Man charged £1,000 a minute after dropping passengers at Manchester Airport

Manchester Airport Credit: PA Images

A taxi driver who was transporting passengers to Manchester Airport was charged more than £3,000 for stopping for three minutes to drop them off.

Mark Connor drove his passengers from Liverpool City Centre to Terminal One of Manchester Airport on 1 December. He stopped at the drop off zone outside the terminal, which charges £5 for five minutes.

After leaving on another job, Mark checked his bank account and realised he'd actually been charged £3,132 - more than £1,000 for every minute he was parked.

He said: "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."

Mark was charged £3,132 - more than £1,000 for every minute he was parked. Credit: Liverpool Echo
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Mark claims he called Manchester Airport about the error only to be told the airport didn't recognise the transaction.

He said: "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 contacted his bank, HSBC, about the transaction and was refunded the full amount a few days later.

But, Mark claims that "without warning" the money was again debited from his account.

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, after weeks without his money, Mark, from Tuebrook, has been told he will be refunded.

Manchester Airport has apologised to Mark for the error.

A spokesperson for Manchester Airport said: "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."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."

An HSBC UK spokesperson said: "We are grateful for the Liverpool Echo bringing this payment dispute to our attention. Ensuring the right outcome in payment disputes is important to us.

"We are happy to look into this case for the customer when we receive the appropriate authorisation and account details."

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