Amanda Burls, Emeritus Professor of Public Health at the University of London, was due to attend a spinal surgery outpatient appointment at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre (NOC) on October 23, 2025.
She parked in a designated blue badge bay, displayed her valid badge, and registered her vehicle on a tablet with a receptionist inside the hospital.
Her vehicle was later issued with a £80 parking charge notice (PCN) by operators UK Parking Control Ltd (UKPC), reduced to £40 if paid withing 14 days.
UK Parking Control signs at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre (Image: Amanda Burls)
Dr Burls appealed the charge and provided full details of her blue badge, including photographic evidence.
However, UKPC said her initial response did not include a copy of the badge and claimed a second request went unanswered, leading to the case being passed to ZZPS, a notice processing and debt resolution agency.
She submitted a formal complaint in March 2026 but did not receive a substantive response, instead prompting a GDPR-related reply that failed to address the issues raised.
Instead, she was offered the option to settle the charge for £20, reduced from £170, in what UKPC described as a “gesture of goodwill to close this matter”.
Tablet at reception at Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre (Image: Amanda Burls)
Dr Burls said: “It seems wrong to me that disabled people are being bullied into paying money when they have done nothing wrong.”
During a follow-up visit to the NOC in April 2026, Dr Burls asked staff for proof that her vehicle had been registered on the day in question.
She said this was declined and staff told her the registration system “kept breaking down”.
She also said two other patients, including one elderly lady was experiencing the same issue, with a witness available to support her account.
Now Dr Burls awaits potential legal action.
A spokesperson for Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are sorry to hear about this visitor’s experience of parking at one of our hospitals and would advise them to contact us directly so that we can discuss the matter with them.
“We work to ensure parking and payment signage is as clear and visible as possible for patients and visitors, and continue to work with our parking provider to make improvements where needed.
“Anyone who believes they have received a Parking Charge Notice (ticket) in error is encouraged to appeal with us, so the circumstances can be reviewed.”
Patients and visitors who experience issues with parking, including registering a blue badge, can contact ANPR.Parking@oxnet.nhs.uk.
UKPC and ZZPS were contacted for comment but did not respond.