Chorley man hit with £70 parking fine while visiting seriously ill friend in hospital - despite having bank statements proving he paid the £3.50 ticket

A Chorley man who was visiting a sick friend at Royal Preston Hospital has been slapped with a £70 parking fine even though he had paid the required amount before leaving. David Sanderson, from Buckshaw Village, who had attended the hospital with another friend last December said he had paid the car park fee for his stay which amounted to £3.50 via one of the machines by entering his vehicle’s registration details and by using his friend’s credit card.

He was later sent a letter by parking company Parkingeye Ltd, who run the parking operation at the hospital, notifying him that he owed £70 for failure to pay before leaving the carpark.

David told the Post: “I visited a seriously ill friend at the hospital accompanied by another friend on Thursday, December 29, last year at around 4.48pm and left at 6.25pm so less than two hours. We used one of the payment machines by inputting the car registration and paying the £3.50 fee using my friend's credit card.

"Two weeks later I received a £70 fine from Parkingeye which I have appealed sending evidence that payment had been made by copying my friend's credit card statement with the £3.50 payment shown as PaybyPhone. The appeal has been rejected saying that they have no record of the payment and they are still requesting that the fine be paid. If this is the case then where has the money gone to?"

This isn’t the first time there has been confusion over car parking payment at Royal Preston Hospital as last December the Post reported how a Preston woman who refused to pay a similar parking fine after claiming to have done no wrong had an outstanding £20 fee notice overturned after making various complaints. The woman who wished to remain anonymous, told the Post after visiting the hospital on November 4 with her one-year-old daughter she had paid the £2.50 parking charge at a kiosk for the one hour period before leaving the carpark.

However, a couple of days later she was issued with a charge letter from Parking Eye claiming she had left without paying. The charge was also for £70, which stated it would be discounted to £42 if paid within 14 days. After appealing to POPLA - the independent appeals service for parking charge notices, the woman had her charge which was lowered to £20 overturned by Parkingeye as a 'gesture of goodwill'.

A spokesperson for Royal Preston Hospital said that from December 2018 they had introduced a new parking management and payment system at Royal Preston and Chorley and South Ribble Hospitals that replaced old barriers and pay and display machines with an automated number plate recognition system called ANPR and that if you use a debit or credit card to pay your statement will show the payment and the reference as “paybyphone”.

David has now appealed to POPLA and is currently awaiting a decision.

A spokesperson for Parkingeye said: “Parkingeye has partnered with Royal Preston Hospital for almost 5 years to significantly improve how its car park operates. 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 motorist failed to enter their correct vehicle registration when paying for parking, however, as a gesture of goodwill we have cancelled the parking charge, and a letter will be sent to the motorist to confirm this."