Airport Parking

Posts Tagged ‘Mcdonalds’

I took a freind to Heathrow the other day, it was an early start and I had been working until quite late the night before so after I dropped him off I decided to take a break before heading back home.

I drove out of the Airport area and saw a McDonalds on the road that runs parallel to the north side of the Airport.

I sat in the car for about 10 minutes or so and then went in and purchased a meal and a drink.
The place was packed so I went back to my car and ate my food. I also did the cross word and then headed home.

I should add that whilst the inside of Mcdonalds had loads of people in it, the car park was only about 2 thirds full.

Anyway a few days later I have received a parking ticket for being there more than an hour. I don’t really recall how long I was there but it could have been a bit more than an hour. It is for £50 or £250 if I don’t pay it within 14 days.
I went to another McDonalds (local) yesterday and read the parking sign. It clearly says (In Red Letters) free parking for up to 1 hour. Then in Grey underneath it says Mcdonalds customers blah blah. So I am thinking that maybe whatever system recorded me in the London McDonalds, failed to notice that I had a meal.

What do you think on this one, is the 1 Hour limit for everyone, or should I have been ok because I purchased a meal at the time?
Tex K

Thanks for that, I get the point, and I certainly understand that Mcd would not want people using the car park as a cheap place to leave the car whilst they fly wherever, however whilst I did not read the signs at this Mcdonalds, I did read one in my local and it has the rules in both red and grey banners. The red states free parking for 1 hour, the grey starts by saying Mcdonalds customers, I think it reasonable to interpret this as being 2 sets of rules, I would have fallen into the latter and having read the rest of the sign nothing is mentioned as a time limit for a customer.
I accept your points, but whilst the nature of the busines is fast turnover, and an hour probably is enough for most to consume a meal I did not pick up my order for nearly 25 minutes after I went into the store and had been parked for 10 before I went in, so in this case I took longer than an hour. I will advise that I am contesting and see what happens, but thanks for a good answer.

Macdonalds has a huge problem with non patrons using their car parks so they have introduced this one hour time limit for customers to purchase a meal eat it and then leave,Which is not unreasonable .You I imagine have been caught by number recognition exit/ entry cameras and have exceeded the 1 hour limit .You only need to exceed this time by 1 second,though most have a five or ten minute leeway,for a ticket to be issued.Because profit margins are quite tight in fast food outlets they rely on quick turnover of customers and keeping the car park half empty entices people in .The second problem you may have is the parking control company are separate to MacDonalds so will probably only be paid a nominal fee and make their money from over stayers like yourself .You need to read the penalty notice but if you lodge an appeal I believe the 14 day period will be extended until the issue is resolved.The ticket is also a civil matter so you are not breaking the law by not paying but the company could take you to a civil court and you would then be forced to pay the fine plus their costs which would be far higher than the original fine.If these restrictions were not in place the macdonalds car park would be full of holidaymakers leaving their car for free for two weeks all for the price of a big mac .They may be unlikely to take the case to court or if they do will not turn up and you will win but you will have to attend so lose a days pay and time and you will be unlikely to be awarded costs .Parking is a contentious issue but without rules and restrictions it would be chaos, Next time you will know

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I am picking up from Terminal 3 at Heathrow and want to arrive in plenty of time but the parking charges at the airport are too expensive. Is there a good place nearby I can wait and get a coffee etc without parking fees?

There are a couple of McDonalds on the Bath Road which forms the Northern boundary of the airport you can wait in one of those and either will allow you to drive into T3 pick-up in around 15 minutes.

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Technorati Tags: 15 Minutes, Bath Road, Coffee, Heathrow, Mcdonalds, Northern Boundary, Parking Charges, Parking Fees, Plenty Of Time, T3, Terminal 3

Hello, where can a wait to pick up a passenger from LGW - North terminal I believe. I know airports have parking restrictions so all advice gladly received. Ta
Greenric, that’s fantastic. Can you tell me what road the McDonalds is on?

The short term car park, or if you are in contact by phone with the passengers, then wait at the Mcdonalds which is 3 minutes away.Then drive to the ‘pick up/set down’ zone when they are out of the terminal.

The Mcdonalds is on the Ring Road North - there is also a BP garage right next to it.

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