BItaly has a new contender for the most ridiculous fine for private traffic violations: a Cardiff man was fined £170 after stopping at a makeshift traffic light near the Bristol Airport terminal.

Dave Fitzheslop says he couldn’t believe it when he was sent a demand for £100 – now increased to £170 – in April for stopping at a red light on the way to a short-stay car park.

Although VCS, the car park operator at Bristol Airport, sent him photos in which his car was clearly visible at a red light while pedestrians were crossing the road in front of it, he rejected his appeal twice and is now demanding the excessive fee through a debt collection agency.

His case is one of the most absurd demands Guardian Money has seen in a long time. Other defendants have been sent demands after paying to use electric car charging points or even after parking while taking a speed awareness course.

Bristol Airport is by no means the only airport to charge drivers to pick up and drop off passengers – drop off and pick up prices start at £6 for up to 10 minutes – or to use private companies to ruthlessly enforce the rules even when they defy common sense. Disabled drivers with a blue parking badge driving into Bristol Airport are faced with a £6 charge, despite being entitled to a 40-minute permit to stay.

Fitzheslop, who works as a translator, had only gone to Bristol Airport that day because his wife’s flight was delayed and she had missed her bus back to Cardiff.

As he entered the airport and was on his way to the parking lot, he was stopped at a makeshift traffic light. Then, he says, his wife came out of the terminal, saw him sitting there and jumped into the car.

He says when the light turned green, he drove to the next roundabout, then turned around and left the airport. At no point did he enter the assigned pickup zone or short-stay parking area, he says.

A few days later, his wife, the registered owner of the car, received a demand for £100 to leave or collect the car in a restricted area, with the notice that the amount would be reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days. Fitzheslop contacted VCS to point out the error.

“It’s clear from the photos of our car that I was parked at a traffic light, so I assumed that if I pointed it out to them, the matter would be resolved,” he says. “Instead, they just chased my money away. I appealed twice and both times it was rejected. It’s clear that this is just a money-making scheme. It feels like fraud. What was I supposed to do – ignore the light, mow down people crossing the road? The whole thing is ridiculous.”

The couple are the latest members of Bristol Airport’s contractor, which has apparently made such demands on several occasions.

There is a ten-page discussion on the MoneySavingExpert forum where people are asking for help and advice after falling victim to what they believe is overzealous enforcement of airport policy. The discussion was started by someone who said they received a reminder after being stuck in traffic due to a broken barrier. Other drivers reported receiving similar reminders which they found absurd.

“To ensure a high level of road safety on site, red routes and a no stopping zone apply throughout the site,” Bristol Airport’s website states. “Please note that drivers are not permitted to stop, unload or park on our roads or red routes, including when picking up or dropping off customers.”

Like other private parking companies, airport contractors cannot fine drivers. Instead, they charge an “enforcement fee,” or a fee for breaking the contract. Drivers, they argue, agree to their terms and conditions when they enter their premises, which are under video surveillance.

Parking companies were encouraged by a 2015 Supreme Court ruling when judges ruled that £85 for a 56-minute parking overage was not an excessive charge. The judges ruled that such charges serve a “useful” deterrent role, but did not specify what would constitute an excessive charge.

As Fitzheslop discovered, problems arise at airports when drivers are faced with congestion, traffic lights or other unforeseen delays.

A Bristol Airport spokesman told Guardian Money the company stands by the charges.

“Numerous signs, including at the airport entrance and along the roads, indicate no stopping, no dropping off and no picking up. This is for the safety of the airport and customers and to ensure that pedestrians stay on the marked paths and do not walk onto the road, which is dangerous,” she says.

“Mr Fitzheslop stopped right next to one of these signs to collect his wife, who was walking onto the road to get into the car. The signage clearly states that motorists who breach the conditions face a £100 fine.

“We have a free waiting, drop-off and pick-up car park that Mr Fitzheslop could have used. From there, a free shuttle bus leaves the terminal every 10 minutes, 24 hours a day.”

It remains to be seen whether the company is prepared to pursue its £170 claim in court. Companies send out such demands but often do not go to court, particularly if they cannot provide a convincing argument.

Airport fee for five-minute drop-off

Birmingham 5€

Bristol 6 €

Cardiff Free

Edinburgh 5€

Gatwick Airport 6 €

Heathrow Airport 5€

Manchester 5€

Newcastle 4 €

Stansted Airport 7€

Source MoneySavingExpert

There are currently no charges in Luton due to a fire

Have airport fees increased?

In recent years, drop-off and pick-up fees have become a major source of revenue for Britain’s often foreign-owned airports, and in many cases they have even increased since last summer.

Belfast Airport currently charges the lowest pick-up fee in the UK – £3 for a layover of up to 10 minutes. Those heading to Stansted pay the highest fee – £7 for a five-minute layover – or £25 if you stay up to 30 minutes.

Birmingham, Bristol and Gatwick have increased their fees by between 20 and 25 percent since last summer, which typically equates to a surcharge of £1.

Heathrow was one of the last airports to introduce this charge, and today drivers face one of the lowest charges at £5. Users must pay online or by phone, and signage does not do a particularly good job of alerting drivers to this fact.

Most airports, including Bristol, offer a free alternative that is often just as quick as the paid zone. At Stansted, for example, passengers can be dropped off or picked up at the mid-stay car park for free. The driver gets up to an hour free. It’s much more relaxed; buses take passengers to and from the terminal in 10 minutes, which isn’t much longer than the walk from the drop-off zone. It has the added benefit of not having to lug heavy suitcases around.

The long stay car park in Southend is free for up to 15 minutes and is a four-minute walk from the terminal. In Leeds Bradford there is a one-hour free parking zone which is a three- to four-minute walk from the terminal. A large fire at Luton Airport resulted in the drop-off zone being closed, so people had to use the free middle car park instead. For many users it was almost as quick and free. Regular travellers don’t tend to pay these fees, so why should you?