I was at Hillingdon Hosp today ......... appointments ran late so I was there just over 2 hours ....... £5.00 parking fee

_________________
I do not suffer fools !!!!!

If I'm taking the wife we use the blue badge. If I'm going for myself then I use the buses. After driving 11K miles a year it's quite a nice change to get a bus and view the world instead of the car in front

E6 - U4, U4 - E6. Costs just over £4 on the Oyster Card and no parking hassles = proper job

_________________
Lets be careful out there !

That would cost £3.40 at Mt Vernon

And there-in lies part of the problem Jane. There is no way of telling if your appt is going to run late or not. More often than not they do, so rather than risk a parking fine you are more or less forced into paying an exhorbitant £5.00 which covers you for up to 12 hours. Ridiculous, nay scandalous.

Why is the new company now running the car parks at Mt Vernon ( and I presume Hillingdon Hospital ) not operating the system used at town centre car parks such as Watford and Harrow which seem to work perfectly well ? IE: You obtain a ticket upon entry, and pay on exit, the amount paid being dependant on your length of stay.

At least when shopping you can choose how long you wish to stay and consequently how much you are willing to pay to park. Not so with hospital visits/appointments, you have no such no choice. It is out of your control. The operators of these car parks clearly recognise this fact and are cashing in on it. The local health authority should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to happen.

Hillingdon does operate that system and you pay as you come out of the hospital. I don't know about Mount Vernon. The hospital I needed to go to charge for parking even if you have a Blue Badge.

I drove my son to a private hospital in Bushey a couple of months ago and the parking was free there. They even gave us free tea or coffee

Mount Vernon Hospital parking now operates a pay up front scheme/scam, so you have to guess how long you will be there. Most folk are now more or less forced to pay the £5.00 charge for up to 12 hours, because they have no idea how long they might be there for an appointment. Anything over 2 hours is £5.00.

With all due respect, I have never really understood why Blue Badge holders should be automatically entitled to free parking. I fully accept that parking for Blue Badge holders should be the most accessible means of getting from A to B., and if that entitles them to park on single or double yellow lines thats fine. But why should it automatically be free ? Being disabled does not neccessirally equate to being poor financially. Just a thought

The parking operator in full knowledge people will worry about appointments over running prices the time slots accordingly.....

They are simply trying to maximize revenue.

I rarely visit hospitals (thankfully) what are the status of these so called parking firms? Are they the same as the supermarket and McD chancers or do they (like local authority car parks) have the ability to really fine you?

There will always be an opportunity to appeal an overdue penalty (if it has been correctly levied in the first place), the hospital running late and keeping you beyond your allotted parking time (at no fault of yours) would be grounds for appeal.

Moley, I wasn't complaining about paying for car parking (even though I have a Blue Badge). I'm just grateful that I can use the disabled bays (they're often empty and near the hospital entrance)

I'm happy to pay for services I use (I just wish the parking charges weren't so expensive)