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"Secure" Airport parking - Happy Holiday







happypig

happypig

Staring at the rude boys
May 23, 2009
7,959
Eastbourne
I always park in the on-airport car parks. Might cost a bit more but it means I keep the keys and the car is secure.
 


edna krabappel

edna krabappel

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 7, 2003
47,221
Not the first time this has gone on.

Happened at least once when I worked up there. Company was offering meet & greet parking services, collecting the cars off holidaymakers, then going and parking them all around some council estate in Horley. Most of the time, customers are absolutely none the wiser, and even if something does happen to their car, like it getting scratched or a wing mirror clipped, there's no way for them to discover where exactly it happened.

Other joys of the airport Meet & Greet companies I've encountered include...

- a customer returning from holiday discovered his car had an extra couple of hundred miles on it from when he'd dropped it off. Turned out one of the parking company's staff had "borrowed" it to pop round the M25 to see his mate in Bedfordshire. He ended up getting nicked for taking the vehicle without consent.

-a crash where a staff member had pulled straight out of their car park (well, field) in a customer's car, without even bothering to look at what was coming. Then tried to blame the motorist (a lady in her 60s)who was quite happily pottering along the road until she had the misfortune of this buffoon careering straight across her path. He claimed she must have been doing 100mph or so (in her Honda Jazz or similar). Customer's car a total write off.

-staff members ragging customers' cars around Gatwick & Crawley in classic "drive it like you stole it" style. I seem to remember (it was a while back now) catching one of them at around 68 in a 30 limit. Never got to speak to the customer as he was, unsurprisingly, away, but I always wondered what he'd have said if he found out.

I daresay there are perfectly reputable M&G companies working up at Gatwick. But my previous experience of working up there means I'd be extremely unlikely to ever entrust my car to any of them.
 




Official Old Man

Official Old Man

Uckfield Seagull
Aug 27, 2011
8,542
Brighton
I use a reputable company and check the mileage before I leave, leaving a visable note so they know I've checked. I did use a 'cheap' company once as a last minute deal and returned to a car with mud down the side where it had been left in a field. Never used them again.
 




G

Gary1

New member
Oct 25, 2013
269
Never understood people who go on holiday and happily hand their keys over to someone else. Surely it invalidates your insurance as well unless you have notified your insurer.
 


Albion my Albion

Albion my Albion

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Feb 6, 2016
17,834
Indiana, USA
I drive down to Crawley once a week for a meeting and switch out M & G cars each week. You won't believe how many cheap car remotes that work on several of the same cars. You walk around the area pushing the remote button to see if doors unlock or the boot opens and then just hot wire the car. I only drive it for a week and put the car back where I found it. It's marvelous. It's blamed on the wankers who are employed at the company.
 


Tom Hark Preston Park

Tom Hark Preston Park

Will Post For Cash
Jul 6, 2003
70,150
Always Clever Trevors sniffing round an airport.

My all-time favourite was the dodgy Gatwick baggage handler many moons ago who had his Crawley home raided. It was found to be carpeted throughout with bright red Virgin Airways carpet, complete with Virgin logo woven into the fabric. Nice! :lol:
 




happypig

happypig

Staring at the rude boys
May 23, 2009
7,959
Eastbourne
edna krabappel said:
Not the first time this has gone on.

Happened at least once when I worked up there. Company was offering meet & greet parking services, collecting the cars off holidaymakers, then going and parking them all around some council estate in Horley. Most of the time, customers are absolutely none the wiser, and even if something does happen to their car, like it getting scratched or a wing mirror clipped, there's no way for them to discover where exactly it happened.

Other joys of the airport Meet & Greet companies I've encountered include...

- a customer returning from holiday discovered his car had an extra couple of hundred miles on it from when he'd dropped it off. Turned out one of the parking company's staff had "borrowed" it to pop round the M25 to see his mate in Bedfordshire. He ended up getting nicked for taking the vehicle without consent.

-a crash where a staff member had pulled straight out of their car park (well, field) in a customer's car, without even bothering to look at what was coming. Then tried to blame the motorist (a lady in her 60s)who was quite happily pottering along the road until she had the misfortune of this buffoon careering straight across her path. He claimed she must have been doing 100mph or so (in her Honda Jazz or similar). Customer's car a total write off.

-staff members ragging customers' cars around Gatwick & Crawley in classic "drive it like you stole it" style. I seem to remember (it was a while back now) catching one of them at around 68 in a 30 limit. Never got to speak to the customer as he was, unsurprisingly, away, but I always wondered what he'd have said if he found out.

I daresay there are perfectly reputable M&G companies working up at Gatwick. But my previous experience of working up there means I'd be extremely unlikely to ever entrust my car to any of them.
Click to expand...

If you stop a car being driven without permission by a company employee, does the car get seized as the driver hasn't got valid insurance or is there something in the small print ?
 




mikeyjh

mikeyjh

Well-known member
Dec 17, 2008
4,486
Llanymawddwy
Well, I used Tudor Rose, (who are on the approved list) a few years back and came back to find our 6 month old S3 with a tree across the top, £7,500 worth of damage and obv off the road for a little while - They accepted no accountability and the best they could do for us on the night was a lift back to LGW. Of course, had I seen the car park before we used them, I would have baulked at the crappy bit of land surrounded by PINE trees.

Avoid.
 
Last edited:




Tom Hark Preston Park

Tom Hark Preston Park

Will Post For Cash
Jul 6, 2003
70,150
My brother goes abroad a few times a year for about a month or six weeks at a time and has struck up a deal with some residents in Redhill. He gets to park his car in their driveway, payment in advance, and when he arrives at Easyjet o'clock he gets a cab out to Redhill and picks up his car. Job done!
 


studio150

studio150

Well-known member
Jul 30, 2011
29,610
On the Border
Gary1 said:
Never understood people who go on holiday and happily hand their keys over to someone else. Surely it invalidates your insurance as well unless you have notified your insurer.
Click to expand...

Yes and No all depends on the policy wording and what exactly has happened to the vehicle. You also have a contract with the parking firm for the safe parking of the vehicle - you would need to read the terms of that contract also.

You do not need to inform you insurer. If this a requirement everytime you hand over your keys there would be a lot of admin for Insurers when your vehicle goes into a garage for service, repair, if you use a valet parking service at a hotel or casino.

Many Insurers exclude loss by deception, so if you pulled up at the meet and greet area, and someone took your keys off you and jumped into the vehicle, for the vehicle never to be seen again if he was deceiving you into believing he was a bona fide meet and greet employee you are out of pocket.

However some Insurers do not exclude this type of loss as they see it a genuine loss suffered by the policyholder.

A bit like the parking cost you often get what you pay for in insurance
 






AmexRuislip

AmexRuislip

Trainee Spy 🕵️‍♂️
Feb 2, 2014
33,801
Ruislip
happypig said:
I always park in the on-airport car parks. Might cost a bit more but it means I keep the keys and the car is secure.
Click to expand...

edna krabappel said:
Not the first time this has gone on.

Happened at least once when I worked up there. Company was offering meet & greet parking services, collecting the cars off holidaymakers, then going and parking them all around some council estate in Horley. Most of the time, customers are absolutely none the wiser, and even if something does happen to their car, like it getting scratched or a wing mirror clipped, there's no way for them to discover where exactly it happened.

Other joys of the airport Meet & Greet companies I've encountered include...

- a customer returning from holiday discovered his car had an extra couple of hundred miles on it from when he'd dropped it off. Turned out one of the parking company's staff had "borrowed" it to pop round the M25 to see his mate in Bedfordshire. He ended up getting nicked for taking the vehicle without consent.

-a crash where a staff member had pulled straight out of their car park (well, field) in a customer's car, without even bothering to look at what was coming. Then tried to blame the motorist (a lady in her 60s)who was quite happily pottering along the road until she had the misfortune of this buffoon careering straight across her path. He claimed she must have been doing 100mph or so (in her Honda Jazz or similar). Customer's car a total write off.

-staff members ragging customers' cars around Gatwick & Crawley in classic "drive it like you stole it" style. I seem to remember (it was a while back now) catching one of them at around 68 in a 30 limit. Never got to speak to the customer as he was, unsurprisingly, away, but I always wondered what he'd have said if he found out.

I daresay there are perfectly reputable M&G companies working up at Gatwick. But my previous experience of working up there means I'd be extremely unlikely to ever entrust my car to any of them.
Click to expand...

Hiney said:
We used the one that has an office in the North terminal car park.

Made a note of the mileage when we arrived, just in case.

They were excellent to be fair.
Click to expand...

Gary1 said:
Never understood people who go on holiday and happily hand their keys over to someone else. Surely it invalidates your insurance as well unless you have notified your insurer.
Click to expand...

Please read :(

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/more-1000-cars-parked-gatwick-8293746
 


edna krabappel

edna krabappel

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 7, 2003
47,221
happypig said:
If you stop a car being driven without permission by a company employee, does the car get seized as the driver hasn't got valid insurance or is there something in the small print ?
Click to expand...

I doubt the car would be seized under those circumstances, as it would penalise the owner, which seems a little unfair as they've handed their car to the company in good faith.

That said, I'm not sure what would happen if the car was stopped miles away from the car park, say on a motorway. Couldn't be left there obviously, nor could you just let the employee drive it back.
 


beorhthelm

beorhthelm

A. Virgo, Football Genius
Jul 21, 2003
35,299
Tom Hark said:
My all-time favourite was the dodgy Gatwick baggage handler many moons ago who had his Crawley home raided. It was found to be carpeted throughout with bright red Virgin Airways carpet, complete with Virgin logo woven into the fabric. Nice! :lol:
Click to expand...

makes you wonder how rough the carpet was :hilton: i suppose some people would just nick anything going.
 




G

Gary1

New member
Oct 25, 2013
269
studio150 said:
Yes and No all depends on the policy wording and what exactly has happened to the vehicle. You also have a contract with the parking firm for the safe parking of the vehicle - you would need to read the terms of that contract also.

You do not need to inform you insurer. If this a requirement everytime you hand over your keys there would be a lot of admin for Insurers when your vehicle goes into a garage for service, repair, if you use a valet parking service at a hotel or casino.

Many Insurers exclude loss by deception, so if you pulled up at the meet and greet area, and someone took your keys off you and jumped into the vehicle, for the vehicle never to be seen again if he was deceiving you into believing he was a bona fide meet and greet employee you are out of pocket.

However some Insurers do not exclude this type of loss as they see it a genuine loss suffered by the policyholder.

A bit like the parking cost you often get what you pay for in insurance
Click to expand...

Could be a pain in the arse though sorting it all out especially as insurance companies will try and worm their way out of anything and pin the blame elsewhere. Airport parking etc not for me.
 


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