Auckland Airport parking charges

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quickymart

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#301921 16-Oct-2022 07:54

Has anyone had experience disputing charges from these guys before?

Last night my return flight was delayed by Air NZ for just over an hour. I had booked to check out of the Auckland Airport car park by 8 o'clock, and it was meant to be around $90 for the duration of my park, which is fairly reasonable (a week). However upon checking my bank account this morning they charged me $188!

Apparently this includes a late fee and is dependent on the signage in the carpark itself - but half the lights in the carpark didn't frikken' work (and I didn't see any signage anyway), there was nothing in my confirmation e-mails about late fees, and the flight being delayed was totally out of my control. I was also under the impression (which I now see is possibly wrong) that the charge was by the day, not hourly or anything.

I have reached out them on Facebook to dispute the amount, as I don't feel this is fair.

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#2983242 16-Oct-2022 08:35

Why would you reach out to them on facebook? Send them an email that you are disputing the charge and say you will use the small claims court as it is not reasonable

Also contact your bank and dispute the charge

quickymart

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#2983243 16-Oct-2022 08:39

Gotta start somewhere John. But yes I'll send them an e-mail as well.

Turns out (upon checking all my cards) that I have already paid them in full for the parking for the week - albeit on a different card, hence why I didn't notice the charge until last night. The $188 is the total amount of their late fee.

I'm not letting this go, this is extortion, IMO.

I'll hold off on talking to the bank for now, give the airport a chance to sort it out first.

Edit: I sent them an e-mail as well. I don't exactly expect a swift response on a Sunday, but let's see what happens.

RunningMan

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#2983244 16-Oct-2022 08:41

Sounds similar to Wilson parking "fines".

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#2983245 16-Oct-2022 08:42

RunningMan:

Sounds similar to Wilson parking "fines".

Was thinking the same thing another one for Fair Go

mudguard

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#2983250 16-Oct-2022 08:48

This maybe a stupid question, but you definitely used the card you booked with to enter and exit?
I only ask as I use the carparks two weeks per month and it sounds very close to the casual rate, as I've mistakenly used the wrong credit card to enter twice and it was about $200 for the week.

You only find out when you exit and it prints out a receipt before the barrier arm lifts. They refunded both times. Actually there was a third time where I entered the carpark and it told me the card has already entered! It was ticking away from an error the previous month! Thankfully resolved as well.

As for an actual late fee, I've never been charged one. I usually allow about ninety minutes after landing and have had plenty go beyond it.

Honestly just email with all the details, they are ok to deal with.

RunningMan

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#2983253 16-Oct-2022 09:06

mudguard: This maybe a stupid question, but you definitely used the card you booked with to enter and exit?

This could be it. Looks like the casual rate for a week in carpark E would be $189

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Linux

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#2983254 16-Oct-2022 09:12

@quickymart So this is looking like a user error confirm you used the correct cc?

quickymart

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#2983259 16-Oct-2022 09:35

Still confirming but possibly - I made the booking but my partner (who was driving the car) was the one who inserted the card, and possibly she used the wrong one by mistake.

Anyway, their Facebook message asked me to e-mail them, which I have done already, so let's see how we go. I'm hoping it's a situation like @mudguard had.

cb1

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#2983261 16-Oct-2022 09:40

quickymart:

Gotta start somewhere John. But yes I'll send them an e-mail as well.

Turns out (upon checking all my cards) that I have already paid them in full for the parking for the week - albeit on a different card, hence why I didn't notice the charge until last night. The $188 is the total amount of their late fee.

I'm not letting this go, this is extortion, IMO.

I'll hold off on talking to the bank for now, give the airport a chance to sort it out first.

Edit: I sent them an e-mail as well. I don't exactly expect a swift response on a Sunday, but let's see what happens.

This is precisely the reason for the charge of $188 - the casual rate for car parking, not a late fee. If you used a different credit card it can't match your prepaid booking.

From past experience they have been very helpful extending car park bookings when circumstances required. There is a built in leniency period and I usually allow a extra couple of hours in case this happens. The prepaid rates are normally in 24 hour periods anyway.Try contacting them and see what they can do.

quickymart

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#2983269 16-Oct-2022 09:51

Thanks, I think this does indeed look like the casual rate - and that would make sense. I don't believe it's a late fee now, I think it's more likely this is the casual rate.

Hopefully they can see it was just a case of human error and arrange a refund for me.

Lesson learned for this one. I'll know for next time.

shk292

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#2983285 16-Oct-2022 11:14

One point - there is no more charge to leave the car park at any time up to 2359 if you're pre-booking for several days. So, with the exception of valet parking (when your car wouldn't be there when you arrive), you might as well set your car park exit time to be several hours after your flight arrival time.

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mudguard

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#2983300 16-Oct-2022 12:45

quickymart:

Thanks, I think this does indeed look like the casual rate - and that would make sense. I don't believe it's a late fee now, I think it's more likely this is the casual rate.

Hopefully they can see it was just a case of human error and arrange a refund for me.

Lesson learned for this one. I'll know for next time.

Easy enough to check if there was a receipt, it will show which card got charged the casual, and you have the pre-booked one as well.

As for lessons learned, I've been in my job nearly ten years flying twice a month and I've done it more than once! It's usually when I'm staying away for the weekend after the work trip. I book the carpark on my personal card rather than my work card, as it's easier for me to claim 5/7ths back than to try pay work back 2/7ths. And then's when I make the mistake, I arrive at the carpark at 5am on a Monday morning, put my work card in and don't find out until I use the work card again on exit and it spits out the receipt for a week's worth at the casual rate.

Scott3

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#2983568 16-Oct-2022 21:54

Email (or call) them, in a friendly relaxed way, and say you are surprised by the additional charge.

Likely they will just sort the issue out.

They did when I ended up doing a multiple entry/exit on a booking (The day of the Christchurch terror attacks, and I arrived at the airport then opted to defer travel to the Next day), they simply reversed the extra charges.

Only if that fails, you can escalate to stronger arguments, credit card disputes, etc.

quickymart

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#2983570 16-Oct-2022 22:04

I got an (initial) automated reply, saying I should hear back within three days. Hopefully they can arrange a refund quicker than that.

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#2983573 16-Oct-2022 22:20

quickymart:

I got an (initial) automated reply, saying I should hear back within three days. Hopefully they can arrange a refund quicker than that.

@quickymart You need to give them sometime to look into it and get back to you 3 business days is 100% reasonable

They did not cause the issue

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