Vinci charge notice - parking in Hospital

[kyllerbuzcut]

Hi. New here

I guess I am here because of the obvious reason, and probably the same reason a lot of people are here.

 

Finished my shift at work today to find a bit of paper stuck to my car. First let me say, I do not intend paying the "fine", no matter what it takes.

 

Here are the basics:

Parking Charge Notice Issued by Vinci Park services.

Breach code: 04 - Parked upon Double yellow lines/hatched or kerb marked areas

 

A payment of £40 is due within 28 days

 

If payment received within 14 days a reduced charge of £20 will be accepted.

 

I've got an address and an email address on the back if I wish to complain or appeal.

 

 

I was just about to ring them when I thought better go online first and see what kind of things to say. I have since found a template letter and some general advice to send it as soon as possible, and I've also seen other general advice to just ignore it, and/or wait until they chase it further before sending letters.

 

My situation:

I have a staff parking badge in the window. My car was parked in a proper parking bay, but due to the person in the spot behind me having parked half in and half out of the bay which they were in, I had to park a bit out of the bay and my front wheels were in a yellow hash marked area. The yellow hash marked area is not at a junction, it just seems to be there for not much reason at all, and separates an area of staff parking and an area of the nursery drop off point. It also goes round a corner, which is very weird and I've never seen anything like it on a real road. (The nursery is on hospital premises, which I like to park near as I drop my daughter off before work, and it means I can just park there, take her in and go straight to work, instead of going to the drop off, taking her in, and then having to find another space.)

 

People park in these yellow hash areas every day, and I have to say I have parked there once or twice before without a bit of paper appearing stuck to my car. Even today, there was a car at the other end of the yellow box and several cars on some of the double yellow lines, and up on the curb. It is the same every single day at the hospital, which makes it even more weird that this one day I seem to have been singled out..... when I wasn't causing any kind of obstruction, and at least i had attempted to be in a proper parking bay, but just had a part of my car in the yellow box. ( I wouldn't think anything in any part of the yellow box in question would cause an obstruction - it just seems to be there because they had some extra paint or something)

 

 

So - I have a template letter ready to email them, thanks to the parking cowboys website... Is it indeed best to send/email this straight away? Should I "sign" it? As I have also read admitting who the driver was could be a mistake. In this case- my wife also works at the hospital, and sometimes one of us will take our daughter to nursery, and the other will pick her up and take the car. Is it possible to still send the letter and leave it unsigned, but leaving enough details like car reg etc, and the charge notice ref number?

 

Any other advice on what's best to do would be gratefully appreciated.

 

Thanks

[silverfox1961]

Hi and welcome to CAG

 

As this was a windscreen ticket, this is aimed at the driver. In my opinion, you should wait for the NTK (notice to keeper) and then appeal as the keeper and not the driver. In fact never mention you were the driver. Only ever say 'The Driver'.

 

On private land and road markings are graffiti with no legal standing. You had permission to park which usurps their imaginary power over you.

 

have you complained to the hospital yet?

 

this won't go near a court (IMO) but it is still better to appeal.

[Bazooka Boo]

Defo wait for the NTK first.

[kyllerbuzcut]

Wait for notice to keeper- got it. Thank you

 

I haven't complained to the hospital, but I don't think they'd do anything if I did.

 

There's always attempts to move people offsite to park and ride schemes etc, and there's never enough room in the buses, and even then nursery drop-off supposedly means you are allowed to park in the proper staff car park with barriers instead of in the little bays dotted around the hospital ( which are also meant to be for staff as extra to the barrier-ed car park). My swipe for the barrier stopped working ages ago, but as I normally find a space near the nursery it's never been a problem before, as the parking badge covers me parking there.

 

As my wife and I both take the car in and pick it up - although it's usually me about 80% of the time dropping my daughter off then picking the car up first- is it worthwhile "losing" the parking charge notice? Then if/when the NTK arrives we can "forget" who parked that day? and go on to appeal as the keeper- referring only to "the driver" and not saying who parked etc?

 

Just trying to work through all the scenarios now

 

Thanks again

[kyllerbuzcut]

Just another thought...

 

With people parking there every day- and even today at the opposite side of the yellow box area, another car was right inside it-fully in- no ticket-

and all the way down that bit of road, cars up on the pavement, parked on double yellows and front ends sticking into the road etc ..... which car is the only one with a ticket?...lol

mine.

 

Is there any sort of grounds for discrimination or anything like that?

[f16]

Just another thought...

 

With people parking there every day- and even today at the opposite side of the yellow box area, another car was right inside it-fully in- no ticket-

and all the way down that bit of road, cars up on the pavement, parked on double yellows and front ends sticking into the road etc ..... which car is the only one with a ticket?...lol

mine.

 

Is there any sort of grounds for discrimination or anything like that?

 

No I would doubt that. ...

 

Wait for the NTK . This will arrive between 29 and 56 days after the "offence".

In the mean time it may help if you photo the sign and post it on the thread.

[armadillo71]

As already stated, wait for the NTK.

 

 

Which hospital trust is this please?

[kyllerbuzcut]

As already stated, wait for the NTK.

 

 

Which hospital trust is this please?

 

Hi,

The trust is Lancashire teaching hospitals...

I will grab a pic of the sign when I return to the scene later today

Edited April 23, 2015 by kyllerbuzcut

[ericsbrother]

Who issued the staff permit, your employer or the parking company? If the former it is not for them to tell you how to park unless your contract says that Vinci Parking have been delegated this authority. It will be in your staff handbook if there is such a clause..

[kyllerbuzcut]

I currently have a renewal letter they sent a few days ago, which I haven't sorted yet - I am due to renew my permit next month. The letter says it is from:

 

Car Parking Helpdesk.

Facilities & Services Directorate

Royal Preston Hospital

blah blah blah

 

Nothing about Vinci on there.

 

When i got to my car today ( in a proper bay and fully inside today) another car who was totally inside the yellow box ( as there is usually every day) had one of those windscreen notes - so no doubt they will be doing the same as me tonight

 

I took some pictures too -

Closest sign. nothing about Vinci on that either

 

View looking at the yellow box from one angle - roughly the area where I was parked yesterday.

 

 

View to the side - my wheels had gone on to the yellow box in front of where that white car is now.

 

Slightly different wider view

 

You can see a not-so-faded second white line in that bay. The white car that was there today has its wheels inside both of those white lines, can use the full space.

Yesterday there was a car parked with its front wheels right up to the forward (slightly faded) white line. Meaning there wasn't a full car-length spot available in front of it as it was in reality straddling 2 bays....loking at it more- the other line seems MORE faded lol.

 

The mini in the background has a ticket on its window today. That spot is used everyday. It is hard to understand (for me anyway) why there is even a yellow box there. The road is one way at that bit. To the other side of the mini is the nursery drop off spots. i managed to park on opposite side of the road from that white car today.

Edited April 23, 2015 by kyllerbuzcut

[silverfox1961]

As I see it, there should be signs on behalf of Vinci, not the trust. I don't see how they can enforce when there is nothing to say then can.

[kyllerbuzcut]

As I see it, there should be signs on behalf of Vinci, not the trust. I don't see how they can enforce when there is nothing to say then can.

Thank you. Was just what I was thinking when I read it

 

This is sounding good

After properly reading the sign for the first time myself today, and having a letter from the hospital car parking dept which both have no mention of Vinci anywhere...

I'm definitely ignoring the ticket and treating it as a [problem], along the same lines of those texts people get saying they have won the Spanish lottery, or the ones that are pretending to be your bank and ask for your bank details to confirm lol.

 

Is it worth contacting the police myself at this moment saying I believe there is a [problem] operating just to have an incident number logged with them? I know I should wait until the ntk comes but I'm itching to fight this now and might be in a different mood later on.

 

Or even contacting the police without giving my name? Just saying I saw some people putting tickets on some cars around the hospital, and they didn';t look like hospital staff

Edited April 23, 2015 by kyllerbuzcut

[renegadeimp]

Police wont be interested at all. Your first port of call would be to the hospital, then the trust that runs it, then take it from there.

[f16]

 

Is it worth contacting the police myself at this moment saying I believe there is a [problem] operating just to have an incident number logged with them? I know I should wait until the ntk comes but I'm itching to fight this now and might be in a different mood later on.

 

Or even contacting the police without giving my name? Just saying I saw some people putting tickets on some cars around the hospital, and they didn';t look like hospital staff

 

"Keep your powder dry".

Wait for the NTK.

 

It would appear to me that looking at the signs posted that you have entered no "contract" with Vinci.

 

Hold fire wait for the "Legal Crew"

[f16]

In addition...

 

On the photos posted taken from a distance from where you parked.

I can not see this "sign" on the wall.

 

Where is this sign located ????

[kyllerbuzcut]

Thanks for all the advice guys... Trying to calm my itchy trigger finger lol.

 

The sign was on the wall of that building that you can see behind the white car in the last pic. It's on the right side of the building, a couple of parking bays down the road.

 

Also perhaps of note ( or perhaps not?) is that "lampost" thing with the triangle sign on it can block your door if you park in there, and there is also one of those black bollard things behind that white car as well. It must have been a struggle for the driver of that white car to open their door properly where they were parked. You've got to test your door opening and then move back and forth a little bit to make sure you can open it without hitting one or the other.

Then when you've got children in the back and have to open the back door as well it becomes even more tricky, meaning you have to creep even further forward. The other option to mve back means you end up in the parking bay behind.... which you can't do if there's a car already there.

[f16]

In the first shot of the white car taken from the rear of the car.

I can't see a sign. .... Unless it is sited more that 10 feet from the ground !!!

 

Which unless you happen to be wearing stilts your not going to see

[kyllerbuzcut]

In the first shot of the white car taken from the rear of the car.

I can't see a sign. .... Unless it is sited more that 10 feet from the ground !!!

 

Which unless you happen to be wearing stilts your not going to see

 

That's a good point. How far away doors a sign have to be?

 

From where I took that picture, looking at the white car, the sign was just behind me maybe a few more steps.

[ericsbrother]

it is all irrelevant as the lines mean nothing on private land and you are permitted to be there by way of a contract of employment that is superior to the Vinci parking contract. Now wait for the NTK and then tell them that this is so. Dont contact them in the meanwhile.

[kyllerbuzcut]

Thank you so much for all your help guys.

 

I'm feeling like I can't wait for the NTK to come now so I can put them in their place lol.

 

I will update when I hear anything.

[Mike_hawk]

Could you post a copy of the notice to driver [windscreen parking ticket less any obvious identifiers]

[kyllerbuzcut]

edited tickets

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]57242[/ATTACH]

Edited April 25, 2015 by citizenB

[Mike_hawk]

It's a bit of a mystery why it issues PCN's in a ECN signed zone [if bylaw applicable].

[DragonFly1967]

Certainly...

 

You might want to edit that first picture a little more. The PCN number and your registration are still visible (near the bottom).

 

 

Not that Vinci deserve a penny of it, but it has to be said, credit to them for at least attempting to charge a 'reasonable' amount £20/£40 rather than the £100 that the likes of ParkingLie attempt to extort from people.

[ploddertom]

Pictures unapproved - please remove ALL identifying details before reposting.