I paid £160 for Heathrow’s secure car park and came back to find my vehicle written off
A FAMILY who parked in a "safe and secure" car park at Heathrow came back from holiday to find their vehicle written off.
Oliver and Amy Clague, from Bristol, had just landed after a sleepless long-haul flight with their one-year-old baby when they discovered that their car's catalytic converter had been ripped out.
Staff at the airport told the family that they could do very little to help, and initially refused to refund them the £160 they had paid to park in the "secure" location.
Oliver, 39, a TV director, said: "We came back from this long-haul flights, no sleep with our baby on our lap, only to find that our car is unsafe to drive because Heathrow can't keep track of who enters their parking facilities.
"You get 20 mins free in there, and to rip out a catalytic converter - which can be worth thousands because of the platinum and rare minerals inside it - takes less than three minutes to do.
"Some cars you don't even need a jack. So if Heathrow don't monitor who goes in and out, or can't adequately patrol the area, then you have this bonkers car parts bonanza at Heathrow.
He added: "The parking attendant told me that after Covid layoffs, they just couldn't get the staff back, or didn't try.
"They were all laid off when people stopped flying, and not many of them came back.
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"Owing to the high cost of replacing a catalytic converter, it seems likely that our car is going to be written off by insurance, leaving us with no option but to buy a new car.
"I just want other people to be aware of this. We thought we were parking our car in a safe, secure storage facility, and it turned out to be nothing of the sort."
After initially refusing, Heathrow has now given the couple a full refund.
Heathrow has been contacted for comment.
It comes after The Sun revealed that around 80 holidaymakers had their motors stolen after leaving them with Heathrow valet company Terminal Universal.
Travellers who paid up to £145 to the company said its phones were off and their vehicles were missing.
Met Police have found 70 of them, with some discovered in a field in Chertsey, Surrey, around 15 miles from the airport.
A 25-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of theft and released pending further enquiries.
The Sun also revealed that Douglas Peel, 66, from Dorset, also returned to Heathrow from a two-week holiday in Thailand to find the catalytic converter missing from his £20,000 Honda Jazz.
We also reported the exclusive story of a Norfolk couple who returned to Heathrow from Brazil to learn that thieves had dumped their Seat Leon in a field in Surrey before making off with the keys.
