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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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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:
BashStreetKid · 11/01/2018 08:06

As Dungeon has said a dozen times or so why do they have an appeal process?

For the cases where a ticket has been issued erroneously, which does of course happen. There is no suggestion that the warden made a mistake here.

You can of course appeal, anyone can. The general suggestion is that it's a degree of hassle and stress for something that is more likely than not to be unsuccessful, for all the reasons stated in this thread.

MsHopey · 11/01/2018 08:07

Because it's 60% of the posts. I stated that's why I was picking up on her posts more than others.
And because she insinuated people are putting parking tickets before their kids. Which isn't correct.
My opinion was on the page, the OP did not accept my opinion, that's fine. We all have differing of opinions, that's not why I said we should all stop abusing one another.
Like I said, I don't really want to be the next person who gets picked at for the next 10 pages.
That's why I ended my post saying the OP has made her decision, and that's the end of it.
There's no point in strangers arguing any longer.
And I for one am not going to engage further because some people on this thread are like a dog with a bone.
It's over.
OP asked for opinions, we gave them, she's made her choice. I don't see why people are still spending their time on this.

CherryMaDeara · 11/01/2018 08:15

MsHopey use the hide button to hide this thread. You can't shut down a debate just because you don't like it.

And telling a mum that she should have bought a ticket before taking a very sick baby into A&E is tellung them to put a parking fine over their baby's health. It's dangerous advice too. Hope mums ignore that.

It's ironic that you don't want to get picked on, when you're clearly picking on Dungeon.

CherryMaDeara · 11/01/2018 08:17

The general suggestion is that it's a degree of hassle and stress for something that is more likely than not to be unsuccessful, for all the reasons stated in this thread.

Yet lots of people have posted to say their appeal was successful.

Antigonads · 11/01/2018 08:20

Is this still raging on.

Make sure you get blue lighted to a Scottish hospital if it happens again.

IsabellaTruffle · 11/01/2018 08:24

And telling a mum that she should have bought a ticket before taking a very sick baby into A&E is tellung them to put a parking fine over their baby's health. It's dangerous advice too. Hope mums ignore that.

I think most parents would be able to make their own call in this situation, and a lot of posters were saying what they'd do not what someone should do. I think you'd be able to make your own call in the situation, for example in an occasion where they were stable and another adult there I'd stop to pay the ticket, if it was an emergency and we rushed in I'd leave it but would accept the fine as my circumstances wouldn't make it recieved in error. That is largely what most of the posters have said, that although they'd do similar the fine is justified.

ItStartedWithAKiss241 · 11/01/2018 08:28

Pay it?? As you were with ds he could have spent a minute paying for parking. If it was literally that he was worried it was life and death then I’d just be grateful that your baby son is better now. (I hope he is Flowers) £40 really isn’t a high cost for that.
Every single person at the hospital is there because someone is ill, every single person has to pay for parking x

FitBitFanClub · 11/01/2018 08:30

Cherry, you've misunderstood some of what happened, by the looks of it. The OP was already in A&E with her sick baby when this all happened (having arrived by ambulance), so there was no "dangerous" suggestion of her putting a parking ticket above her baby's safety. The baby was being attended to by medics with her a parent there. It was her husband who neglected to get one as he followed on by car. We all can see why, but it did of course mean he got a fine.

BashStreetKid · 11/01/2018 08:36

Yet lots of people have posted to say their appeal was successful

I've appealed successfully against parking fines, but that was because the tickets had been issued in error.

Dungeondragon15 · 11/01/2018 08:57

I've appealed successfully against parking fines, but that was because the tickets had been issued in error.

I've appealed for other reasons and the appeal was successful.

PrincessoftheSea · 11/01/2018 09:02

Awful that people have to pay for parking to visit hospitals in this country especially in emergencies and with the ridiculous waiting time it must cost people a fortune. In some cases the fine of £40 will be cheaper than paying for parking the hours you have to wait the way things are going in Tory Britain.

Dungeondragon15 · 11/01/2018 09:07

That is largely what most of the posters have said, that although they'd do similar the fine is justified.

That's the attitude I find a bit simplistic and lacking in common sense. If you think a reasonable person would have done a similar action then it is possible that the decision makers (regarding parking) will decide that the fine was not justified and therefore an appeal will be successful so why not appeal? The argument that if they let one person off they would have to let everyone off as everyone in the hospital car park will be in a similar emergency life and death situation displays a lack of understanding too.

Dungeondragon15 · 11/01/2018 09:11

CherryMaDeara Thanks for sticking up for me!

IsabellaTruffle · 11/01/2018 09:16

I never said everyone in the car park will be there for life or death reasons. A huge proportion will be though, and who is to judge what is "big" enough of an emergency. Given the emphasis currently on meningitis and sepsis, a lot of parents are rushed into A&E with children displaying symptoms everyday, as doctors and paramedics just don't take the risk. A large proportion of people in the car park would have taken a patient in an emergency, followed an ambulance or attended because a family member had been taken in or fallen very sick.

Dungeondragon15 · 11/01/2018 09:21

I never said everyone in the car park will be there for life or death reasons. A huge proportion will be though, and who is to judge what is "big" enough of an emergency.

No, the great majority will not be with (or following and ambulance) with a child who's life is in imminent danger. As for "who is to judge" whether it is a big enough emergency- Do you not think the hospital are qualified to do that rather than you? That is why it is worth letting them decide!

grannytomine · 11/01/2018 09:21

Presumably the husband felt he had time to find a car park and park safely, he didn't just pull up at the entrance to A & E and abandon his car. So he did make a decision about what he needed to do before going into the hospital and that didn't include paying for his parking.

Maybe an appeal will work but if it doesn't then I think it is tough. Everything has consequences.

Rebeccaslicker · 11/01/2018 09:29

This thread just gets weirder and weirder. The OP thinks the rules shouldn't apply to her because Scotland (despite using an English hospital) and that anyone who owns up to their mistakes is just a blind sheep rather than actually having a conscience or doing what they think is fair. Dungeon thinks it's cool to lie about who was transporting the child so long as it's by omission because that doesn't count and that everyone else is just jealous because we don't live in Scotland. And cherry keeps quoting the same post over and over and over without any reference to the one it was in response to. Which makes a mockery of the OP's plea to HQ to have it deleted in the first place.

Only on MN!

IsabellaTruffle · 11/01/2018 09:29

Well its irrelevant really as the OP has already stated she will appeal it.

Its not just those attending with a child though, there will be cars for people having had a final call to say a parent/sibling/friend is seriously ill, those actually bringing a sick child/patient to A&E rather than following etc. A large A&E department would have many many similar scenarios across the childrens and adults A&E every single day.

HappydaysArehere · 11/01/2018 09:30

It was a one off in your case and your DD was treated. I would pay up and thank your lucky stars you live in Scotland. After all £40 isn’t bad for a satisfactory outcome.

Rebeccaslicker · 11/01/2018 09:34

But Dungeon, the hospital won't be deciding the appeal. That's the whole point of the stuff you posted about the private parking firm! They may or may not liaise with the hospital (probably not, as otherwise why have the contract in the first place if the hospital is still going to have to get involved?) but it'll be the parking company's decision. And they'll either go, "we've had a good month and this story sounds legit so we'll let them off," or they'll go, "yeah yeah lady, everyone says the same thing, cough up".

Then if they don't cancel it, the OP will have to decide whether to let them pursue it. But more and more of these companies are pursuing it, because they want the precedents.

Dungeondragon15 · 11/01/2018 09:40

its not just those attending with a child though, there will be cars for people having had a final call to say a parent/sibling/friend is seriously ill, those actually bringing a sick child/patient to A&E rather than following etc. A large A&E department would have many many similar scenarios across the childrens and adults A&E every single day.

There are not loads of similar scenerios. Most of the people using hospital car parks are not going to A&E at all. Usually if adults visit A&E by car rather than ambulance their life is not in imminent danger.

Dungeondragon15 · 11/01/2018 09:45

But Dungeon, the hospital won't be deciding the appeal. That's the whole point of the stuff you posted about the private parking firm! They may or may not liaise with the hospital (probably not, as otherwise why have the contract in the first place if the hospital is still going to have to get involved?) but it'll be the parking company's decision. And they'll either go, "we've had a good month and this story sounds legit so we'll let them off," or they'll go, "yeah yeah lady, everyone says the same thing, cough up".

There might be critieria for accepting an appeal that is agreed with the hospital. Either way, I don't think the fact that the appeal may not be successful is a good reason for not trying in the first place as it is quick and easy to do.

Then if they don't cancel it, the OP will have to decide whether to let them pursue it. But more and more of these companies are pursuing it, because they want the precedents.

Again not a good reason for not appealing in the first place. It is a quick and easy procedure and you don't have to pursue. You can decide just to appeal once and then pay the fine if not successful..

Rebeccaslicker · 11/01/2018 10:04

Right, but the Op didn't say that in her AIBU, did she? If she'd just said, "got a fine, any tips for how to appeal it?" she would have had a few answers and that would have been that.

But she didn't ask that. She asked about the morals of it. And didn't like most of the replies, so started going on about taxes and challenging the system and blind sheep Hmm

Original poster
StupidFine · 11/01/2018 10:56

Rebeccaslicker

You insult and mock people, add false assumptions to twist PP statements, then attempt to take the moral high ground?!

Only on MN!

'anyone who owns up to their mistakes is just a blind sheep rather than actually having a conscience or doing what they think is fair

So you think people in extenuating circumstances, who act within the rules by appealing ,don't have a conscience? Says it all really.

OP posts:
Rebeccaslicker · 11/01/2018 11:02

Oh bollocks. Show me a statement I have "twisted", go on. The bottom line is, "StupidFine", you set yourself up to look like you do. And you don't like hearing how you come across.

No, I don't believe your DP's circumstances were "extenuating", any more than my family's were when my DM had been taken in an ambulance following a brain haemorrhage, or when I had to rush in with bleeding in pregnancy, or when I had to take my DD to a&e at 3am with breathing difficulties. And believe me, in none of those situations was anyone able to pop out to sainsbury's just an hour or so later.

But you might get lucky and get an appeals officer who agrees with you. If you've kept your attitude out of the wording, anyway.