Dublin Airport apologises after customers overcharged in ‘flash sales’ for car park spaces

Earlier this year, a “pricing error” occurred, leading to overcharges for around 4,500 customers

The operator of Dublin Airport has apologised after customers were overcharged during ‘flash sales’ for car park spaces at the airport – with €350,000 set to be returned to car park users at the busy airport.

Earlier this year, during two promotional campaigns – a Holiday Blue Flash Sale in March and a Long Term Car Parking Promotion in May – a “pricing error ” occurred, according to daa. A flat €10 per day rate was applied across all eligible dates, unintentionally overriding lower off-peak prices.

This resulted in overcharges for approximately 4,500 customers, totalling €25,000 with amounts ranging from €1 to €64, with 90% of those impacted being overcharged by less than €12, with the average overpayment of approximately €5.90.

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In total 14,854 transactions were made during the sales and 4,405 of these transactions resulted in an overpayment.

In one case, a consumer reported that the day before the sale, on 9 March, the price for 10 days’ parking was €83. However, this rose to €110 for the same dates and duration in the sale and when the sale ended, the price reverted to €83.

In another instance, a consumer booked parking for a five-day stay during the sale at a cost of €60, and the price for the same parking was €56 after the sale ended.

Affected consumers will now be refunded by daa. daa has voluntarily committed to refunding consumers the full cost of their booking, resulting in a total of €350,000 being returned to consumers. Refunds will be issued directly to consumers within the next five to 10 days.

The outcome follows a Competition and Consumer Protection Commission intervention, prompted by consumer complaints to its helpline about car park pricing during the flash sales. Under the Consumer Protection Act 2007, it is against the law to provide incorrect or misleading information to consumers about price promotions.

“We got this wrong,” Kenny Jacobs, CEO of daa said in a statement. “I want to personally apologise to every customer who was overcharged. It shouldn’t have happened. We’ve moved quickly to fix the issue and are now reimbursing everyone affected, automatically and in full.

“No forms, no hassle. We’ve also put new checks in place to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Our customers expect better, and rightly so. We’re proud of the high satisfaction levels we’ve built up, and we’re determined to maintain that trust by doing the right thing, every time.”

Chair of the CCPC, Brian McHugh said: “We welcome the swift action taken by daa following contact from the CCPC alerting it to potential breaches of consumer protection laws.

“The CCPC was able to take this action thanks to consumers who took the time to report concerns about misleading sales pricing. All calls to the CCPC helpline are screened for potential breaches of consumer protection law and drive our enforcement and compliance activities.

“The flash sales coincided with the addition of a new competitor in the airport car park market. Active competition among businesses is vital to drive choice, better service and innovation. However, any promotions need to be grounded in real benefits to consumers.”

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