June 7, 2019 2.56 pm This story is over 57 months old

Historic hospital staff parking fines dropped

It is being hailed as a victory for staff who were slapped with fines up to £5,000 for offences alleged to have committed up to four years ago
Lincoln County Hospital car park.

A parking firm has dropped the majority of historic fines in a major win for Lincoln hospital staff.

Total Parking Solutions (TPS) said the move was a gesture of goodwill after some nurses were sent letters demanding up to £5,000 for offences alleged to have been committed up to four years ago.

Over 400 people joined a social media group to fight the fines and even set up a fundraiser to pay for a legal adviser to hear their case.

At least four people were taken to County Court after ignoring the letters, leaving them with a hefty bill to pay, threats of bailiffs and a black mark against their names.

Now TPS have dropped almost all of their 200 cases at Lincoln County Hospital. They claim to only be looking into half a dozen cases who have ‘committed multiple contraventions’.

A spokesperson for the company told The Lincolnite: “We have taken the decision to cancel most of the staff parking charge notices and cease any further debt recovery action with immediate effect.

“It is unfortunate and regrettable that many recipients chose to ignore the charges and all subsequent attempts to engage with TPS to discuss the matter, leaving no alternative other than to pursue with debt recovery.

“This is no way undermines of diminishes the validity of legitimacy of the parking charge notices. TPS are no longer under contact with the trust and are happy to cease any further action in the spirit of goodwill.”

Any staff member where charges are cancelled will be notified in writing within the next few weeks. Other cases that do not involve staff members will not be cancelled.

The United Lincolnshire Health Trust (ULHT) recently awarded the contact to ParkingEye instead of TPS, which went on to install a new CCTV system and payment machines.

It hasn’t been a smooth transition, with multiple complaints piling about fines and broken machines.

Paul Boocock, director of estates and facilities at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We acknowledge this move by Total Parking Solutions to cancel most of these outstanding historical parking charge notices (PCN) and know that this will be welcomed by our staff.

“However, we would advise anyone who receives a PCN from any other provider while on our premises to follow the correct procedures as outlined on their ticket.”