A couple received a £100 parking fine at an NHS urgent care centre – even though they stayed there for just five minutes after being refused treatment.
Rebecca Elmes drove her boyfriend Aaron Rayment-Davis to Harold Wood Polyclinic in Romford, east London, after he developed a crippling pain in his left ear.
After walking into the reception on the evening of June 16, they were told the clinic was only open for triage and they would need to try the A&E department at a local hospital instead.
The pair, both 26, walked back into the car and drove off – only to receive a £100 parking fine in the post a month later.
Parkingeye – a private firm that turns over £57million a year – noted that their car had arrived at the car park just after 6.50pm and spent only five minutes there before leaving.
Patients are required to enter their number plate details into a machine at reception to get free parking, but the couple insist they never had the chance to do so.
‘When we arrived at the clinic, we went to put our number plate into the machine but you can’t do that before you’ve been booked in and seen,’ Mr Rayment-Davis, a quantity surveyor, told the Daily Mail.
‘We’d only been there for a few minutes so assumed there would be no issue. We wanted to get to the other hospital as quickly as possible because I was in a lot of pain. I also felt completely disoriented and couldn’t hear out of my left ear.’
Rebecca Elmes drove her boyfriend Aaron Rayment-Davis to Harold Wood Polyclinic in Romford, east London, after he developed a crippling pain in his left ear
The pair, both 26, left the surgery after just five minutes when they were refused treatment – only to receive a £100 parking fine in the post a month later
Patients are required to enter their number plate details into a machine at reception to get free parking, but Mr Rayment-Davis insists they never had the chance to do so
Ms Elmes and Mr Rayment-Davis appealed Parkingeye’s £100 fine but the company turned this down on the basis that ‘no parking was purchased’ – even though the couple insist they had no chance to do so.
However, they reluctantly agreed to pay a reduced fee of £60 to avoid being liable for the full £100 amount.
Ms Elmes, who works at a groom at a local stables, called the decision ‘absolutely ridiculous’.
‘We were there for five minutes – they literally turned us away and didn’t give us a chance to do anything,’ she said.
‘They are just milking everyone – and in a medical situation where people are seriously injured or ill it’s even worse.
‘Parkingeye rejected the appeal saying we didn’t have a good enough excuse.
‘We were worried that if we didn’t pay the £60 and continued appealing we’d be out of pocket.’
Mr Rayment-Davis was assessed in the A&E at nearby Queen’s Hospital but was told the wait time would be four hours, and it would be better to go to King George Hospital in Ilford instead.
When he was eventually seen to, he was told he had an ear infection and a burst ear drum.
Ms Elmes and Mr Rayment-Davis appealed Parkingeye’s £100 fine but the company turned this down on the basis that ‘no parking was purchased’
ParkingEye is one of the biggest private parking companyies in Britain and operates more than 3,500 sites nationwide
‘The doctor explained that it was a good thing I was seen, as leaving it longer would have led to more infection and damage,’ he said.
Parkingeye is one of the biggest private parking companies in Britain and operates more than 3,500 sites nationwide, including hospitals, supermarkets, hotels and service stations.
It uses automatic number plate technology to scan registration plates, and then pays the DVLA to assess the owner’s address, which is the only way it can properly enforce fines.
As with several other private parking firms, it has repeatedly been criticised for its aggressive tactics.
The Government is currently carrying out a consultation on proposals to ‘raise standards’ in the private parking industry following a barrage of customer complaints.
Holly Edwards previously received a £100 fine for parking outside the Harold Wood Polyclinic while she was having a scan.
The company director was confident about getting it overturned after she sent Parkingeye a GP appointment note showing she was there legitimately.
Holly Edwards previously received a £100 fine for parking outside the Harold Wood Polyclinic while she was having a scan
The company rejected her appeal on the basis that she had failed to input her car registration details.
But Ms Edwards insisted she did type in her registration details as requested – and said the claim she hadn’t ‘angered me even more’.
Controversially, drivers are often not given a receipt by Parkingeye’s registration machines, meaning they often have no evidence if the company accuses them of inputting it incorrectly when they receive a fine.
A Parkingeye spokesperson said: ‘The car park at Harold Wood Polyclinic features 12 prominent and highly-visible signs throughout providing information on how to use the car park responsibly.
‘This includes guidance that parking is for patients and visitors only and that they must register their vehicle at terminals at reception to receive free parking for the duration of their appointment.
‘The terminals on the ground and first floors are both available and accessible to visitors before being booked in by reception staff. The motorist correctly received a parking charge on June 16 for parking and not registering their vehicle.
‘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 appeal.
‘The motorist’s appeal was rejected due to not providing any evidence for breaking the rules of the car park, payment of the charge was then made.’
