Gatwick Airport: Holidaymakers ‘left out of harm’s way by parking companies – BBC News

Holidaymakers say they have lost hundreds of pounds after using two parking companies offering meet-and-greet services at Gatwick, the UK’s second-largest airport.

A passenger said she had to get a taxi home to Norfolk, which would take her almost 150 miles away, after Drive Park and Fly told her they couldn’t find her car key when she arrived at West Sussex Airport.

Meanwhile, a Galaxy Parking Limited customer said he was charged £6 every time he drove his car in and out of the Gatwick drop-off zone while he was on holiday.

The BBC has contacted both companies, which have no connection to Gatwick airport, several times for comment, but they have not yet responded.

West Sussex Trading Standards said it has received 199 complaints about a number of car park operators since 2022/23.

Kim Renyard said that when she went to pick up her car, Drive Park and Fly said her keys were “lost or misplaced.”

She said she had spent hundreds of pounds on a taxi to Norfolk, with the agreement that her car would be delivered to her home once the company had made new keys.

Although the company said they had a new key made, she said her old key set was returned with the car.

“I don’t really know what they did to my car while it was in their care,” said Mrs. Renyard.

She said she had not received any money and had paid more than £300 out of her own pocket, despite Drive Park and Fly telling her she would get the full amount back.

Richard Bowyer said he returned from a family holiday and was told that Drive Park and Fly “couldn’t remember” having his car.

He booked a hotel, but because his car was still missing the next morning, he had to take a taxi home to Hampshire, which cost him around £400.

A week later, his car was found in the short-term parking lot, exactly where he had left it with a company representative.

Another holidaymaker, Leon Palma from Southampton, booked a meet and greet with Galaxy Parking Limited.

However, he said his holiday was disrupted when he received a series of automated email receipts showing his car had been driven in and out of the Gatwick Drop-Off zone six times in the same morning while he was abroad, at a cost of £6 each time.

Mr Palma said: “It caused me stress while on holiday because I thought if anything happened to my car I would be blamed because I own it.”

West Sussex Trading Standards said it has received 13 complaints about Galaxy Parking Limited this year and nine complaints about Drive Park and Fly since December.

Richard Sargeant, manager of West Sussex Trading Standards, said: “We have had problems with various operators for a number of years.

“We have had cases where cars have been driven off-site, cars have been left in supermarket car parks and customers have been fined for speeding.

“This year we have seen customers leave their car in the short-term parking lot and when they return, their car has not been moved at all. The customer has had to pay to have their car removed from the lot.”

He said people should always look for a trader who ‘buys with confidence’ and has been tested against trading standards.

Natasha Ferdinand from Somerset said she thought her experience with Drive Park and Fly had gone smoothly until she was given a fine for parking in a no stopping zone.

“The problem was that the parking attendants parked the car there, not us,” said Ferdinand.

She said she had tried to get Drive Park and Fly to pay the £100 fine but staff ‘put the phone down or ignored my emails’.

Oliver Bedford, head of parking at Gatwick Airport, which is not affiliated with Drive Park and Fly or Galaxy Parking Limited, said passengers should do their own research.

He told the BBC: “While there are many legitimate businesses outside the airport and Gatwick’s official car park, there are also businesses that are not operating in the right way.”

He said people should be “extra careful” when comparing providers on websites and check their details.

“Do they have independent reviews? Make sure what you book is completely reliable,” he said.