Airport parking company leaves cars parked in random streets
A car parking company at Gatwick Airport has been secretly filmed leaving holidaymakers' cars in random locations around town centres despite promising them secure 24-hour parking.
Gold Parking Limited was investigated on BBC1's Watchdog after viewers claimed it was a rogue trader.
Customers had given their cars to representatives from the company near the airport on the understanding they would be parked in a secure compound.
But one customer interviewed on the TV show that her car had an extra 1,500 miles on the clock when she returned, and another customer found his Mercedes had been stolen.
The Watchdog team secretly checked to see whether the firm even has a secure car park.
Three reporters pretending to be customers handed over cars to Gold Parking, and on each occasion they ended up left out in the open in nearby Crawley.
The company, whose website has now been suspended, charges £90 per week week or £150 for two weeks to take care of customers' cars in a "secure car park".
One of the Watchdog team's cars was left in the Three Bridges Community Centre car park, and two others were parked in nearby streets.
The BBC show, which aired last Wednesday, featured Brenda Jones who left her Audi A7 with Gold Parking while on honeymoon in Cuba.
When she returned with husband David they discovered the car was dirty, had a ripped tyre and an extra 1,500 miles on the clock.
The couple then received a parking fine in the post, stating the vehicle had been parked in a residents' parking space without a permit and two weeks later another fine arrived for a pay and display space.
Dipesh Toor, who left his £45,000 Mercedes with Gold Parking, came back from holiday to find it had been stolen.
Gatwick Airport has a list of approved "meet and great operators" for off-airport parking who passengers are advised to use. Gold Parking is not one of them.
Despite repeated attempts the Mirror has been unable to contact anyone from Gold Parking.
The company told Watchdog it did have access to a secure compound which it shared with other companies. It claimed Mr Toor's Mercedes wIt claimed Mr Toor's Mercedes was stolen from within this car park.
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