£100 hospital parking fine for angry Rugby woman injured in hit and run accident

A woman injured in a drink drive hit and run incident is angry after being ordered to pay a parking fine at Rugby’s Hospital of St Cross.

Angela Burt, who needs regular trips to the hospital for physio and pain relief, said the machine was faulty and wouldn’t let her pay.

She now has to pay £100.

Angela said: “I’m really annoyed because there is absolutely nothing near the parking machine to tell you of alternative ways to pay. There’s no help button either.

“I don’t want anyone else to have the same problem as me. Also, I looked when I went last week and tried to download the app, but it just buffered because the signal is not great down there.”

Angela has had regular appointments at the Barby Road hospital since the accident five years ago.

"I always pay them if I’m over the free half hour,” she said.

"Innocent people are being punished because of their faulty equipment. It’s just not fair. I’d hate anyone else to get caught out.

"The equipment was faulty and I looked for details on who to contact and couldn’t find any details. The ‘pay here’ sign is where I went to and I never really thought about other options. I did look for a phone number or button to press to speak to someone but there wasn’t anything, so that’s why I tried again and took the photos to prove I tried, but they still want me to pay.”

A Parkingeye spokesperson said: “Parkingeye has partnered with Hospital of St Cross in Rugby since 2020 to significantly improve how its car parks operate.

“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 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.

"The car parks feature prominent and highly-visible signs providing information on how to use the car park responsibly, including guidance that patients and visitors have a 30 minute free-stay and that tariffs apply thereafter. Payment can be made before exit using one of the user-friendly payment kiosks or through the paybyphone app.

“The motorist received a parking charge after parking for just over an hour and not making a payment, despite the machine providing instructions on how to pay and having the further option to pay by phone.

“Parkingeye operates a BPA (British Parking Association) audited appeals process, which motorists can use to appeal their parking charge.

“The motorist’s appeal was unsuccessful due to not providing any mitigating circumstances for breaking the rules of the car park. This decision was further reviewed and upheld by POPLA, the independent appeals service.”