A private firm monitoring patient car parks across the district has been accused of distressing elderly motorists after hitting them with "unfair" fines and threats from debt collectors.

Smart Parking UK, which has NHS contracts in Canterbury, Whitstable and Faversham, has been criticised for its contentious enforcement tactics.

Many patients have been hit with tickets after GP appointments overran, with one 81-year-old woman receiving a letter threatening court action if she did not cough up £160.

GP surgery staff have even been reduced to tears as they deal with the many complaints and help patients with the arduous appeals process.

Margaret and Colin Lofting, who live in Boughton-under-Blean, received a letter from debt collectors after making an emergency visit to their GP in Newton Place, Faversham on April 20.

Mrs Lofting, 81, who uses a wheelchair and suffers problems with her heart and lungs, left the surgery just over two hours later.

The couple left their registration details at reception, as patients who overrun the allotted hour for parking are required to do, but two weeks later they received a £60 fine in the post.

When they appealed, they received no acknowledgement from Smart Parking, but then received a letter from Debt Recovery Plus increasing their costs to £160.

“It’s a real worry - I haven’t got the money to go to court for something like this,” Mr Lofting said.

“I sent the appeal off straight away, to the address printed on the note, and we never had acknowledgement.

"They seem to be the jury, the judge and everything else, this company.”

The Loftings’ fine was finally cancelled five weeks later when the surgery intervened on their behalf.

The couple’s son, Andrew, said: “There’s no rhyme or reason to it. I don’t think it’s fair. My parents shouldn’t have to feel like criminals.

“My father has just had a cataract operation and can only see out of one eye. My mother has heart and lung problems, she’s very poorly.

“They were being told to pay £160 or go to court. You can imagine the stress.

“Why doesn’t the surgery employ a few people who can manage and run [the car park]?

"The reason is that fat cats can take cream off the top of it. They don’t care about patients.

"They have got a job to do and that’s to make as much money as possible.”

Diabetic Victor Ride, 72, from Rough Common, was hit with a £60 fine after visiting Canterbury Health Centre in Old Dover Road.

"I don’t think it's fair... my parents shouldn’t have to feel like criminals" - Andrew Lofting

Number plate recognition cameras operated by Smart Parking had clocked Mr Ride leaving the centre after the 90-minute limit had expired because his double appointment had run late.

“I didn’t even know there was a camera there,” he said. "I don’t think it’s right.

“This is the NHS. I’m fortunate I can afford to pay it, but obviously some people can’t.

"They’re going to worry and it’s going to make their illness worse.”

Mr Ride’s fine was also eventually cancelled, but only after he went through a ‘long-winded’ appeals process.

“I think it’s wrong that a doctors surgery should be putting up cameras.

"If I hadn’t shouted, I think I would have had to pay the £60.

“I understand they have problems with parking there, but I think they should be able to manage it themselves.

"The company that’s installed the cameras are going to be making money.

“If the practice installed a parking meter and then gave patients the money back, that would work better.”

In Whitstable, Barbara and Tony Pogson, who are 60 and 78, were hit with a £60 fine after overstaying the 75-minute time limit at Whitstable Health Centre.

Mrs Pogson had driven her husband, a blue badge holder with heart problems, to the centre before it opened on April 27 in the hope of securing a same-day appointment.

After seeing a doctor, the time limit had elapsed but Mrs Pogson forgot to leave her car registration details with reception, as required.

“I had so many other things to do that when we were leaving, it slipped my mind,” she said.

“It was difficult enough getting Tony down there in the first place.”

When Mrs Pogson, who is dyslexic, contacted Smart Parking to explain what had happened, she was told she had to appeal in writing.

The couple only had their fine rescinded last week after town councillor Colin Spooner - the Lord Mayor of Canterbury - wrote to the company on their behalf.

Claire Boraston, a manager at Newton Place Surgery, says the practice is planning to meet with Smart Parking to address these problems but is not currently considering cancelling its contract.

“We are terribly sorry that patients have had these negative experiences," she said.

"We never wanted to put Smart Parking in, but because of the difficulties we were having with our car park we had no choice.

“We had a physical assault, we had ambulances not getting in and out, and we had GPs trying to do home visits getting blocked in.

"We have had none of this since Smart Parking has come in.

“We did try putting polite notices on cars, but we got a lot of verbal abuse and shouting, which our staff shouldn’t have to go through.

"We did look at other parking companies and overall, [Smart Parking’s] complaint rates were the lowest.

"We never wanted to put Smart Parking in, but because of the difficulties we were having with our car park we had no choice" - Claire Boraston

“The flow through our car park on the whole is much better, and from the point of view of patient safety, that’s paramount.”

A spokesman for NHS Property Services, which manages Whitstable Health Centre and Canterbury Health Centre, said: “Parking management systems are needed at Whitstable, Canterbury and Faversham to ensure commuters, shoppers and tourists do not use the free spaces needed by patients and staff.

“Clear signage has been installed at all locations and since the systems were introduced, patients and staff have reported finding it easier to find a space as motorists are no longer misusing the car park.

“We do look into individual cases with Smart Parking and ask for charges that have been incorrectly issued to be rescinded.”

A Smart Parking spokesman said: “We do understand parking enforcement can sometimes be contentious.

“We are members of the British Parking Association (BPA) and strictly follow its guidelines.

“As part of this we operate an externally audited appeals process and we would encourage any motorist who feels they have incorrectly received a charge to contact us.

“In the cases of Mr Ride, Mr and Mrs Pogson and Mr and Mrs Lofting all have used our appeal process and after investigating we have cancelled their charges.”

Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield, who says she has received complaints from constituents, has questioned why the NHS is using Smart Parking, which was last week lambasted on BBC's Rip Off Britain.

She said: "It is going to be a profit-making company.

"Everything about going to hospital or a doctors is stressful without having to fork out a load of money.

"I do know that some surgeries are revisiting and looking at ways to make it easier.

"People cannot afford the fines and it is not OK.

"Someone is making a lot of money out of this. It's privatisation."

Faversham MP Helen Whately said: "If there's a pattern, where there are lots of cases of people who feel they are being pursued for money that they don't owe, being fined inappropriately, or not being listened to, that would be a concern.

"If it became something that was affecting lots of people the GP ought to consider who they are using as a contractor.

"But they're just trying to make sure that people don't use their car park and use it to go shopping."