A woman received £400 in parking fines while hospitalized, despite her family having paid for permits. Kate Matthews, 36, has been at Hull Royal Infirmary since March due to suspected intestinal failure and complications. Her father, David Matthews, stated that the parking operator, APCOA, refused to discuss the fines with the family because Ms. Matthews was the registered keeper of the vehicle, even though she had not driven it. The family received debt collection notices demanding £130 for each of the three breaches issued between June 28 and August 13, despite having receipts proving payment. The initial parking charge was £60, reduced to £30 if paid within two weeks.
David Matthews expressed frustration, stating, 'Our entire family life has been put on hold for the best part of a year and you just don’t need anyone ruining it any further.' The family was already paying £7.20 a week for a two-vehicle permit when they received the fines. After receiving the first notice in July, they found receipts showing the parking permit was valid for the vehicle. However, APCOA would not discuss the fines with the family, citing GDPR regulations.
David Matthews explained that his daughter was the registered keeper due to her disability-related needs and had not driven the vehicle. The family initially kept the dispute from Ms. Matthews while she was in critical condition but informed her once she began recovering, and she was equally upset. Ms. Matthews has hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS), which has caused her health issues for about a decade. She was hospitalized after suffering from sepsis and an inflamed colon and has faced complications during her recovery.
David claimed that hospital security staff indicated that incorrectly issued fines were common. In a joint statement, NHS Humber Health Partnership and APCOA apologized for the distress caused and confirmed that all charges had been canceled, stating that the usual appeals process had not been followed. However, the family insists they challenged the notices correctly. David Matthews stated, 'My message to them would be - get your act together. You should not be issuing multiple tickets to people who have paid and who are doing everything right.' Humber NHS Foundation Trust and APCOA were approached for comment.