Hospital chiefs are to change an unpopular parking system at Acre Mills in Huddersfield after being flooded with complaints by visitors and patients over alleged “overstays.”
It follows more complaints about steep fines being issued to users of the site , which is part of Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.
The Acre Mills car park is operated by Liverpool-based company Civil Enforcement Limited, which uses number plate recognition to monitor vehicles as they enter.
It means there is often a discrepancy between the time drivers enter and when they buy their ticket, which can put them over their allotted parking period.
Patients and visitors using the car park claim they are being slapped with “intimidating” demands – up to a month later – for £60 fines despite having tickets that clearly show they have not overstayed. Some have had their fines cancelled but all believe the owners are exploiting drivers’ confusion.
Now Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust has caved into pressure and announced the system will be amended.
Lesley Hill, the Trust’s director of estates, says: “We have been monitoring the parking system at Acre Mills since it was installed and listened to feedback and when our patients have flagged up issues to us we have always tried to resolve them.
“Later this year we are changing the system at Acre Mills to bring it in line with the barriered system at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and at Calderdale Royal Hospital so all our car parks operate the same way.”
Shirley Colley, 52, from Cowlersley , successfully appealed against a parking charge notice that said she had overstayed her two-hour slot.
“If they are sending out fines to people who have correctly paid and have the ticket to prove it then there is something wrong with their system,” she said.
“They are on easy pickings. They are targeting people who are in a vulnerable position.
“Elderly people receiving a fine like this would panic. It’s terrible.”
Hazel Fawthrop, 77, of Emley , said she was “aggrieved and angry” at receiving a fine when her appointment overran and her ticket ran out. She paid up to avoid extra worry.
But she pointed out that Civil Enforcement Ltd, which took a month to issue its fine, only gave her 11 days to pay as her dated fine was sent by second class post and took three days to arrive.
“People should boycott that car park,” she said. “Maybe if they are not making money they will pay attention. It’s modern day robbery. I won’t take my car there again.”
The Examiner attempted to contact Civil Enforcement Ltd via its payment line and an email address, but without success.
