Hospital car parking

[XabisMission]

Hi,

forgive the way this is done but my mental state is rather fragile at the moment,

so I hope you good people don't mind a copy and paste.

 

The first part is an email I sent to my MP,

and the second is what the assistant to my MP wrote to the person in charge of parking at my local hospital.

I do realise it is quite long, but hopefully covers everything.

 

I am writing to you in desperation.

A few months ago I had an appointment at Southport District General Hospital for physiotherapy on my back.

I arrived in plenty of time as I also suffer from severe depression and anxiety where if I get too stressed I just cease to function properly.

 

I arrived at the hospital a good 15-20 minutes before my appointment and went to the car park close to the side entrance to the hospital.

The barrier let me into the car park and I searched for a parking spot. I got stuck behind another car looking for a spot

and was in the car park for over 10 minutes.

 

During this time my anxiety got quite bad. I finally managed to leave the car park and went to the car park close to the main entrance, where a very similar scenario occurred.

This time however I noted that several cars had parked along the edge of the bays. By this time I was getting into a blind panic

as the time of my appointment was getting very close and being late is another of my triggers.

 

I had my treatment and paid my car park fee at the machine and came out to find I had a parking ticket.

On the ticket it was explained that I could appeal the ticket. I wrote to the company explaining everything that I have just put in this letter

and pointed out that it was surely wrong to allow cars into car parks which were already full.

 

I feel this is especially so where people arrive for appointments at certain times and can get stuck in queues inside the car park.

I also pointed out that my only income is lower rate DLA and lower rate Mobility allowance, which in total is only £42 a week.

The fine was £100 which is extortionate, but I got a chance of appeal and paying a lower rate of £60. I did appeal

and the reply did not mention any of my reasons for appealing, just that the parking areas were marked and the charges were adequately sign-posted.

I would go so far as to say it was a standard cut and paste response where the person “dealing” with the appeal has not looked at the circumstances at all.

 

I was NOT given an option of paying in installments, just pay the 60 pounds before a certain date or it would go to £100.

This has been a significant trigger in my depression and anxiety and has affected me so much that I have not made any more appointments

for treatment at Southport District Hospital.

 

My mental health has taken a turn for the worse since this has started and I have had to contact my Acute Care Team because I was worried that I was

close to breaking point and may do something to harm myself. I have a history of suicide attempts, and this whole incident has left me feeling very close to the edge.

One of my symptoms of depression is to ignore problems such as this. I am not saying this is an excuse, just a fact, and one would hope when dealing with a Health Trust

that some toleration may be employed by the parking enforcers.

 

This does not seem to be the case though, as this morning I received a letter from a debt recovery company for £160.

I summoned up the mental strength to telephone the company (This does not sound like much, but for someone with my mental health issues it is quite a huge undertaking)

I spoke to a lady who said that basically the onus is on me to ask for installment options, and if I were to send proof of benefits they would look at offering me a plan… But at £160.

Talk about kicking someone while they are down.

 

Again, I pointed out that if such policies are going to be enforced, then there should be a car park full sign in place to stop people driving into a car park with no places available…

Apparently a hospital doesn’t have the money to put a simple system that most car parks have. Even at the high normal parking rates they charge and the even higher fines they bring in.

 

I really don’t know what (if anything) you can do to help me, but if you could at least bring this up with someone who can make a decision at the Health Trust to put car park full signs

up to help avoid something like this happening again. And also maybe get to car parking company to realise that it is mainly ill people who frequent a hospital,

and a little understanding could be employed in their replies instead of a standard copy and paste response with no reference to victims reason for appeal.

 

Thank you xxx

 

Dear Jonathan,

 

Mr xxx has sent Dr xxx the attached email to which i would be grateful if you might get an appropriate officer to provide a reply.

 

The first issue which one might hope the Hospital Trust might be able to address is the issue of the 'car park capacity' system being introduced. This is a fairly simple matter,

very common in both municipal and supermarket car parks: the linking of the in and out barriers means that no one is allowed in (and hence wastes their time)

to the car park if the number of vehicles already in is equal to the official capacity.

 

The other matter is the apparent effect of the way in which he has been dealt with on Mr xxx's health. One might hope that the person dealing with the appeals for a

hospital car park 'transgressors' might have some sensitivity to health-related matters. Mr xxx appears to be saying that he did what he did in order to not waste NHS time

and money, having been unavoidably-detained by factors outside his own control which were essentially the responsibility of car park operators who now wish to charge

him excessive amounts which exceed he penalties levied by the Local Authority on Southport's streets by some amount..

 

One would hope that you might be able to intervene to have them withdraw this 'charge' which as you know is actually a claim for breach of contractual term.

Mr xxx might possibly assert that the contractual terms published were negated by the failure o the operator of the car park to only allow vehicles into their car park

when there were genuine places available within the car park concerned?

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Tony Dawson

Office of John Pugh MP

 

Now I was just leaving this alone, but today have had a phone call and an SMS from the debt recovery company (Debt Recovery Plus) asking to contact them urgently.

I didn't answer or reply.

I spoke to them when the £160 bill came and was basically told that serves me right for parking in the wrong place.

The operator alleged to have spinal arthritis and wouldn't dream of parking in the wrong place at a hospital,

and to forget writing to my MP and get a good solicitor. I

'm at mental breaking point right now, and any advice would be ever so gratefully received.

Edited August 16, 2013 by honeybee13
Removing names.

[renegadeimp]

Ignore them. It is a speculative invoice and they dont care about you. They just want to con you into giving them the money/

[ericsbrother]

There is no breach of contract so you dont owe these bandits or any of their friends a penny. Dont ever speak to them on the phone again, they have no right to call you so if they do phone tell them that you will only communicate with them in writing and any further phone calls will be reported as harassment and a breach of the Disability discrimination legislation. No need to go into details, just put the phone down after saying that. Then ignore anything in writing as they have no rights or powers to demand anything.

[dx100uk]

IGNORE THEM!!

 

it is NOT A FINE.

 

dx

[Scouse Magic]

Yet another example of a NHS Trust associating with crooks to profiteer out of patients, staff & visitors......Do not correspond with the company....Write a letter to the Trust's Risk & Legal Department (Who consist of barristers - nothing to do with parking) informing them of your experience, and that you intend to refer this matter to the local media if the charge is not scrubbed