Gatwick First Parking gone bust, cars missing.

[Shakermaker]

I'm fortunate enough to live close enough to Gatwick to avoid having to use any of these firms, and having access to the staff car park used to have its benefits as well, but I can rely on the train or a lift to the airport without any worry at all.

The airport does have an "Approved" list of suppliers that they recommend for the meet and greet drop off parking, who meet a certain level of responsibility and are checked to be operating properly, but even then a couple of those turned out not to be meeting any decent standards in busy times and were just leaving cars parked in a field for the time.

Where my mum works, just down the road from the airport, they get loads of cars left along the residential areas and have men with operator uniforms on leaving them parked, some of the residents went as far as cutting tyres on the vehicles left across their road/driveway etc.

[bad company]

Shakermaker said:

some of the residents went as far as cutting tyres on the vehicles left across their road/driveway etc.

That'll be criminal damage then.

[Shakermaker]

bad company said:

Shakermaker said:

some of the residents went as far as cutting tyres on the vehicles left across their road/driveway etc.

That'll be criminal damage then.

Yes, I am aware of that thank you Captain Obvious.

A good reason not to leave your car with a company with a dubious reputation then.

[bad company]

Shakermaker said:

bad company said:

Shakermaker said:

some of the residents went as far as cutting tyres on the vehicles left across their road/driveway etc.

That'll be criminal damage then.

Yes, I am aware of that thank you Captain Obvious.

A good reason not to leave your car with a company with a dubious reputation then.

The criminal damage is on the property of the poor sods who trusted their cars to the parking firms. They can only be blamed for being a bit naive. Obvious enough for you?

[Kermit power]

bad company said:

Shakermaker said:

bad company said:

Shakermaker said:

some of the residents went as far as cutting tyres on the vehicles left across their road/driveway etc.

That'll be criminal damage then.

Yes, I am aware of that thank you Captain Obvious.

A good reason not to leave your car with a company with a dubious reputation then.

The criminal damage is on the property of the poor sods who trusted their cars to the parking firms. They can only be blamed for being a bit naive. Obvious enough for you?

Calm down! It's not as though there is anything to suggest that Shakermaker was condoning the action rather than simply reporting it, is there?

[bad company]

Kermit power said:

bad company said:

Shakermaker said:

bad company said:

Shakermaker said:

some of the residents went as far as cutting tyres on the vehicles left across their road/driveway etc.

That'll be criminal damage then.

Yes, I am aware of that thank you Captain Obvious.

A good reason not to leave your car with a company with a dubious reputation then.

The criminal damage is on the property of the poor sods who trusted their cars to the parking firms. They can only be blamed for being a bit naive. Obvious enough for you?

Calm down! It's not as though there is anything to suggest that Shakermaker was condoning the action rather than simply reporting it, is there?

The 'anger' icon was because of the apparent criminal damage by the residents. I thought that really would have been obvious.

Edited by bad company on Wednesday 19th July 19:04

[James_B]

alangla said:

Maybe it's just my own personal paranoia, but when I've used airport parking I've deliberately picked places where I can park the car myself & retain the keys. In saying that, a previous place I used promised hard standing and the car ended up parked on grass in an overflow area. Wasn't impressed.

I park in the short-term car park normally. At Stanstead the valet parking is on-site, so I use that, but I'll never again use an off-site service.

My RS4 was returned absolutely stinking of burnt clutch, and the company involved just denied everything.

[7795]

I have had 2 bad experiences with these "cheaper" alternative parking companies. That was enough and it'll never happen again.

Some are reputable no doubt, but the majority look, sound and operate like cowboys. Next time you fly into Gatwick, look out of the windows and see all the fields filled with cars. "24hr security, covered", etc, etc...my ar*e!!

[anonymous-user]

Book a taxi, get a lift or public transport but leaving my car and keys with these people just will not happen.

[anonymous-user]

i cant imagine your insurance covers you when you don;t have the keys, i.e given to someone else.

[wiggy001]

gottans said:

Book a taxi, get a lift or public transport but leaving my car and keys with these people just will not happen.

If it wasn't so inconvenient I'd use the same approach for the supermarket too!

[BlackLabel]

The Spruce goose said:

i cant imagine your insurance covers you when you don;t have the keys, i.e given to someone else.

Some companies do, some don't.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com...

[Kermit power]

bad company said:

Kermit power said:

bad company said:

Shakermaker said:

bad company said:

Shakermaker said:

some of the residents went as far as cutting tyres on the vehicles left across their road/driveway etc.

That'll be criminal damage then.

Yes, I am aware of that thank you Captain Obvious.

A good reason not to leave your car with a company with a dubious reputation then.

The criminal damage is on the property of the poor sods who trusted their cars to the parking firms. They can only be blamed for being a bit naive. Obvious enough for you?

Calm down! It's not as though there is anything to suggest that Shakermaker was condoning the action rather than simply reporting it, is there?

The 'anger' icon was because of the apparent criminal damage by the residents. I thought that really would have been obvious.

Edited by bad company on Wednesday 19th July 19:04

I was referring to your further reaction more than the angry face...

[Shakermaker]

Kermit power said:

Calm down! It's not as though there is anything to suggest that Shakermaker was condoning the action rather than simply reporting it, is there?

This. I was indeed merely reporting what had happened, and certainly not condoning it.

It was a "big deal in the small press" issue a few years ago, you couldn't open the Crawley Observer, West Sussex County Times or The Argus in the summer without another story of owners finding their cars had been left abandoned in residential roads, despite many assurances from the parking firms that they had nice big secure compounds with 24hr security etc. But the problem became serious enough and got more notice once those disgruntled residents took it out on the cars and slashed a few tyres which yes, meant they were at risk of criminal damage charges, but also highlighted that these cars were not in the places they were meant to be and was what started to prompt Gatwick (and I assume other airports) to start their Approved Providers list.

We also had an issue back in about 2003-2004 when an organised gang cut through the fence at one of the actual secure compounds and stole around 15 vehicles in the middle of the night.

[ashleyman]

Parked an Audi S4 with the meet and greet guys at Heathrow a few years back. First of all they went to wrong terminal, so we had to wait for them to come to the correct terminal, when the car eventually showed up it was being driven extremely fast, was absolutely filthy inside and out and had extra miles on it. Driver was spoken to about his speed as we got the keys back. The company refused to talk about the state of the car or the extra miles.

Since then I've always parked it myself and kept my keys. This has worked fine at Luton & Stanstead. When I fly from Heathrow now I just get a taxi from SW London.

Going from Gatwick in August and have planned to leave my car at a family members place in Dorking and they're going to drop us off and pick us up. Really not worth the risk.

I'll never trust anyone with my keys these days.

[Kermit power]

ashleyman said:

Parked an Audi S4 with the meet and greet guys at Heathrow a few years back. First of all they went to wrong terminal, so we had to wait for them to come to the correct terminal, when the car eventually showed up it was being driven extremely fast, was absolutely filthy inside and out and had extra miles on it. Driver was spoken to about his speed as we got the keys back. The company refused to talk about the state of the car or the extra miles.

Since then I've always parked it myself and kept my keys. This has worked fine at Luton & Stanstead. When I fly from Heathrow now I just get a taxi from SW London.

Going from Gatwick in August and have planned to leave my car at a family members place in Dorking and they're going to drop us off and pick us up. Really not worth the risk.

I'll never trust anyone with my keys these days.

If you're in SW London, wouldn't it just be easier to jump on the Gatwick Express at Clapham Junction and be in Gatwick 25 minutes later?

Driving out to Dorking to then still have to drive 25-30 minutes from there to Gatwick seems like an odd choice?

[ashleyman]

Kermit power said:

ashleyman said:

Parked an Audi S4 with the meet and greet guys at Heathrow a few years back. First of all they went to wrong terminal, so we had to wait for them to come to the correct terminal, when the car eventually showed up it was being driven extremely fast, was absolutely filthy inside and out and had extra miles on it. Driver was spoken to about his speed as we got the keys back. The company refused to talk about the state of the car or the extra miles.

Since then I've always parked it myself and kept my keys. This has worked fine at Luton & Stanstead. When I fly from Heathrow now I just get a taxi from SW London.

Going from Gatwick in August and have planned to leave my car at a family members place in Dorking and they're going to drop us off and pick us up. Really not worth the risk.

I'll never trust anyone with my keys these days.

If you're in SW London, wouldn't it just be easier to jump on the Gatwick Express at Clapham Junction and be in Gatwick 25 minutes later?

Driving out to Dorking to then still have to drive 25-30 minutes from there to Gatwick seems like an odd choice?

I forget that Sutton isn't really considered South West anymore, more South but it's always funny when people just assume that a 25 minute train journey is the easiest option.

I would still have to get myself from my house to Sutton train station which is either a 30 minute walk with luggage or a 15 minute taxi ride each way.
Then get a 30 minute train from Sutton to Clapham Junction.
Then wait for and get on the Gatwick Express for another 25 minutes.
Then do the dance of getting to the correct terminal all with luggage and what would probably be a very moody wife.

Also, our flight lands quite late meaning I wouldn't make the last train from Clapham Junction to Sutton therefore requiring me to either get a taxi from the airport to home, or clapham to home.

It would definitely be much easier if I lived a 2 minute walk from my local station and landed at 6PM. We tried the Gatwick Express option a few years ago and vowed never to do it again.

Instead, I can drive 20 minutes to Dorking, park my car safely off road. Hop in Uncles car and be driven 20 minutes to correct terminal. Then on the way home, get a taxi from airport to uncles, collect car and come home. Cheaper, easier and quicker than waiting for trains and taxis late at night.

[DaveCWK]

For Stansted, you can just park for free in Stansted mountfitchet & get the train in. Fast, cheap & no hassle.

[Kermit power]

ashleyman said:

I forget that Sutton isn't really considered South West anymore, more South but it's always funny when people just assume that a 25 minute train journey is the easiest option.

I would still have to get myself from my house to Sutton train station which is either a 30 minute walk with luggage or a 15 minute taxi ride each way.
Then get a 30 minute train from Sutton to Clapham Junction.
Then wait for and get on the Gatwick Express for another 25 minutes.
Then do the dance of getting to the correct terminal all with luggage and what would probably be a very moody wife.

Also, our flight lands quite late meaning I wouldn't make the last train from Clapham Junction to Sutton therefore requiring me to either get a taxi from the airport to home, or clapham to home.

It would definitely be much easier if I lived a 2 minute walk from my local station and landed at 6PM. We tried the Gatwick Express option a few years ago and vowed never to do it again.

Instead, I can drive 20 minutes to Dorking, park my car safely off road. Hop in Uncles car and be driven 20 minutes to correct terminal. Then on the way home, get a taxi from airport to uncles, collect car and come home. Cheaper, easier and quicker than waiting for trains and taxis late at night.

I'm only just down the road from you in Ewell. That does seem like an awful lot of effort to save on a minicab fare from Sutton to Gatwick!

[tali1]

How did they go bust - given that they had at the last count 120 customers ? Would have have thought they were making a healthy profit on that -esp given free street parking
Seems Umar isalso director of Basmati Rice - has he been......cooking the books?.....................

Edited by tali1 on Thursday 20th July 21:05