A meet and greet parking firm at Gatwick Airport has been described as a 'scam operator' by a user who endured a 'nightmare' experience after returning from a holiday in France. Lauren James from Worcestershire booked with iPark at the major UK travel hub but found herself and dozens of other holidaymakers stranded while trying to locate their vehicles.
Tracking Vehicles to Remote Site
Ms James said she called iPark as instructed upon landing from Bordeaux on Sunday, June 14, to request the return of her car from off-site parking. When the call repeatedly went to voicemail, 'alarm bells were already going off,' she said. She and a friend travelled to the car park where they had dropped off the vehicle, only to find another woman waiting who had been forced to stay overnight for her car to be returned.
After a while, more people began arriving at the car park. Ms James and her friend searched all six storeys of the NCP car park in an attempt to locate her vehicle. 'About this point there was about 60 people waiting for their cars - young children, families and the elderly. It was really quite upsetting,' she told the BBC. Unable to find her car, some people tracked their vehicles to a location roughly seven minutes from the airport, so they 'hopped into Ubers' to get there.
Police Involvement and Discovery
'The police were on site. There was a car with about four men and a boot was open and there was just a boot-full of car keys in individual plastic wallets,' Ms James added. Some people's cars had not been moved from the short-stay car park, resulting in fines exceeding £500 that had to be paid to exit. 'People's cars had been left filthy, muddy. Petrol had been used. People had things stolen from their cars - disability badges and service books - which is all quite bizarre and strange,' she said. Her own car was on a site with wheels covered in 'some kind of concretey-mud.'
According to Airport Parking Deals, iPark flexible packages offer a daily rate of £20 for two to 24 hours, while weekly rates average £130 for eight days. A separate £6.50 levy each way is also typically required to cover the airport access fee. Ms James booked the firm through an airport parking comparison website but has since been told by police that the site and the firm might be linked. She has not received replies from either the company or the airport.
Company Response and Warnings
iPark currently has a rating of 1.1 stars on Trustpilot, with one customer writing on June 4: 'Do not under any circumstance use this company. We were totally scammed, they didn't move my car from the short-stay car park, so I had to pay £420 to get out of Gatwick car park.' iPark's website describes its main objective as 'to provide low-cost, hassle-free, and inexpensive airport car parking options' in coordination with 'various reliable parking providers.'
Oli Bedford, head of car parks at London Gatwick, said: 'We are aware of rogue third-party parking companies purporting to offer valet or meet and greet services operating at a number of airports. At London Gatwick we are actively addressing this issue by working closely with the police, Trading Standards, the British Parking Association (BPA) and our car park operator; as well as frequently running awareness messaging and advice.' He recommended passengers book official London Gatwick parking and thoroughly research any company before booking.
The Express contacted iPark Gatwick for comment.
