A parking company has defended a decision to issue a parking ticket to a motorist at Harrogate District Hospital, despite dropping the charge upon appeal.
Parkeye oversees car parks at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.
The hospital brought in the company to operate its new parking arrangements in September, which includes automatic number plate recognition and a ticketless system.
However, some patients and visitors have criticised the decision after being given fines due to problems paying for parking.
Tamsin O’Brien was visiting a friend at the Lascelles Unit at the hospital on October 24.
She paid £4.15 to park for 45 minutes at the unit, which is part of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.
However, she received a fine from Parkingeye on November 2 of £70 despite paying the charge.
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Ms O’Brien appealed the decision, but was told the appeal was unsuccessful on November 11 and that the fine still stood.
She then took the matter to Parking On Private Land Appeals, the industry arbitrator, and a week later received a letter from the company which stated that the fine was dropped.
Ms O’Brien said the company had ignored evidence that she had paid.
She said:
“My experience with Parkingeye was outrageous – it’s one thing to wrongly issue a charge because the company’s tech isn’t working correctly. It’s quite another thing though, to ignore irrefutable evidence that I paid to park, to reject my appeal, and to continue to pursue a charge.
“There will be many people who would find an experience like this very stressful- particularly when they maybe visiting loved ones in hospital who may be seriously ill.”
The Stray Ferret approached Parkingeye to ask why it had issued the fine after Ms O’Brien had paid the parking fee.
A spokesperson for the company said:
“The car park at the Lascelles Unit has eight prominent and highly-visible signs that give motorists clear guidance on how to use the car park responsibly, including guidance that it is staff parking only.
“The motorist parked in an area reserved for staff only without a staff permit and therefore correctly received a parking charge. However, following a review of the case we have cancelled as a gesture of goodwill.
“We would add that Parkingeye operates a BPA (British Parking Association) audited appeals process, which motorists can use to appeal their parking charge. If anyone has mitigating circumstances, we would encourage them to highlight this by appealing.”
However, in a letter outlining its refusal to the her appeal, Parkingeye told Ms O’Brien on November 11:
“We have reviewed the details outlined in your appeal, but we are not in receipt of sufficient evidence to confirm that the terms and conditions were not breached. The signage located at the above car park instructs motorists to enter their full, correct vehicle registration into the payment machine or terminal on site.
“After reviewing our records, we are unable to locate any vehicle details that match your vehicle registration. We believe this is due to either a major keying error taking place, or no vehicle registration details being entered at all.”
Ms O’Brien said she was “baffled” by Parkingeye’s response to the Stray Ferret and the fact that it did not match her correspondence from the company.
What’s your experience of using the new Parkingeye app at the hospital? Get in touch on contact@thestrayferret.co.uk
Harrogate hospital defends criticism of new parking payment systemHarrogate District Hospital has defended appointing Parkingeye to oversee its car parks after criticism from patients.
The hospital brought in the company to operate its new parking arrangements in September, which includes automatic number plate recognition and a ticketless system.
However, some patients and visitors have criticised the decision after being given fines due to problems paying for parking.
Derek Sendrove and his wife, Zhanna, used the hospital car park in October when both were receiving treatment.
Mr Sendrove said the couple had registered their card with the app, which makes it possible to pay for parking via mobile phone.
Derek Sendrove.
However, on a visit on October 30, which lasted 44 minutes and would cost £4, the card was not recognised.
Mr Sendrove said the card has been valid every other time they have used the car park.
The couple were subsequently handed a £70 fine by Parkingeye, which Zhanna appealed but was refused. The pair have since taken the decision to Parking On Private Land Appeals, the industry arbitrator.
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Mr Sendrove told the Stray Ferret he felt the incident raised questions over why the hospital chose the parking company in the first place.
He said:
“It seems that Parkingeye are profiting from their own faulty app, and it is also rather surprising that instead of choosing another app, Appy Parking, which is installed throughout the town; for some inscrutable reason, Harrogate hospital have chosen to partner with a different organisation, Parkingeye.”
The Stray Ferret took Mr Sendrove’s concerns to Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust and asked whether it had any response to the question over its choice of provider.
A spokesperson for the trust said:
“Parkingeye has extensive experience of working with NHS organisations and currently manages parking at over 30 NHS trusts and more than 680 healthcare sites. After careful consideration Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust chose Parkingeye to provide a car parking management service at Harrogate District Hospital.
“Since the introduction of the new camera controlled barrierless system at Harrogate District Hospital, congestion has significantly decreased on Lancaster Park Road due to the improved access into our car parks ensuring that visitors can get to their appointments on time and visit their loved ones.
“On occasion a parking charge notice may be issued to motorists who do not follow the parking rules which are displayed on the parking signage.
“A motorist has the opportunity to challenge the decision through Parkingeye’s appeal process. Parkingeye will consider the evidence and circumstances and if it is appropriate may cancel a parking ticket.
“Should the motorist still wish to contest the decision, they can contact Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA), an independent organisation that allows motorists to contest the decisions of parking operators by visiting https://www.popla.co.uk/. POPLA will look at both sides of the appeal, consider the evidence provided and ultimately decide to uphold or overturn the ruling made by the parking management company.”
A Parkingeye spokesperson said:
“Parkingeye has partnered with Harrogate District Hospital since September this year to significantly improve how its car parks operate.
“During this time there has been investment in modern consumer-facing systems which has enhanced accessibility and made parking at the hospital easier and safer for staff, patients and visitors. The system is designed to ensure the efficiency and smooth operation of the hospital by ensuring that patients, visitors and staff park in their allocated car parks.
“The car park features over 30 prominent and highly-visible signs providing information on how to use the car park responsibly, including guidance that patients and visitors must pay on exit using one of the user-friendly payment kiosks or through the Evology payment app.
“The motorist received a parking charge after parking in an area that is reserved for patients and visitors and not making a payment. Our systems also show that the Evology app was working effectively and took a normal level of transactions on October 30th.
“Parkingeye operates a BPA (British Parking Association) audited appeals process, which motorists can use to appeal their parking charge.
“The motorist’s appeal was unsuccessful and is now being reviewed by POPLA, the independent appeals service.”
What’s your experience of using the new Parkingeye app at the hospital? Get in touch on contact@thestrayferret.co.uk
Harrogate hospital defends new parking charges
Harrogate District Hospital has defended its new parking charges and said the ticketless system is reducing congestion.
Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust introduced a new system and charges on September 6.
The old entry barriers have been replaced by automatic number plate recognition.
Visitors are now entitled to 20 minutes of free parking. It then costs £4 for up to two hours, £6.50 for up to four hours, £8.50 for up to six hours and £11 for up to 24 hours.
The new prices have attracted criticism on social media, with some complaining £4 is a lot to pay for a visit that might only last for 25 minutes.
Visitors previously received 30 minutes free parking and were then charged £2.60 for up to 90 minutes, £3.80 for up to two-and-a-half hours and £6.10 for up to four-and-a-half hours.
A trust spokesperson said:
“Increasing parking charges is never an easy decision to make, but we have to ensure that our car parks are well maintained and safe for patients, visitors and staff.
“All funds gathered from parking charges are invested back into the delivery of patient care and maintaining facilities, such as car parks across the trust.
“Over the next five years we anticipate that we will need to invest significant sums in our car parks and security, and the revenue raised through car parking charges will help us to fund this work.
The old barrier has been removed.
The spokesperson added the trust chose to keep free parking or concessionary rates for certain patients and visitors including blue badge holders, patients receiving cancer treatment, parents visiting the paediatric ward or special care baby unit, and those in receipt of benefits.
They added:
“Parking is also free for the first 20 minutes allowing for patients to be dropped off and collected without the driver needing to pay for parking. It also encourages drivers from waiting in the car park after dropping someone off, ensuring that other people who require our services can find a parking space.”
The spokesperson said car park management firm Parkingeye had not issued any parking charge notices to date because the hospital was operating a grace period.
He did not say how long this would last.
Asked how the new system was working, the spokesman said:
“The new ANPR parking system is helping eliminate congestion on Lancaster Park Road through the removal of barriers which has improved flow into the hospital grounds.
“We welcome feedback from users so that we can further improve on their experience of our new car parking system.”
The ANPR system will be expanded into the trust’s staff car parks in October, where staff will be charged a monthly fee to use the car parking facilities calculated on their vehicle’s emissions, their pay band and their contracted hours.
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