Niel Amos was visiting his dad who recently underwent a major operation (Picture: Niel Amos / MEN Media)
A man who drove to a hospital to visit his sick father was slapped with a fine for a car park he didn’t even use.
Niel Amos, 49, already had a lot weighing down on his mind when his father underwent emergency brain surgery at the Hull Royal Infirmary.
But his drive from Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, with his elderly mother to visit his dad recovering in hospital on November 1 ended with a £60 penalty notice.
Fountain Street car park was ‘rammed’, Niel said, and he queued for 15 minutes to find a spot to no luck.
The car park just by Hull Royal Infirmary was ‘rammed’ when Niel showed up with his elderly mother (Picture: Hull Daily Mail / MEN Media)
Giving up, he drove to a nearby side street to park his car – which is why he was shocked, to say the least, to see the parking ticket in his letterbox.
Niel said: ‘I couldn’t believe it when I received the fine, as they had absolutely no evidence of me parking at all.
‘All they had was a picture of my car entering at 1.30pm and leaving at around 1.45pm.
‘Me and my mum got there when visiting hours at the hospital were just starting, as my dad had surgery on his brain following an accident.
‘I went in the Fountain Street car park, which advertises itself as a “charity car park”, but it was absolutely rammed.
‘It’s a massive area and a lot of it is surfaced with gravel with no markings, so I spent time trying to find spaces that weren’t too tight.
‘There were people constantly pulling in and out and giving way to others but in the end, we left without finding anywhere to park.
Niel tried to appeal the fine but it was rejected (Picture: Niel Amos / MEN Media)
‘Neither I or my mother got out of the car at any point nor pulled into a space. I ended up dropping my mum off outside the hospital instead, while I found a side street to park in.’
Fountain Street car park is managed by Bank Park, which says on its website that parking fees raise ‘much-needed funds for local charities’.
Bank Park advertises on a parking metre at Fountain Street that a valid display ticket must be bought within 10 minutes of entering.
Niel’s attempt to appeal the penalty – that the congestion meant finding a space in less than 10 minutes couldn’t be done – was rejected.
The parking management company said as Niel was hunting for a parking slot for 15 minutes he would have to spend £4.
‘After my appeal was rejected, I was told I could go through a second independent appeals process but my fine would go from £60 to £100 if I didn’t pay it soon,’ he said.
‘I didn’t want to pay £100, so I paid £60 in the hopes I would get it refunded after my second appeal.
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‘What they didn’t tell me was that paying the fine meant the appeals process couldn’t continue.’
Niel certainly isn’t alone in being handed a penalty notice that he sees as unfair.
A Liverpool Uber driver was recently given a £100 fine for stopping to complain to a parking attendant at an airport car park.
Fortunately, the airport waved his ticket – Niel, meanwhile, said he tried several times to contact Bank Park about his own but never heard back.
‘I find it disgusting that they can give out huge fines to people who have done nothing wrong,’ he said.
‘Fortunately, I had the money to pay it but it’s still a fair amount to pay in a cost of living crisis.
‘I had a lot to deal with that day and it was the last thing I needed.’
Metro.co.uk contacted Bank Park for comment.
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His father had just undergone emergency brain surgery.