Holidaymakers are being warned over meet-and-greet airport parking after a worker was clocked doing nearly 100mph in a car he was supposed to be looking after.
An undercover investigation has revealed the truth about what happens after motorists hand their keys to airport parking companies.
The research, carried out by consumer champion Which? involved fitting tracking devices to cars left with three private meet-and-greet companies operating at some of Britain’s major airports.
The trackers followed the cars for six days. The undercover investigators found:
A worker for Meteor Meet and Greet at Stanstead Airport driving the investigator’s car at almost 100mph just seconds after leaving the terminal.
A car reaching speeds of nearly 90mph after being left with iPark Airport Parking at Heathrow Airport.
Another car, left with meet-and-greet company RS09 at Gatwick Airport, was left in a car park on an industrial estate, which looked very different from the promotional image on its website.
Which? editor Richard Headland said: “People expect their cars to be driven responsibly and kept safe when using meet-and-greet services so they will be rightly shocked at our findings. Meet-and-greet companies need to raise their standards.”
He questioned whether customers were getting value for money after discovering short-stay parking can be cheaper than meet-and-greet.
For example, for a week’s holiday at the end of July, Edinburgh Airport’s official meet-and-greet valet service is £86.99 including drop off to the terminal.
Meanwhile, short-stay parking costs £60.99 £26 cheaper and is only a minute’s walk to the terminal.
Long-stay car parks are the cheapest on-site parking options, the researchers discovered.
At Edinburgh, long-stay is £48.99 £38 cheaper than the official valet service. Long-stay at Heathrow’s Terminal 4 is £67.90 £36.30 cheaper than meet-and-greet at the terminal.
About one in 10 members surveyed by Which? said they had used meet-and-greet services in the past two years.
One in five of those had experienced problems, mainly with cars being returned late. Others have reported damage to vehicles.
Mr Headland added: “Consumers should look at previous customer reviews before booking meet-and-greet parking and shop around.”
Business development manager for iPark Airport Parking, Ram Pithadiya, said a full investigation would be carried out into claims his staff drove at nearly 90mph.
He said: “We take great care of our customers and look after their cars. If this has happened then we will deal with it seriously.”
A spokeswoman for Meteor Meet and Greet said the safety of customers’ vehicles was its main priority. She added: “We take any allegations of misconduct very seriously. This issue is being investigated and we will follow our own internal disciplinary process.”
Chris Smith, owner of RS09 airport parking, confirmed the car tracked by Which? had been left in an industrial estate rather than the car park pictured on its website.
However, he said the secure site was manned round-the-clock and had CCTV cameras.
Mr Smith added: “Trading Standards have seen our website. They have put cars in to us and they were happy with the service.”
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