A woman was left with a £600 bill after a ‘greeting’ parking company failed to collect her car from short-term parking at Gatwick Airport.
When Jo Timson flew out to visit friends in Malaga on February 3, she was hoping for a relaxing getaway following the breakdown of her marriage.
But on her return to the UK she was greeted by a nightmare, after Drive, Park and Fly failed to collect her car from the airport.
Furious at being cheated out of the £78.99 charge, Jo then discovered she could find herself facing a £600 parking fine – a bill more than six times the amount she had paid for her vacation.
Standing in the Gatwick car park office after the ordeal, Jo broke down as she explained that she felt humiliated, embarrassed and “a complete idiot”.
“I felt humiliated and when I got up (in the Gatwick car park office) I was overwhelmed, I felt completely embarrassed.” I felt like a complete idiot,” said Jo (pictured: Gatwick Airport car park)
Jo had paid £68.99 to Drive Park and Fly to park her vehicle, while also paying £10 to cover parking tickets so the company could collect the car (pictured: short stay parking at Gatwick)
Explaining how she discovered the company, Jo revealed she was directed to them via a search engine after booking her flights to Malaga.
“When you look at their website (Drive Park and Fly), it looks like a legitimate booking site, with five-star reviews – everything looked fantastic,” she said.
After confirming her reservation, Jo called Drive Park and Fly half an hour before arriving, as requested.
Jo Timson (pictured), 58, almost found herself with a £600 bill after a hospitality parking company failed to collect her car from a short-term car park at Gatwick.
But when she arrives at the short-term parking lot located in the North terminal, no one is there to welcome her or collect her car.
According to Jo, when she called the host company, they asked her to leave her keys in a designated place so she wouldn’t run the risk of missing her flight.
“I should have thought maybe something was wrong. But I had no idea. I would never have used this type of thing before,” she said.
“Other people who parked said we were told the same thing. There was no indication that this was anything other than legitimate.
However, shortly after landing, Jo realized something was wrong.
When she landed on the tarmac at Gatwick Airport at around 1.30am on February 9, she tried to phone Drive Park and Fly to inform them she was at baggage claim.
But 12 phone calls later, the company didn’t respond, leaving her vulnerable and alone late at night.
“Again, it was an unsociable time of day, so there was no public transport to take me home,” Jo explained.
Eventually, she managed to contact Drive Park and Fly, who revealed that they never recovered her car.
But her vacation, where she hoped to escape the breakdown of her marriage, ended in a nightmare because her car was never collected by the company. His keys had also been left in plain sight (photo: Jo’s car)
Not only did Jo feel cheated out of almost £80, she was left with a bill for £600 – which she eventually managed to reduce to £300.
Throughout the week, the 58-year-old tried to distance herself from the aftermath of her broken marriage, with her car left in the parking lot for a short time.
The host parking company claimed the 58-year-old failed to follow its advice.
However, Jo claimed she followed their instructions, and when she said this to the Drive Park and Fly operator, she claims he called her a “f***ing liar”.
“I didn’t know it at the time, but there were a lot of people suffering the same fate as me,” she said.
“It could have been worse, some people’s cars weren’t there (and) they didn’t have a car at all.”
“But with everything going on in my life, I just felt like I had even more bad luck.”
Returning to the short-term parking lot, Jo found that her car had not been moved an inch from where it had been parked.
However, his keys had been moved to the front wheel, in plain sight.
“Anyone could have stolen my car. I could tell something was wrong even though it hadn’t been moved,” she said.
Jo had already paid Drive, Park and Fly £68.99 and covered the £10 parking fines to allow them to valet park her car.
But now she realized that she would also face quite high parking fees.
After numerous phone calls, Jo asked a phone operator at Drive Park and Fly why they hadn’t collected her car – she claims she was eventually called a fucking liar by the employee.
At around 2.30am, an emotional Jo went to the Gatwick car park office to tell what had happened.
“I was halfway through the story and he said, ‘I’m going to stop you there,'” she said.
“He recanted verbatim what happened to me and told me it happens all the time.”
“He (the Gatwick car park attendant) said to me: ‘We are powerless to stop them,'” Jo revealed.
She initially had to pay an exorbitant fee of £600 because the “receiving” parking company failed to collect her car – a service she had paid for.
The parking bill was later reduced to £300, but with no credit card to hand, Jo had to phone friends to lend them money.
“I was standing alone in the Gatwick car park. I felt vulnerable with the breakdown of my marriage, my emotions were running high anyway.
“I felt humiliated and when I got up (in the Gatwick car park office) I was overwhelmed, I felt completely embarrassed.” I felt like a complete idiot.
Jo turned to Sussex Police but was told it was a civil matter.
She also reported the matter to Trading Standards, who are yet to respond to her report.
“You have no one to turn to when this happens – no one wants to know,” she said.
“It’s another slap in the face. Who do you turn to when things like this happen when no one cares about what happened to you?
A Sussex Police spokesperson said: “Sussex Police supports West Sussex Trading Standards, who are the lead agency investigating these matters. »
MailOnline has contacted Drive, Park and Fly and Trading Standards for comment.
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