for that time (fell on the floor), human errors made by a warden etc.

Not really sure what the point was in this thread if you were going to appeal it anyway.

FitBitFanClub · 10/01/2018 21:13

Jesus!
Dungeons: Well you used the word "deserve" not me.
Er, no! You did, when you wrote this:
That strongly implies that you think she deserved the fine. If you don't think that she deserved the fine why do you think she should have paid it rather than appeal?

I've never said they "deserved" the fine. I said, as did dozens of other people, (not sure why you're picking on my posts, to be honest) that they should probably suck it up and pay it, as their case is not so different from many other people's.
Ffs, this is like Groundhog Day. I'm not saying any of this again. I've made my point, so we'll have to agree to differ.

Dungeondragon15 · 10/01/2018 21:33

FitBitFanClub Well that sentence was in response to your question "What is not clear is exactly where I'm supposed to have said that imaweeble deserved one."

I hadn't mentioned "deserve" before you did!

FreudianSlurp · 10/01/2018 22:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MsHopey · 11/01/2018 05:51

I don't want to get in the middle of this.
But I have been following this thread since the start.
Dungeondragon15 seems way too invested in this and does make up about 60% of the comments.
You are literally arguing with everyone and twisting words round to your own benefit, on top of being insulting to lots of moms. I think it's time we all step back a bit and let the OP do what she wants.
I did say she should pay the fine, she's going to appeal it. That's the end of it really.
Its really turning into something nasty on here.

MsHopey · 11/01/2018 05:54

Also don't think it's fair the OP to call people who pay parking tickets "sheep".
Again, it's all got way out of hand.
And some people are all making it very personal and making vendettas out of this.
So weird.

callymarch · 11/01/2018 06:39

£40 is quite a cheap fine, my local centre for health ( not even a hospital) is £100 fine

Witchend · 11/01/2018 06:43

The irony is, if the hospital hadn't charged for parking op might well have not been able to park there due to people making use of free parking. Thus ended up having to walk from considerably further, taking more time than parking and getting a ticket.

BusyBeez99 · 11/01/2018 07:34

Pay it. Hospitals use this money to support services. W all have to pay to park in England so why should you think you should be different when using the services in England

Sweetpea55 · 11/01/2018 07:42

Why shouldn't you pay? Everyone else does.
We could all try the ' it was an emergency and I live in scotland' trick

CherryMaDeara · 11/01/2018 07:49

MsHopey

I don't want to get in the middle of this.
But I have been following this thread since the start.
Dungeondragon15 seems way too invested in this and does make up about 60% of the comments.

Why is she 'too invested', because you disagree with her? Why don't you tell all the people who keep posting comments to Dungeon that they are 'too invested'?

You are literally arguing with everyone and twisting words round to your own benefit

Name one thing that Dungeon has twisted around. And Dungeon couldn't argue if people didn't argue with her.

on top of being insulting to lots of moms.

Who has Dungeon insulted? How has she insulted 'moms'? She's trying to help them! And Dungeon is a perhaps a mum too? You don't think it's insulting to say to a mum who rushed her baby with suspected meningitis to the hospital that she should have taken the time to buy a parking ticket?

And OP was called a cheap and pathetic tool by someone but that's fine too is it?

I think it's time we all step back a bit and let the OP do what she wants.

OP is doing what she wants - which is appealing. Thanks to the advice of Dungeon and others who have given her the confidence to appeal.

I did say she should pay the fine, she's going to appeal it. That's the end of it really. Its really turning into something nasty on here.

It's good to read about people who have appealed and won. Maybe more people will appeal their fines as a result. I'm not sure why you're picking on Dungeon, that also seems a bit nasty.