DAA to repay €350k after Dublin Airport car park customers overcharged in misleading flash sales

 Full car park at Dublin Airport. Picture: Stephen Collins /Collins Photos.

More than 4,000 customers who parked at Dublin Airport earlier this year will receive refunds after being overcharged during “flash sales” for car park spaces.

Airport operator DAA told Ireland’s consumer watchdog that the overpayments resulted from its own errors, with €350,000 set to be returned to affected customers.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) said it received several complaints about the issue, which arose in March and May.

One consumer reported that on March 9, the day before the sale, the price for 10 days’ parking was €83. During the sale, the price increased to €110 for the same dates, then reverted to €82 once the sale ended.

Another consumer told the CCPC helpline that a 12-day stay cost €94 during the sale, compared with €80 just 15 days earlier.

The watchdog said 14,854 transactions took place during the sales, with 4,405 resulting in overpayments.

The average overpayment was €5.90, though the highest reached €64. While the total amount overpaid came to €25,838, DAA said it will refund customers the full cost of their booking.

CCPC chair Brian McHugh welcomed the “swift action” taken by DAA after the commission alerted the operator 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,” he said.

“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.” 

The first flash sale took place when Park2Travel opened on the former QuickPark site at Dublin Airport. The CCPC had previously blocked DAA from buying the site, citing concerns it would lead to higher prices and reduced service quality.

The regulator said its own research shows consumers are now benefitting from greater competition in the car park market at Dublin.

“We got this wrong, and I want to personally apologise to every customer who was overcharged," DAA chief executive Kenny Jacobs said.

"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.”

In a statement, DAA issued a sincere apology to affected customers and said it launched a full investigation when the issue came to light.

Customers should receive refunds within 5–10 working days, along with an extra discount on their next DAA car park booking.

“We identified the cause of the error and took immediate steps to put things right,” it said. “We’ve now resolved the issue and put measures in place to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”