Airport parking: ‘I was charged £170 for stopping at a traffic light’

Britain has a new contender for the most ridiculous private motoring “fine”, with a Cardiff man being sent a £170 demand after he stopped at a temporary traffic light near the terminal at Bristol airport.

Dave Fitzheslop says he has been left incredulous after being sent a £100 demand – now increased to £170 – for pulling up at a red traffic light on his way to the short-stay car park in April.

Despite sending him photos clearly showing his car at the red light as pedestrians cross in front, Bristol airport’s parking contractor VCS has refused his appeal twice and is now demanding the inflated fee via debt collectors.

His case is one of the most absurd demands seen by Guardian Money in some time. Other contenders have included people being sent demands after paying to use electric car chargers, and even after parking while they attended a speed awareness course.

Bristol airport is by no means alone in charging drivers to collect or drop off passengers – its drop-and-go prices start at £6 for up to 10 minutes – or using private companies to ruthlessly enforce the rules, even when they defy common sense. Disabled drivers with a blue badge heading to Bristol airport face a fee of £6, although they do get a 40-minute stay.

Fitzheslop, who works in the translation business, only drove to Bristol airport that day because his wife’s flight had been delayed and, as a result, she had missed her bus back to Cardiff.

After entering the airport grounds en route to the car park, he was held up at a temporary traffic light. At that point, he says, his wife came out of the terminal, spotted him sitting there and jumped into the car.

He says when the light turned green, he drove to the next roundabout, went back on himself, and exited the airport. At no stage, he says, did he enter the allotted pickup zone or the short-stay car park.

The photos of our car clearly show I was parked at a traffic light

Dave Fitzheslop

A few days later his wife, who is the registered owner of the car, was sent a £100 demand for dropping off or picking up in a restricted zone and told it would be reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days, Fitzheslop contacted VCS to point out its mistake.

“The photos of our car clearly show I was parked at a traffic light, so I assumed that as soon as I made them aware of this, that would be the end of the matter,” he says. “Instead, they have just chased me for the money. I have appealed twice, and both times it has been turned down. It’s clear that this is just a money-making operation. It feels like a scam. What was I supposed to do – ignore the traffic light, mow down the people crossing the road? The whole thing is ridiculous.”

The couple are the latest drivers to be caught up by Bristol airport’s contractor, which seems to have a history of sending out such demands.

On the MoneySavingExpert forum there is a 10-page discussion in which people ask for help and advice after falling victim to what they describe as the overzealous enforcement of the airport’s policy. It was started by someone who said they had been sent a demand after sitting in traffic caused by a barrier malfunction. Other drivers have reported being sent similar demands that they say are absurd.

“To maintain high levels of road safety on site, red routes and a no-stopping policy are in operation across the site,” the Bristol airport website says. “Please be aware drivers are not allowed to stop, unload or park, on our road networks or red routes even if picking up or dropping off customers.”

Along with other private parking companies, the airports’ contractors can’t fine drivers. Instead, they send an “enforcement charge”, which is actually a fee for a breach of contract. Drivers, they argue, agree to their terms and conditions when they enter their premises, which are monitored by CCTV.

The parking companies were emboldened by a 2015 supreme court ruling when judges ruled that £85 was not an excessive charge for a 56-minute overstay. The judges decreed that such fees had a “useful” role to play as a deterrent but did not specify what would constitute an excessive charge.

The problem at airports comes when drivers face congestion, traffic lights or other unforeseen holdups, as Fitzheslop found.

A Bristol airport spokesperson told Guardian Money the company stands by the charge.

“Numerous signs, including at the airport entrance and along the roadways, state no stopping, dropping off or picking up. This is in the interest of airport security and customer safety, ensuring pedestrians keep to designated paths and do not walk into the road, which is dangerous,” she says.

“Mr Fitzheslop stopped directly next to one of these signs to pick up his wife, who walked into the road to get into the vehicle. Signage clearly states motorists will be liable for a charge of £100 if they contravene the conditions.

“We have a free waiting, drop-off and collection car park, which Mr Fitzheslop could have used, which has a courtesy bus that runs from the terminal every 10 minutes, around the clock.”

It remains to be seen whether the company will be prepared to present this case to a court to enforce its £170 demand. Companies send out these demands but often fail to go to court, particularly if they do not appear to have a strong case.

Airport charge for five-minute drop-off

Birmingham £5

Bristol £6

Cardiff Free

Edinburgh £5

Gatwick £6

Heathrow £5

Manchester £5

Newcastle £4

Stansted £7

Source MoneySavingExpert

Charges not currently applied at Luton because of a fire

Have airport charges increased?

In recent years, drop-off and pickup charges have become a big money-spinner for the UK’s often foreign-owned airports, and in many cases they have risen since last summer.

Belfast airport currently imposes the lowest UK drop-off charge – £3 for up to 10 minutes’ stay. Those heading to Stansted pay the highest charge – £7 for a five-minute stay – or £25 if they linger for up to 30 minutes.

Birmingham, Bristol and Gatwick have all put up charges between 20% and 25% since last summer, typically adding £1.

Heathrow, which was one of the last airports to apply the charge, now hits drivers with one of the lowest fees, £5. Users have to pay online or by phone, and the signage is not great at warning drivers of this fact.

Most airports, including Bristol, offer a free alternative, which can often be as fast as the paid-for zone. For example, at Stansted, passengers can be dropped off or picked up from the mid-stay car park for free. The driver gets up to one hour for free. It is much more relaxed; buses will ferry passengers to and from the terminal in 10 minutes, which is not much longer than it takes to walk from the drop-off zone. It has the added advantage that you are not having to manhandle heavy suitcases.

Southend’s long-stay car park is free for up to 15 minutes and is a four-minute walk from the terminal. At Leeds Bradford there is a one-hour free parking zone, which is a three to four-minute walk to the terminal. A big fire at Luton airport led to the closure of its drop-off zone, forcing people to use the free mid-stay car park instead. For plenty of users it has been almost as quick, and free. Regular travellers tend not to pay these fees, so why should you?