A Dundee mother of two has hit out at the “underhand” actions of parking attendants at Ninewells Hospital car park.
Diane Fraser, of Kirkton, was left outraged when she was fined for parking in a disabled bay within minutes of taking her eight-year-old daughter Sarah to a hospital appointment.
She claims the car park warden issued the penalty which was given for an out-of-date disabled parking badge without giving her a fair chance to move her vehicle to another space.
The family are regular visitors to the hospital as Sarah suffers from a rare sialic acid disorder that affects her brain and liver, and causes learning and behavioural problems.
Miss Fraser’s 10-year-old son Jack is also undergoing medical tests to determine if he suffers from arthritis.
The 43-year-old mother has a disabled badge in her daughter’s name.
She was visiting the hospital on Tuesday afternoon to take her daughter to an appointment.
After buying a parking ticket she repositioned her car in the parking bay before getting her two children out and heading into the hospital.
On returning to the car Miss Fraser discovered she had been fined because her disabled parking badge was around a month out of date.’Pounced’While not disputing that her parking badge was invalid, she criticised the way the attendants “pounced” on her vehicle.
“I was ticked off, to say the least but not as ticked off as when I checked the parking ticket,” she said.
“I bought my ticket at 13.28, walked back to the car, moved the car back, got out, got the kids out, got my bag and moved something in the car, closed the door and locked up, then started to walk away.
“The parking ticket said that the time of breach was 13.30, so basically as soon as I left the car the attendant pounced on my car and more than likely saw me and the kids get out the car and walk away.”
She added, “I don’t dispute that the disabled badge was out of date; I am now in the process of getting a new one sorted out.
“It’s the way the guy has waited and more than likely watched me walk away when he could have shouted me back.
“I would have moved the car if he had told me. I didn’t even know the badge was out of date.”‘Underhand'”They must have seen us; it must have taken a while for us to move the car and get out. It was just so underhand,” she continued.
“If I didn’t have to park at Ninewells I wouldn’t, but with two children having hospital appointments I have no choice.”
Miss Fraser, a full-time carer, said she plans to write to car park operator Vinci Park to dispute the fine.
A spokesperson for Vinci Park said, “We take customer feedback very seriously, and customers have the chance to appeal a notice by writing to us.
“We look forward to hearing from Miss Fraser so we can investigate her claim.”