A husband was hit with a parking fine while visiting his dying wife - despite having a valid parking pass. Brian Foote, 47, went to see Nahruma Ahmed, 46, at Manchester Royal Infirmary after she collapsed while waiting for blood tests.
He was given a parking permit the next morning which covered him for the previous day’s parking. Tragically, Nahruma, who had leukaemia, passed away just eight days later.
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Just nine days after his wife's death, dad-of-one Brian began receiving letters from Parkingeye - saying he had been fined £35 for parking without permission. Despite having a valid parking pass, Brian says Parkingeye continued to demand payment – and increased the fine.
Brian, a litigation executive, said: "I feel completely corporately bullied. To treat me in such a way is despicable and terrible.
"I'm not looking for sympathy here – I haven't done anything wrong."
Brian, a former paratrooper, attended Manchester Royal Infirmary on June 20, 2022 after his partner was admitted to A&E. She had been sent to the outpatient unit for treatment but had taken a turn for the worse while at the hospital.
Due to arriving late, the hospital provided Brian with a parking permit the next day and it was validated by car parking staff on site. He even took a picture of the pass after it had been validated – showing that he was covered for parking on June 20.
In a heart-breaking turn of events, Nahruma passed away on June 28. Still dealing with the ramifications of his wife's death and knowing that he had a valid permit, Brian didn’t respond Parkingeye's original letter. He then received another letter in August – demanding a payment of £70.
This time he provided the parking management company with picture evidence of his valid parking permit in response and explained the circumstances. Expecting the matter to be resolved, he put the issue to the back of his mind – only to receive yet another letter on September 21.
He says this said Parkingeye said it had not accepted his permit as valid – and demanded a payment of £70 or potential legal action. Approached for comment, Parkingeye said it had decided to cancel the fine after a 'review'.
A spokesperson said: "Parkingeye provides a modern consumer-facing car-park management system 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. Following a review of the case we have cancelled the charge and have written to the motorist to confirm this.
"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 then we would encourage them to appeal."
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