A holidaymaker was left dumbfounded after being stung with a £870 parking charge flying back to the UK from his honeymoon in Egypt.
Scott Avery booked parking at an airport before his two-week romantic trip with his new wife. As it was a special holiday the 51-year-old opted for the Meet and Greet option and dropped his car off at the airport on May 30.
However, unknown to Scott and his wife, they had parked their vehicle in the wrong area. After arriving back from Egypt the pair were aghast to find a bill of almost £900 on the parking ticket machine.
Scott, initially paid £120 for the Meet and Greet parking option through the AA app. He said when the couple arrived at Manchester Airport, they were instead ushered to Terminal 2 West Car Park where they took a token and went on holiday.
Using the same token to check out when they returned on Tuesday, (June 14), Scott’s initial bill was an eye-watering £870, LancsLive reports. Manchester Airport has since waived the bill as a gesture of goodwill as he had a Meet and Greet booking in the system.
Speaking on Tuesday, Scott, from Burton-on-Trent in Staffordshire, said: “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 carpark was full, the man at the barrier said ‘you can’t come in here mate, its 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 b***dy hell is that?”
Luckily for Scott, a quick call with Customer Assistance meant that he could explain he had pre-paid via the AA app for the Meet and Greet parking and did not have to pay the £870 bill he was fronted with.
To explain the extortionate mishap he passed over his name and vehicle registration with the Meet and Greet booking. The fee was reset and he was given a new token to depart with, according to Manchester Evening News.
“I wouldn’t have paid it,” he said, “not a chance I would pay that.”
The airport’s ‘Meet and Greet’ option promises customers that they not need to ‘worry about finding a space’ as staff will take care of their vehicle and parking so that they can get on with checking-in.
Scott said everything ‘ran like clockwork’ at Manchester Airport during his travel to Egypt but hopes others won’t fall for the parking mishap.
He added: “We were already warned about it before we got back which was good because if I’d have got back and that would have come up, my head would have fell off.”
On their website, Manchester Airport offer several options for parking with prices beginning at around £75.99 if you book in advance and bus transfer direct to the terminal.
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.”
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