AN ARMY veteran from Hereford has said he is prepared to defend himself in court after being given a fine from the car park of a Hereford GP surgery.

Adrian Barnett, of Aylestone, Hereford, was fined by Parking Eye which operates the car park at Hereford Medical Group's Station Medical Centre after attending a half-hour GP appointment.

Mr Barnett, 80, said he has tried to appeal twice but found it "impossible" to navigate the online system. 

"They like many have the arrogance to expect old people to both own and be competent with a computer to communicate with them," he said.

(Image: ROB DAVIES)

Despite Parking Eye saying the parking machine at the surgery was fully operational on March 12, the date given on the fine, Mr Barnett maintains that "the machine was not working and we were requested to give our registration number to the receptionist".

Mr Barnett has said he is prepared for the case to proceed to court and has already been "harassed with letters" from a debt collector.

He told the Hereford Times: "I am 80 years old, an ex-soldier and an amputee. I attended and parked in a disabled bay with my blue badge for the proper purpose of visiting HMG for 24 minutes only. I did not park and get on a train or go shopping.

"I think it is insidious that I am being harassed for going to see a doctor. I will defend the matter in court, but they will not give me a court date."

Mr Barnett has since transferred to a different GP due to his frustration with the car park.

A spokesperson for Parking Eye said: "There is clear signage throughout that advises patients and visitors need to enter their registration to receive one hour of free parking. The rules also apply to blue badge holders. The motorist received a parking charge due to not registering his vehicle. We would also note that the terminal was operating effectively and taking registrations throughout March 12.

"Parking Eye operates a British Parking Association audited appeals process. The motorist failed to submit an appeal highlighting any mitigating circumstances and hasn't responded to any correspondence, meaning the case has been passed to debt recovery."

Responding to Parking Eye's statement, Mr Barnett said: "I stand by what I have said. If the machine had been working, I would have used it."

A spokesperson for HMG said that the surgery can assist people who believe they have wrongly been fined.

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They said: "We are sorry to hear that Mr Barnett had problems with parking when he visited. We are not aware of any particular issues with the parking machine which patients use to register their visit on March 12.

"We understand that parking restrictions at Station Medical Centre were agreed as part of the planning process. HMG does not receive any payment from Parking Eye as a result of our contract.

"HMG is able to cancel tickets that patients receive and who have attended confirmed appointments at the surgery. We would encourage any patients who feel that they have received a ticket in error to send a copy of the ticket to our reception team so that it can be reviewed and cancelled if appropriate.

"Our ability to cancel a fine under the circumstances that we mentioned is only available to us four to six weeks after patients receive their first and subsequent fine paperwork. Once it moves beyond that it is in the hands of the systems imposed by Parking Eye. We would therefore urge patients to contact us as soon as possible if they feel that they have received a parking fine in error whilst attending the practice.

"We are sorry to hear that this patient has chosen to register at a different practice."