Gatwick issues warning over rogue parking firms

Gatwick Airport is warning customers to be careful when booking meet-and-greet parking services

Gatwick Airport has warned travellers to be aware of rogue meet-and-greet parking companies ahead of the Christmas and New Year holiday.

The airport said there had been a 250% increase in complaints about unscrupulous meet-and-greet firms this year.

In one incident, a woman from Hove, East Sussex, described returning from a holiday to find herself and other customers stranded without their cars.

Fiona Bugler said when she was taken to her vehicle she found it had been used while she had been abroad.

She told BBC Radio Sussex: "The instructions were to call when you arrived in the baggage area. When I called, the woman said, 'It's not going to be ready, it will be an hour and a half'.

"I said, 'What do you mean?' She said, 'It's raining, what do you expect? Go and get a coffee'.

"I said, 'That's not acceptable', and she just hung up.

"I went to the meeting point and found six or seven others in exactly the same situation, waiting."

Ms Bugler said a car eventually arrived after an hour, which she said had cans strewn across its floor.

And when she was driven to her car in a field near Crawley, she was unhappy with the state she found it in.

"Half a tank of petrol had gone and clearly the bluetooth had been used," she said.

She said the radio channel had been changed, the car was muddy and the seat had been pushed back.

The airport says there is nothing it can do to stop firms using its name

Oliver Bedford, the airport's director of parking, said: "Although they often have Gatwick in their name, we have no relationship with these operators.

"Legally they can operate on the airport as long as they don't break our bylaws.

"Do your research. Have they got legitimate reviews on independent review sites? Have they got contact details that go beyond a mobile number? Are they listing their company information?"

He also advised customers to look for accreditation from bodies such as the British Parking Association or trading standards.