A Bury man has slammed a “predatory” parking company after he received a fine for staying in a car park next to Wythenshawe Hospital for 11 minutes while simply trying to pay.
James Murphy says he tried to park in the Floats Road car park in Wythenshawe after he couldn’t find a space in the main hospital park. The 37-year-old, who suffers from Crohn's disease, was attending a crucial appointment at the hospital to help treat his condition.
He parked his car and attempted to pay three separate ways - through contactless, by phone, and through an app - each of which failed. He then left and eventually found a spot in another part of the hospital car park, but has since been fined £60 for the 11 minutes he spent at Floats Road.
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Mr Murphy said he had been left stunned after receiving the fine. “I’m astonished that they think they can get away with it,” he told the Manchester Evening News .
“I’ve recently been diagnosed with Crohn's disease, and I had to go to this appointment, it was an important one to deal with the disease. There’s a number of car parks at Wythenshawe Hospital, but they’re often very busy and there’s quite a lot of people vying for space.”
Mr Murphy was called by the hospital when he was running late for his appointment, and explained to them that he was having parking problems. He said he was in “panic mode” when he pulled into the Floats Road car park, and was worried about missing his treatment.
He didn’t have cash to hand, so initially looked for a contactless device, which the machine did not have. After this, he called a number displayed on the side of the machine.
“I called them up, I gave them all the details, all the details appeared to be fine, and then it came through to payment. It was taking quite a while. I thought that everything had gone okay but then it said there was a problem,” he said.
Mr Murphy tried calling the number a second time and was met with the same result, so then decided to install an app.
“I had now been there for five or six minutes. I installed the app, I had to sign up and register and then put in payment details, and then by that time it had also failed on the app.”
“I just thought oh I’ve not got time for this I’m going to leave, so that was after about 11 minutes, I left and went round the corner.”
When contacted by the MEN, car park owners Vehicle Control Services said that if Mr Murphy had called their helpline, the outcome "could have been different". But Mr Murphy says he did not wish to spend longer on the phone for fear of losing his important appointment.
Mr Murphy, who makes around ten visits to the hospital every three months, eventually found a space to park in a different area, and made it to his appointment. “I thought to myself, there’s no chance I’ll be charged for this,” he added. But a couple of weeks later, he received a letter telling him he needed to pay a £60 fine for his short stay in the car park.
“I said right, well I’ll dispute it - I’m sure everything will be fine. So I went online and told them what happened. I showed them my evidence that I tried to pay twice, and the evidence that I left and actually parked around the corner.
“I basically said to them, I will not be paying the fine, if you want to take me to court you’re welcome to do that. I didn’t even use their services, effectively!”
Mr Murphy then received a second letter telling him his appeal had failed. It read: “The signs at the car park make it clear that a valid ticket must be purchased for all vehicles which park/enter the car park.”
The letter says Murphy can appeal the charge further. But if this is rejected, his fine will then increase to £100.
He said: “I think this is predatory behaviour and they’re expecting me to just pay up, which isn’t going to happen. I will be fighting it in court if I have to fight it in court. I’ll basically embarrass them because I think it’s absolutely disgraceful.”
He wants to fight the charge not just for himself, but also for other vulnerable hospital users who may be faced with similar fines.
“If I were vulnerable I would probably stress to hell and it could cause further health problems, especially if someone has got a condition, so I think it is disgusting behaviour. It’s shocking.
"It’s not just for me, it’s the principle, they’ll do it to someone else, and I’m furious. Especially now, during the cost of living crisis, £60 is a lifesaver for some people, so it’s disgusting that they even think they can try it.”
But he was keen to praise Wythenshawe hospital, saying their treatment is "exceptional".
A representative for Vehicle Control Services Ltd said: "The Floats Road Car Park in Wythenshawe is operated by Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras. Our signs on site clearly advise 'after a vehicle has entered the car park a maximum of 10 minutes is allowed to purchase a valid ticket or make payment'.
"Having reviewed Mr Murphy’s Connect Cashless account we have been able to confirm that it was his bank who had declined the transaction, most likely due to the new 3D Secure transaction requirements (an additional security protocol) introduced by banks around that time.
"Had Mr Murphy rang our helpline number, as advertised on our signs, at the time he had difficulties the result could have been different. It is not unreasonable for Mr Murphy to have considered bringing cash with him knowing he had a pre-planned appointment at a hospital and would need to make use of the chargeable car parks in close proximity. This incident may serve to highlight to readers (motorists) the importance of contacting an operators helpline where they experience issues in purchasing the parking tariff."
