I have been taking my Mother to hospital appointments on a regular basis , the parking as in most hospitals theses days is a nightmare to say the least ( you know sick people are meant to take the bus ! ) however if you are a Blue Badge holder parking is free you just need to register the badge at any reception and it will be entered onto the system.
This we do, however I returned from holiday to find we have an ANPR ticket from APCOA and because I am over their 14 days have to pay the full fine, I have of course appealed the notice ( my half price grace period btw has gone so costs can now increase but they have 35 days to respond ) this is going to be down to proving we registered it ( definitely did ) so it could be an admin error by the person behind the reception desk.
Has any on here successfully appealed a parking ticket ?
Plenty appeal, plenty win, but you need to know what you are doing. As you have appealed you may have already tripped yourself up. You need to know the process inside out before appealing.
Go to moneysavingexpert website and read the private parking tickets forum. Lots of guidance, knowledge and assistance.
Quote: Originally posted by daveyjp on 07/9/2022
Plenty appeal, plenty win, but you need to know what you are doing. As you have appealed you may have already tripped yourself up. You need to know the process inside out before appealing.
Go to moneysavingexpert website and read the private parking tickets forum. Lots of guidance, knowledge and assistance.
Thanks for that Dave, some good reads on the MSE forum for sure.
I can’t actually say I have tripped myself up has we fully complied with their terms and conditions and this is clearly an admin error by the hospital, I will just have to wait and see the outcome.
Always complain to the hospital first. APCOA are one of the less vicious bottom feeders that inhabit the world of private parking invoices so there may be reasonableness if the hospital do get involved.
They are a private parking company and CANNOT issue fines however they can issue an invoice which can easily be challenged in many cases if done the correct way.
Basically they have zero authority and if it goes to court normally on court steps they back off as they know they will lose if the defendant presents the correct facts.
Considering that we are in a Cost of Living crisis I think it was very unfair of hospitals to impose parking changes especially the high charges and the fact it is the taxpayer that has paid for the hospital and car park!
Our hospital in Worcester is re-introducing parking charges and they start off at £2.50 for the 1st hour. It then increases substantially for every hour afterwards. Doesn't matter if you have a BB still have to pay the charges. Sometimes it takes me 20 minutes just to get to the room and then you can wait up to an hour before seeing a specialist.
No reception to complain if you get an invoice from the PPC!
My brother popped into the local shopping center in the morning and again more than 2 hours later in the afternoon, taking only about 10 minutes each time.
The ANPR camera system read this as one long continuous stay and fined him £90, it was only with great reluctance that they checked their records to discover that no offense had taken place.
Parking contractor misconduct like this brings Waitrose into disrepute although it is the center management that brought in the parking contractor.
Quote: Originally posted by Bramston on 08/9/2022
My brother popped into the local shopping center in the morning and again more than 2 hours later in the afternoon, taking only about 10 minutes each time.
The ANPR camera system read this as one long continuous stay and fined him £90, it was only with great reluctance that they checked their records to discover that no offense had taken place.
Parking contractor misconduct like this brings Waitrose into disrepute although it is the center management that brought in the parking contractor.
In our supermarket car park it’s no return for 3 hours
Yes. I got a 'fine' from a hospital car park when the ONLY payment option was by phone App and it wouldn't work! The signage said you could also pay at a kiosk or over the phone, there was NO kiosk and the phone number gave a recorded message saying use the App! Had no choice but use/leave the car park without paying.
Next day contacted one of the two companies mentioned on the sign, explained situation and offered to pay the fee, they said it was not their responsibility! The other company proved more difficult to contact (deliberate obscuration!), and by time I did find how to contact them, the fine had arrived in post, VERY EFFICIENT at sending out fines!
Challenged the fine, explaining the situation, forwarded messages about my attempt to pay the following day, and a whole host of complaints posted online from others who also found the App would not work, made it VERY clear I was going to keep fighting them and not pay the fine, but happy to pay the legitimate parking fee. They waived the fine and didn't ask for the parking fee without further argument.
Just to add a Blue badge is not valid on private land and NHS is private land like supermarkets. If you do not display the BB and they try and invoice you for parking in a disabled bay, they would have a very hard time in court.
In addition, the white, red or blue lines regarding parking on private land are of no consequence and they might as well be graffiti!
The legalities may be all well and good, but the stress attached to fighting a £50 fine sometimes isn't worth it. And, sometimes they WILL take you to court - past the 'steps'. Best to make sure you dont incur the fine. Especially if you are relying on some third-party ( eg hospital receptionist), to make sure you are covered. Hospitals are cash cows. If we've ever gone, we've dropped and collected later.
Thank you for your appeal received 21 August 2022 against the above Parking Charge Notice.
Having carefully considered the evidence provided by you, we must advise your appeal has been unsuccessful on this occasion.
At the time the ANPR cameras observed the vehicle they noted that it had used the car park without a valid payment, therefore it was parked in breach of the terms and conditions of the car park and a Parking Charge Notice was issued.
It is the motorist’s responsibility to ensure that they read the terms and conditions on the signage in the car park and that they have a valid payment for the entire time that they use the car park.
As your vehicle was parked in contravention of the terms and conditions of the site we are satisfied that the notice was correctly issued in accordance with the BPA code of practice, and therefore not able to waiver the charge on this occasion.
Therefore you now have a number of options:
Pay the Parking Charge Notice at the discounted price of £30 within 14 days. Please note that after this time the Parking Charge Notice will increase to £60.
Now moved it onto POPLA
So the fee has now automatically gone to £60 .
Just to reiterate: “ Blue badge holders park for free please take your blue badge to any reception desk and register it “
This is all one big scam if you ask me and not holding my breath with POPLA.
Quote: Originally posted by clbewi on 26/9/2022
Have you been in touch with the hospital? They will obviously know you had an appointment
Many thanks for that.
Just called them and they say they can get it removed for me I have just emailed them my details that they requested .
Once again many thanks 🙏🏻
We had a similar issue earlier in the year at Heathrow airport. My husband dropped me off and we had paid for a drop-off ticket. Before he was out of sight I realised that I had left my handbag in the car!!! Quick phone call and he went round the loop and back in. All in less than 2 minutes.
A couple of weeks later we had a ticket for the second trip. However, we appealed and it was cancelled. Not all parking companies are bad!
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Topic: APCOA Parking
