Driver reveals easy hack he used to avoid £450 airport parking charge

One motorist has revealed the simple hack he used to get out of a £450 airport parking ticket after making a costly mistake before his holiday.

The jetsetter parked up their car at London Stansted Airport only to realise too late that he'd left the motor in the wrong car park.

Flying off on holiday for nine days, the traveller only realised the car was in the wrong location part way through the trip. And with him hundreds of miles overseas, there was very little he could do to fix the error.

London Stansted Airport is where it took place (Getty Stock Images)

Initially thinking he had paid £95 for the nine days, it quickly dawned on him that he'd be left paying that initial £95 as well as a premium 'on the door' rate for the other car park.

Arriving back in the capital, he revealed he had racked up a staggering bill across the nine days. An extra £450 to pay, in fact. Eeesh.

But a bit of quick thinking from the driver saw the fee waived.

Taking to Reddit to explain what happened he posted in the BritishSuccess subreddit.

Parking at an airport can be costly (Getty Stock Images)

"Recently returned from a nine day holiday. I'd booked parking in advance as usual, and thought I'd selected the mid-stay car park, as I have done all my previous trips. Cost of around £95," he said under his @Angry_Cornflake account.

"Realised around half way through the holiday I'd actually booked in the long stay for some reason. So now I'm convinced I've just shelled out £95 for a space I'm not using, and will be charged 'on the door' rates for the mid-stay when I get back.

"Leaving mid-stay I get to the barrier... £450! F**k me! But I pressed the 'call for assistance' button and just told the guy I had booked ahead and wasn't sure what the charge was for.

"He took my name and vehicle registration and then by some divine miracle - or perhaps the guy was feeling sorry for me, or had had a long day - he just says 'sorry about that sir, the barrier should be open now'.

"You better believe I floored it out of there before he changed his mind. Lesson learned, double and triple check which car park you booked before you arrive."

Responding to his success in avoiding the fee, being up front about the issue at the barrier seems to be a successful tactic for countless other motorists who have experienced similar situations.

A whole load of cars parked up at London Stansted Airport (Getty Stock Images)

Another Redditor wrote: "Similar situation here. I was ill on holiday and ended up staying and extra three days. I didn't realise there would be an inflated daily price.

"The barrier wanted something like £120. I pressed the buzzer and explained to the woman and then suddenly they opened the barrier for me."

A user posted: "My friends recently done similar coming back from Ibiza. Got to the gate and realised they owed £450. They explained they had no money left whatsoever and the lady on the other end asked if they would write a good review on their Google page and once that's done she will lift the barrier."

And a third added: "Husband booked under his car reg rather than mine at Gatwick. Tried to get my car out, and the barrier did not open and said we owned £300. Confidently told the guy our booking reference and he opened it - but I strongly suspect he was doing us a favour."

Others said it was a strong indicator that those working on the airport car parks are just ordinary folk and that by not arguing and speaking to them normally instead, you are much more likely to get a positive response.

"It probably happens all the time that people park in the wrong car park," one user wrote. "So rather than arguing with tired travellers and trying to make them pay it's likely they just search for your details and raised the barrier."

And another said: "Believe it or not most parking attendants aren't d*cks, they are normal people doing a job, usually on minimum wage. I have found that if you're honest and polite, they will help if they can."