TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE AT O. R. TAMBO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

I parked my car at O. R. International Airport on the 18 December 2020 till 10 January 2021, more or less 3 weeks in total. I parked there the previous year as well and ended up paying not more tha R600 for 3 weeks.

Came back yesterday and proceeded to pay for my ticket and was shocked to see an amount of R3230 i have to pay. I cancelled the ticket and ask the security guard where the parking office is. I went to the office and explained to the lady on duty that there must be a mistake on this ticket because I've left my car here for 3 weeks. She told me I parked on the wrong level and it is not the longstay level. Furthermore she told me they don't give discounts and pointed out a poster that says 'no discounts'. I told her i don't want a discount I want the price to be corrected as to my understanding I should not be paying R3230. She continued by saying there is nothing she can do I have to pay that amount.

She also told me I should have read the notices when I parked the car. I told her on that day it was raining heavily and did not read any notices. Furthermore I left my car at Lanseria Airport before and when the longstay parking was full I was told I can park in shortstay parking as the parking meter will automatically detect that I'm parking for long and thus the tariffs will be calculated as for longstay. It does not work apperently like that at O. R. Tambo.

I requested to speak to a mananger and was then told it is Covid and she is the only one working. After much debacle I was eventually put on the telephone with a supervisor. I stated my case but this supervisor said sorry I must pay my R3230. I requested a manager and she said she can only give men email address. Furthermore i was told if I don't want to pay the amount I can leave the car but will have to pay for the extra the days I would leave the car as well.

This was so frustrating for me. I ended up crying as I left the parking office. This lady kept on saying no discounts as if I want a discount. I am just a student nurse working in Sandf. I came from leave as my home is Cape Town and don't have the money to pay R3230 for a parking ticket. I even suggested that I will pay the amount but can we make arrangements for me to pay it off. Again I was told no. I feel this was so unfair towards me, especially in the current financial climate our economy and country is with Covid-19. I had to borrow the money after calling a family member to get my car released. The personnel of O. R. Tambo is so unempathetic. Imagine a healthcare worker or myself being unempathetic towards a patient. I actually feel like taking my experience to the media.

I will try and not use O. R. Tambo International Airport in the future because of my bad experience.