£27 at Gatwick drop-off for overstay?!

Fagottissimo

i read the Newbie thread before posting this, but didn’t spot anything about LGW drop-off.
I drove my wife to Gatwick yesterday (actually, she drove) and entered the drop-off lane.  She went off to get her flight (fortunately, via Special Assistance).  I then noticed that her phone was still charging on the car.  I dashed off into the airport to try find her (fortunately she can’t walk fast), and after running around and getting an announcement tannoyed, we spotted each other at Special Assistance and she got her phone back.
i was expecting to pay £7 (ouch) so went to the website - £27!!! This really is a bit much.  What can I do? Wait for a PCN and appeal using a template (“your signage is rubbish”) appeal?

Mark_d

You knew you shouldn't have left the car there and were expecting a fine (£7).  Your issue is that the fine was a more significant amount.  Do you honestly think that's grounds for appeal?  Or are you planning on being dishonest about your reason for appeal?

fisherjim

Mark_d said:

You knew you shouldn't have left the car there and were expecting a fine (£7).  Your issue is that the fine was a more significant amount.  Do you honestly think that's grounds for appeal?  Or are you planning on being dishonest about your reason for appeal?

It's not a "fine" it's a scam invoice and where did the OP indicate they were going to be dishonest?

The most dishonest part of this process is APCOA who tell lies all through the process to make profits.

kryten3000

£7 is the minimum and gets you 10 minutes:

• £7 for 10 minutes
• £1 for each additional minute up to 20 minutes
• There is a maximum daily charge of £27 and a maximum length of stay of 30 minutes
  

Somehow you were half an hour exactly.

Luckily since this is not "relevant land" for POFA, the keeper can avoid paying anything if a PCN is issued for non-payment.

Le_Kirk

Fagottissimo said:

i read the Newbie thread before posting this, but didn’t spot anything about LGW drop-off.

It's not actually in the NEWBIE sticky but has a thread all of it's own, called Heathrow Gatwick drop off group thread.

The_Slithy_Tove

There's "being caught out", and there's deliberate "bilking". This is verging on the latter as you have until the end of today to pay the actual parking fee but are deliberating  whether not to. Your choice.

P.S. Wasn't aware the minimum has now gone up to £7. That's £1 increase for each of the last 2 years, which is a bit much, really!

Fagottissimo

I was completely unaware of the extra charges - would be happy to pay the £7