Three months ago I arrived at Heathrow to discover the pod parking I had pre-booked was not working. Instead of being transferred to the terminal by a pod I had to take a bus, which took longer and dropped me further away from departures.

I emailed the company to ask for a refund of the difference between the pod parking and long-stay parking. This was refused and two subsequent letters to the chief executive of Heathrow parking were ignored.

I appreciate there will be occasions where the pods are not working, but I paid for a premium service and received an inferior one. I imagine this will have affected other readers. Surely Heathrow cannot have ignored them all? AS, Winchester

Pod parking, advertised as the solution for passengers in a hurry, whisks travellers from the car park to the terminal in on-demand capsules on a monorail. Naturally, this comes at a cost. The shuttle bus leaves every five minutes and, while the journey time is similar, the price of that option would have been £20 less. Heathrow parking tells me you asked for a full refund rather than the price difference, which is why you were refused.

In fact, your letter did make clear you were asking for the difference in cost between the two parking options. And even if head office did misread it, you’d think it would have had the wit to refund you the £20 rather than issue a flat refusal. Affected passengers should be automatically told they will get their extra outlay back when the pods are out of action.

Heathrow says a goodwill refund is normal in these situations, but offers no explanation why you didn’t benefit. It has extended its goodwill to you by a payment to your credit card.

If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number.