I called welfare people today.  They called me back in the afternoon to tell me to ignore the letter what I received from them yesterday.  This is a good thing.

I know what your goin g through increpatio. I going through similar experience myself. Hopefully not for much longer. I want to buy the EMI VW and Elgar box sets!!!

Here is what I think I would be right in terming a classic or even first-rate Grumpy Old Rant.

The day before yesterday I had an appointment at outpatients at my local hospital (nothing serious) at 4.10 pm. I turned up about half an hour early and paid for two hours' parking in the hospital car park (pause for reflection as to why one should have to pay to park in a hospital car park; answer: while the actual doctoring part of the NHS seems not to have been privatised, everything else clearly has, and is therefore done in the most mediocre, money-grabbing and mean-spirited way possible). Round about the time of my appointment I was told that the consultant I was supposed to be seeing had earlier been called away to an emergency and appointments were running about ninety minutes behind schedule. Luckily I has a book to read. Eventually I had my appointment, but arriving back at the car I found two gentlemen writing out a parking ticket, with smiles on their faces.

I should refrain from further comment for now I think. I have of course appealed against the parking fine and shall no doubt report back subsequently.

How infuriating, Richard. The very best of luck with your appeal. I quite agree re having to pay to be able to park in hospital car-parks - it's absolutely disgraceful.

It's blatant and deeply cynical opportunism. They have a captive audience and probably take full advantage of the fact that Out-Patient clinics invariably run late due to understaffing and, oh don't get me started!

Go fpr the throat, Richard!!

I don't think they were stationed there, since once my ticket and another one had been served (on the only two vehicles left in the car park by this time) they disappeared back into the adjoining building where they had presumably come from and where their tea was presumably still warm.

So I have written to them enclosing photocopies of my pay-and-display ticket, their parking ticket and my appointment letter and I hope that will be enough. I can do that because I can write a reasonably articulate letter, I have access to a photocopier and I'm not prevented by illness from having the time and energy to pursue the matter. No doubt this happens regularly to people who aren't so lucky.

I should have thought that faced with a strongly-worded appeal that looks as if it means business, they are quite likely to cave.  It's cheaper than pursuing you through the courts.  That what Transport for London tend to do with parking tickets and the congestion charge.  But of course, as you say, you have the advantage of having the resources (in the broadest sense) to make a fuss.


The parking is bad enough but the absolute limit is the bedside phone service that some hospitals provide.  When my father was in hospital for an angioplasty following a suspected heart-attack a couple of years ago, he was provided with one which not only charged premium rates for outgoing calls, but for incoming calls - while of course the hospital maintains the fiction that mobiles will interfere with equipment.

Pure profiteering. No wonder people don't trust politicians who claim that the NHS is safe in their hands.