Welcome to the Money blog, Sky News’ personal finance and consumer hub. Today, we attempt to get some money back for a reader left with a big bill after an airport parking mistake, and we report on a survey of Britons’ favourite European city breaks.
Tuesday 23 September 2025 08:24, UK
Krakow in Poland is the best European city to visit, according to a new Which? survey. 
Scoring highly for its food, drink, accommodation and transport, the holiday destination was given an impressive 92% rating. 
It was the only city in the survey of more than 1,600 people that scored full marks for its value for money, with data from booking site Kayak showing accommodation costs an average of £86 a night. 
Following closely behind was Venice in Italy, with a score of 90%. 
The city was awarded five stars for its accommodation and cultural sights and attractions, but it scored just one star for crowds and two stars for value for money. 
A one-night stay would cost £132 on average.
Tied in third place with a score of 89% were Valencia in Spain and Vienna, the Austrian capital. 
Although not short of visitors, Cologne and Dublin were the lowest scoring city destinations, receiving a score of 69%. 
Amsterdam also struggled with 73%.
“Whether you are looking for culture, art, history or top gastronomy, there are several European cities that deliver. Book ahead and choose to visit off season to secure the best prices,” Naomi Leach, deputy editor of Which? Travel, said. 
“British holidaymakers who look beyond the most famous destinations, can find great value for money in foodie escapes, such as Krakow and Valencia. Despite the crowds, classic city breaks Venice and Vienna scored highly with visitors due to their unparalleled cultural attractions.” 
Over the past two years, we’ve helped readers get thousands back in refunds and outlined their rights in our Money Problem feature, published every Tuesday. You can WhatsApp us here or email moneyblog@sky.uk. Today’s problem is…
I booked holiday parking with Purple Parking at Heathrow Airport via a website called Holiday Extras. I used the postcode provided but this kept taking me to the Terminal 3 staff car park. I eventually managed to find the public entrance for the parking and left my car. By this point I was very worried about missing my flight so hopped on a bus to the airport. When I returned, I was charged £682 for parking in the wrong place. Holiday Extras told me I was not even entitled to a refund of the original £203 I had paid them for parking.
Jas
Navigating the roads around Heathrow Airport can be stressful, confusing and expensive if you end up in the wrong place (I speak from experience).
You told me the reason for this trip was that you were taking your late husband’s ashes to India, so it was already an emotional trip.
After you eventually found the car park, when you returned to the airport and tried to insert your ticket to leave, it would not open.
It turned out you had inadvertently parked in the wrong place, even though you believed you were following the correct instructions.
It meant parking for two weeks ended up costing you £885 – a costly mistake.
I spoke to both Holiday Extras and Heathrow Airport, asking them what had gone wrong, if they felt the instructions given to you were clear enough and why you weren’t given any support when things went wrong.
Holiday Extras got back to me first.
A spokesperson said they were committed to supporting customers during challenging times.
“Upon further review of the circumstances, and in the spirit of goodwill and understanding, we have refunded the cost of the parking that Mrs Dhami booked with us,” they told me.
The company also said it had reached out to Heathrow Airport, which runs the car park you mistakenly used – but that the airport had “so far not responded to our requests for clemency on behalf of our customer”.
As for the question of signage, the spokesperson said: “Holiday Extras is a trusted provider of airport parking to millions of UK travellers every year.
“We are proud to supply accurate and detailed text, map, photo and video directions to every car park we offer, and we confirm that our directions to this car park, like all of our car parks, are comprehensive and accurate.”
You are now in the process of receiving your refund from Holiday Extras, which is proving tricky because the card is no longer active.
I also reached out to Heathrow Airport to ask why the amount you were charged was so expensive. 
It turns out you were charged the roll-up fee for long stay parking, which is approximately £38 per day. 
Had you parked in the short stay, it would have been an even costlier mistake, to the tune of £90 for 24 hours, which meant you would have returned to a bill of more than £1,200.
However, the airport did say it had reached out to you to offer you a partial refund as a gesture of goodwill.
The phrase bandied around when it comes to consumer rights is “the customer is always right” – unfortunately, in this instance, it wasn’t the case. 
But it was good to see Holiday Extras and Heathrow step up with a refund, though I am not sure how willingly that would have happened had I not got involved.
Parking in the wrong airport car park can prove costly, so the best thing to do is leave as much time as you possibly can to avoid this kind of mistake in future. 
This feature is not intended as financial advice – the aim is to give an overview of the things you should think about. 
Submit your dilemma or consumer dispute via:
Here’s a look at three of today’s biggest business stories…
BMW earmarks £200m for potential compensation payments
BMW has set aside more than £200m to cover potential payouts if regulators find that it mis-sold car loans to consumers. 
The Financial Conduct Authority is currently consulting on an industry-wide redress scheme after finding many firms broke the rules over undisclosed commission payments.
Accounts filed last week by BMW’s car finance division indicate that the carmaker is already preparing for the impact of such a scheme by setting aside £206.9m to pay for compensation claims. 
BMW previously said that it had received a “number of complaints” related to past commissions, but insisted that there is still “considerable uncertainty” regarding their outcome.
Domino’s to hire 5,000 new staff
Domino’s will hire 5,000 new employees in the UK and Ireland.
The latest hiring drive for “seasonal roles” will focus on delivery drivers, in-store staff and pizza makers, the company said.
The company, which opened its first UK store in 1985, is deemed the leader in the British pizza takeaway market.
Coca-Cola cool on offers for Costa Coffee
A small number of suitors have served up initial bids for Costa Coffee, our City Editor Mark Kleinman has learned.
Sky News understands Costa’s owner Coca-Cola and its advisers set a deadline last week for indicative offers after we revealed in August a sale was being explored disposal. 
City sources said that Apollo Global Management, which had expressed an interest in the business, decided not to submit an offer.
The offers which have been submitted are said to have been underwhelming, sources added.
The number of people who applied for debt relief orders (DROs) to help with repayments jumped to an all-time high last month.
A DRO is a form of insolvency that allows people to pause payments towards most types of debt, usually for a year. Insolvency is when a person or a business owes more to lenders than they can pay back.
A person can be granted a DRO if they owe £50,000 or less and don’t own any major assets like homes or expensive cars. 
When the DRO ends, most of your debt is written off. While this can provide a financial lifeline, DROs stay on personal credit records for six years, which can make it difficult to borrow money in the future.
In total, 4,239 DROs were issued in England and Wales in August, according to the latest Insolvency Service figures – the highest number since records started in 2009.
The previous high was recorded in June last year, when 4,191 DROs were issued.
“Debt relief orders provide a vital option for those in the worst situation with very limited assets and income, and their rising numbers reflect the reality that more households are unable to meet basic costs,” Tom Russell, president of insolvency and turnaround trade body R3, said. 
This latest surge came as overall insolvency figures jumped by 16% to 11,348 in August compared to the same month last year. 
Aside from the DROs, the figure included 622 bankruptcies and 6,487 individual voluntary arrangements – a form of debt resolution agreed between creditors and people with larger debts, who have some ability to repay them.
You can get a Santander Cycles monthly membership for half price – but you’ll need to act fast. 
The subscription for unlimited 60-minute rides on a Santander bike around London usually costs £20 a month, but if you sign up before midnight tomorrow (23 September), you’ll pay £10 for the first month.
The subscription price will go back up to £20 the following month. 
Journeys that are longer than 60 minutes will be charged at £1.65 for each additional hour. 
The offer can be redeemed in the Santander Cycles app by using the code CFD25.
The bikes are available to hire from different docking stations around the city, with a day pass costing £3.50. 
If you have a membership, you’ll get a code that you will enter to unlock any of the bikes. 
You can find out more information about the scheme here. 
A celebrity chef made headlines last week after his customer-only toilet policy left a council pondering a £280,000 decision to build new public loos.
The topic got us talking in the office, so we asked our readers if they thought pubs and restaurants should let everyone use their facilities. 
And, the results were quite mixed…
Some of you left your reasons for how you voted in the comments, with quite a few suggesting it should be down to the local council to make sure public toilets are available. 
The local authorities should build public toilets! Not businesses 😒
Sivarajah 
No. It costs them to operate and maintain. Implore local councils to provide them.
Sam 
Honestly the real solution is not relying on pubs to let strangers use their toilets. The UK needs taxpayer funded public toilets scattered throughout cities and towns, equipped with self cleaning technology and accessibility features for people with disabilities. This would make public spaces safer, cleaner, and more dignified for everyone instead of forcing people to rely on businesses or resort to unsafe alternatives.
Adnan 
What I find disgraceful, is the amount of public toilets which one must pay to use… that is unacceptable. People shouldn’t have to go to pubs and restaurants to use the toilet, there should be FREE public toilets consistently across cities. 
Louie 
One of you said denying people access to toilets was about keeping people safe… 
I answered “no”. It’s not about refusing the general public access to the toilets. It’s more about safety and liability. It’s the monitoring and maintenance and crime prevention. There’s a lot more to consider in public awareness of environmental issues.
Christopher 
But some of you disagreed, and said toilets should be open to everyone… 
As a father of a very thirsty young boy, its a pain in the arse when we struggle to find public toilets on days out.
Thomas
Everyone who walks through the doors of a hospitality premises to only use the toilet are potential future patrons, so should be treated as such!The key word here being hospitality.
Paul 
It’s up to the pub itself of course; allowing non customers to use the facilities is inclusive, thoughtful and welcoming. I certainly would appreciate it and would definitely become a paying customer.
Naqib 
I think pub toilets should be open for all, as they are part of the community. Restaurants, if more formal, I can understand not being open to all (I expect ‘restaurants’ like McDonald’s to be more relaxed ☺️)
Sarah 
And some of you thought people should be allowed to use the loo, as long as they buy something… 
Grab a pint after it!
George
Why should clients subsidise non clients ? Let them buy a drink too!
@VanlifewithAlan
Just charge for entry, sometimes people really need to go. 
@Dupiz420
Dublin Airport has loosened its security rules, allowing passengers to leave liquids, gels and electronics in their hand luggage.
Passengers will be able to take as many liquids as they like in their cabin bags, and the limit of 100ml per liquid or gel has been increased to 2 litres.
There’s no longer a need to place them in a clear plastic bag. 
Dublin has made the change after becoming the latest airport to fully switch over to new cutting-edge scanners 
Removing certain items from carry-on bags before pushing them through scanners became a fixed airport ritual for flyers worldwide after safety regimes tightened in the early 2000s.
Passengers will still have to remove belts, jackets, and other clunky clothing as well as all items from their pockets.
Many parents don’t realise they can get up to £2,000 a year for each child to help with the cost of childcare – totally separate from the government’s 30-hour scheme that was expanded this month.
Register for Tax-Free Childcare and you’ll get an account you can use to pay for care for children aged up to 11.
For every £8 working parents pay into the gov.uk childcare account, the government automatically tops it up by £2, up to £2,000.
Some 1.3 million families are eligible, but around 800,000 aren’t taking advantage of this benefit.
“There’s still a huge awareness gap,” says Chloe Phillips, financial planner at The Money Makeover.
“I’m always surprised by how many parents I speak to think the scheme ends once nursery is over.”
To take part, you simply transfer 80% of the required amount into your Gov.uk childcare account, where it is automatically topped up with the remaining 20%. 
This account is then used to pay for your childcare. Lots of childcare venues link up their own apps to the account to automate monthly payments.
Some 75,000 childcare settings accept Tax-Free Childcare as payment, including nurseries, childminders, and clubs.
Am I eligible?
Children stop being eligible on 1 September after their 11th birthday, unless they have a disability, in which case their parents receive up to £4,000 a year until 1 September after their 16th birthday.
Parent/s must earn at least the minimum wage for 16 hours a week on average.
Those receiving universal credit or childcare vouchers  are not eligible, and neither are households in which a parent earns more than £100,000.
That’s not your total household income – if each parent earns £99,000, they’re still eligible.
“I see far too many parents miss out on tax-free childcare, not because they’re ineligible, but because they don’t realise how ‘adjusted net income’ works,” says Philly Ponniah, chartered wealth manager at Philly Financial.
Adjusted net income refers to an earner’s total taxable income before their personal allowance is deducted.
This figure includes things like money, shares and dividends, but does not include pension contributions.
More factors affecting your adjusted net income can be found on the government website.
What if you’re on maternity/paternity/shared parental leave?
If you’re on maternity or statutory family leave you can claim for older children – but not the child you’re off work to care for.
Eligibility for the latter is limited to the last 31 days of leave.
What if you decide not to use the money for childcare?
If you withdraw funds, the government will take back its £2 top up for every £8 withdrawn.
Restaurants are being forced to think differently to cater for people taking weight loss drugs, a twice Michelin-starred chef has said. 
Atul Kochhar said he launched a small plates menu to give customers the choice to pick fewer courses or smaller portions after seeing the rising popularity of drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro. 
“About a year and a half ago I started thinking that there will be people who come to your restaurant who say I’m on a weight loss drug and don’t want to eat too much,” the TV chef told the Go To Food Podcast. 
“But [they] still want to go out to eat – we need to cater for that. About six months ago we started a small dishes menu so that people are not forced to eat five or seven courses. People can chooses two or three dishes.”
It’s just one issue impacting restaurateurs in a difficult market for hospitality. 
Kochhar went on: “We are being made to think differently and this is the time that as an entrepreneur, you are standing on a ball, and you don’t know what way it will slide, which way it will go, and you’re trying to keep your balance.
“It is the toughest [time] I have seen, to be honest.” 
Last week, celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal launched a scaled-down version of his tasting menu at The Fat Duck to offer an alternative to those on weight loss medication. 
A total of £3.7bn was paid in inheritance tax bills in the first five months of the current tax year, the latest HMRC data has shown. 
The figure is £200m higher than the previous tax year, and continues an upward trend seen over the last two decades.
More people have been dragged into paying inheritance tax due to thresholds being frozen until 2030. 
Any estate valued at more than £325,000 is subject to inheritance tax, which is charged at a standard rate of 40% on anything over the £325,000 tax-free sum. 
“Inheritance tax continues to be a cash cow for HMRC. As things stand, inheritance tax may only affect around 1 in 20 estates, but that number is on the increase as an ever greater number of estates become liable for the most hated of taxes,” said Nicholas Hyett, manager at investment firm Wealth Club.
“Years of freezes in thresholds, matched with increasing house prices and rising inflation, have pushed more families, who might not consider themselves to be wealthy and would not historically have qualified for the tax, over the threshold.” 
You can read more about inheritance tax relief and exemptions below…
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