Man Stunned After Being Charged Hundreds For Using Wrong Airport Car Park Before Holiday
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A man has been left stunned after he was charged hundreds of pounds for using the wrong airport car park before his holiday.
Scott Avery was shocked after being slapped with the fine after he parked his vehicle in the wrong parking lot at Manchester Airport.
The 51-year-old hailing from Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, was returning from his blissful two-week-long honeymoon in Egypt when he was left with a large bill.
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Scott booked the Meet and Greet service in advance at Manchester Airport, but was instead directed to Terminal 2 West Car Park. Nonetheless, the married couple jetted off on 30 May knowing his car was parked safely in the area.
The ‘Meet and Greet’ service allows customers not to ‘worry about finding a space’ as staff drive the vehicle into an appropriate car parking space so that they can continue on with their holiday.
However, his relaxing trip away with his new wife soon ended on a sour note after realising they parked their car in the wrong bay, resulting in a £870 charge.
Scott said of the fine: "When we dropped the car off two weeks ago to go on honeymoon and I paid £120 to do the Meet and Greet.
“When we got to the car park, the car park was full, the man at the barrier said 'you can't come in here mate, it's full' so he told us to go to the West Car Park, ‘drop off your car keys and take the token with you.’
"So this morning, put the token in the machine and that came up, £870. I thought, ‘what the bloody hell is that?’"
Scott then called Customer Assistance, where he told them how he pre-paid for the service via the AA app.
Manchester Airport staff then waived the fee as a gesture of goodwill as he had pre-paid for parking in the system.
"I wouldn't have paid it. Not a chance I would pay that,” Scott said.
A spokesperson for the airport said: “It appears Mr Avery has inadvertently parked in the incorrect car park on arrival at Manchester Airport and gone on his holiday. Upon return on exiting the car park, the system generated what the amount would be for 14 days turn up parking.
"As he had a Meet and Greet booking in the system and as a goodwill gesture, our teams waived the turn up fee on this occasion. All our car parks are clearly signposted, and we’d always encourage all passengers to prepare for their airport journey prior to coming to the site."
