Meet the angry motorist repeatedly sent penalties after parking at Dudley's Russells Hall Hospital
A motorist has been left fuming after being repeatedly sent penalty notices after registering for Blue Badge parking at Dudley's Russells Hall Hospital.
Roy Sanders was sent three parking penalty notices after giving his wife lifts to Dudley's main hospital and after registering for the free Blue Badge holder parking scheme.
The car park contract operator Group Nexus claimed the number plate for the blue car had been incorrectly typed in when the couple registered it and that the company was not to blame.
But the 73-year-old, of Lynwood Avenue, Wall Heath, explained: "I'm really angry about it. I registered for an account in June as my wife is a Blue Badge holder and needs to visit the hospital often. On November 22 I parked up, went to the machine in the main lobby where it accepted my car registration number.
"I swiped the Blue Badge and the machine indicated that no fee was required for the vehicle parking and I drove off. About four days later I got a parking charge for £80.
"The same thing happened after I took my wife for appointments on November 25 and December 9.
"I tried to phone them, but you can't get hold of anybody. I have appealed the tickets every time and I'm waiting for a fourth to land on my door mat because I also visited on December 15.
"I've complained to Russells Hall about the situation and their staff have been golden about it. The problem is they have a private contractor Nexus who collects the payments and operates the automatic number plate system. It is Nexus who actually sets up your account when you register for the free parking scheme. You can amend your details once you've registered.
"With their resources I can't see why they can't check the number plates especially if the same vehicle repeatedly triggers penalties. They are quick enough sending out £80 notices. The car registration number they had on my account did not in fact exist because I checked it online. It would only have taken a simple check for them to see that. They could have then contacted me to resolve it at an early stage.
"They are blaming me for inputting an incorrect digit. We're all human and make errors, and while I can't prove it I'm sure that I put in the right registration."
"I've got the skills to take them on, but I feel sorry for the vulnerable elderly people who haven't got online resources to query tickets. They will simply cave in and pay the fee," the retired policeman said.
In response Group nexus stated: "We have now looked into this case and unfortunately Mr Sanders incorrectly registered his wife's vehicle registration mark when registering her blue badge - and therefore incurred the three parking charges. Given the situation, and with the full knowledge of the trust we have agreed to cancel all three parking charges.
"We have also sent additional information on how to update the vehicle details on the Nexus Platform so this can be avoided in the future."
Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust chief executive Diane Wake added: “We are aware of the parking issue for Mr Sanders and we are pleased that the car park operators have cancelled the fines and recognised the error was an incorrect registration. We want all our patients and visitors to have the best experience when visiting us.
"Further information on is on our website explaining how to register vehicles with blue badges. There are also instructions at parking machines at the entrances.”
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