A holidaymaker who paid £66 for a week’s ‘meet and greet’ parking at Stansted Airport through compareairportparkings.co.uk ended up hundreds of pounds out of pocket. On return, the car was damaged, with repair quotes of £4,000, and the driver faced a £477 parking ticket after the short-stay car park had no record of the vehicle leaving.
Stansted reduced the ticket to £250, and later issued a £100 penalty charge notice for breach of parking conditions. The booking company refunded the £66 fee but directed the customer to the operator, which has not responded to calls or emails. Police declined to investigate, calling it a civil matter.
Consumer group Which? found that such parking companies often operate under generic names and may be linked to the comparison sites that recommend them. Vehicles are sometimes left on roadsides or in unpaid car parks. In this case, the booking involved multiple firms: Swift Meet and Greet, Airport Parking Deals, Travel Extra Deals (trading as compareairportparkings), Nationwide Parking, and Safe Meet and Greet, making it impossible to identify the contract holder.
After intervention, Stansted cancelled the £100 penalty as a goodwill gesture, reviewed ANPR footage, and refunded the parking fee. The airport has issued a cease and desist letter to Safe Meet and Greet for operating an unauthorised service and is liaising with trading standards. Essex trading standards advised customers to report concerns to Citizens Advice.
Holidaymakers are urged to book directly through official airport websites and check independent reviews. The customer still faces the repair bill and potential insurance premium increases.
