I’m furious after being fined £150 for an unpaid airport drop fee – I didn’t even stop my car it’s so unfair

A DAD was threatened with lawsuits over an unpaid airport drop-off fee when he didn’t even stop his car.

Gary Marshall, 62, has been ordered to pay £150 for missing the £5 charge or being dragged before a judge.

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The coffeeshop owner, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, said: “It’s called a ‘drop-off fee’ and I would expect to pay it if I had used it for that purpose, but I didn’t.

“We missed the sign and there was no way to turn around or back up, so I literally had no choice but to go down the ‘drop off’ lane.

“The fact that you can be taken to court for a split second miscalculation seems very harsh.

“It’s totally unfair and shouldn’t be allowed.”

Gary and his wife brought their daughter Caitlin, who is studying violin at the Manhattan School of Music in New York, to Heathrow Terminal 5 around 8 a.m. on January 11 last year.

They looked for the short-stay parking lot, but missed the turnoff and eventually drove through the exit zone.

Finally they found the parking lot, said goodbye to Caitlin and paid the parking fee.

But months later, Gary received a letter from APCOA Parking asking him to pay £80 for not paying the £5 levy fee.

He appealed the fine, arguing that he had not intended to use that lane and had not stopped his vehicle, but this was denied.

In October he received another letter from Debt Recovery Plus saying he now had to pay a £150 fine or risk a court case.

Then, four weeks later, a “last chance” offer was made as legal action was “imminent”.

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Gary, who drives a red Audi, said he would never pay for anything he doesn’t use and would like to challenge the charges in court.

He said: “That was a real mistake. I wasn’t aware of the fact that we broke the rules.

“This is a hefty fee and involves going to court for something so trivial.

“It could potentially ruin someone’s business, life or livelihood.

“My daughter’s school is only partially funded and my wife is waiting for a heart transplant so she’s going to lose a lot of her income so we really don’t need that.”

After being contacted by The Sun, APCOA reversed Gary’s fine “in good faith”.

A spokesman added: “We will use this as an opportunity to investigate the case internally as part of our ongoing commitment to continuous improvement.”

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