A student nurse fined more than £1,000 for parking offences at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee has hit out at the “unfair” court judgment in favour of the car park firm.
Connor Watson has also been hit with about £2,000 in expenses for the civil court action raised by Indigo Park Services UK Ltd, which was recently settled by Sheriff Lorna Drummond.
Mr Watson says he wants to appeal that judgment, but says his only hope is for someone to come forward and offer to help underwrite any appeal costs.
Sheriff Drummond ruled the firm was within its rights to fine drivers £40 for not having valid parking tickets, plus £96 recovery charges if they did not pay up.
Mr Watson — who received free assistance from the In-Court Advice Project based at Dundee Sheriff Court — was one of three nurses sued by the company, which is claiming more than £4,000 for parking offences, plus expenses.
Mr Watson racked up charges of £1,085, which was made up of eight separate parking fines of £40, plus eight times the recovery charge of £96.
The landmark judgment, Mr Watson says, will now have an effect on his credit rating and could affect his ability to secure a mortgage or credit cards and even mean having his wages arrested.
He also fears the ruling gives “carte blanche” to car park companies to raise penalties and send recovery charges for parking violations “through the roof”.
Mr Watson said he pointed out he challenged only the enforcement costs, not the actual £40 penalty, which he accepted was valid, adding: “While the decision by Sheriff Drummond is clearly carefully written, I am advised there are strong grounds for appeal, especially in relation to the additional £96 for each breach.
“The judgment in my view gives private parking operators carte blanche to add extra costs and not have to make it clear on the signage the amounts of the extra charges you may be liable for.
“In the small print on the signs it states: ‘You will indemnify us for our costs’, which I argued were unfair terms.”
Mr Watson believes the judgment will now open the floodgates, with hundreds of other cases paused pending the outcome of his case.
He added: “I would love to be able to appeal the decision, not just for myself, but also for the hundreds of other nurses and hospital staff that this decision affects. However, I simply cannot afford to take the risk that, if I lost the appeal, I could end up paying thousands in additional legal costs, as there is no cap on appeal expenses.”
Paediatric nurse Nicola Meachan and clinical nurse Julie Lindsay, who specialises in breast cancer care, were also sued by the company.
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