A taxi driver has told of his horror at being charged more than £3,000 for stopping three minutes to drop off passengers at Manchester Airport.
Mark Connor, Tuebrook, Liverpool, had taken people from Liverpool City Centre to Terminal One at Manchester Airport on December 1, and it was there he briefly stopped in the drop-off zone.
After heading off on another job, Mark checked his bank account and was shocked to find he'd been charged over £1,000 per minute for his short stay. It meant in total he had paid a whopping £3,132 for a three-minute stop.
"I was shocked and couldn't understand it. I thought we had enough to see us to the end of the month, and then we didn't," said the Uber driver. And he claims that when he contacted Manchester Airport about the error, they said they did not to recognise the transaction.
He told the Liverpool Echo: "I rang the airport who gave me a feedback form, which I sent back. I told them the time and the date, and they emailed saying they had no record of the transaction." The 66-year-old immediately got in touch with his bank, HSBC, and was refunded the full amount a few days later.
But Mark claims that the money was suddenly taken out of his account again without warning. He said: "We got the money back from the bank and then, while my wife was out shopping, the card was declined. The bank told me they sent me a letter about it but I haven't had one. Now I'm being charged on my overdraft."
After weeks of stress, Mark received news that he would finally get his money back. And a spokesperson for Manchester Airport has apologised for what happened. "We are sorry for the inconvenience caused to this passenger.
"We are in touch with him and arranging a refund in full as soon as possible," they said. "Thousands of passengers use our parking services every day and instances like this are extremely rare. Where there are issues we work to make sure they are resolved as quickly as possible."
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