I left my Merc with airport parking firm – I returned from hols to find it trashed with extra 500 MILES on the clock
A CHAUFFEUR is out of pocket after leaving his car with an airport parking firm - only to come back and find it filthy and damaged.
Furious Steve Rogers believes the company at Gatwick airport also drove his Mercedes V-class for almost 500 miles while he was away.
And he accuses them of landing him with a £60 parking fine while he was on holiday visiting his daughter in Turkey.
He says he came back to find a door dented, inside carpets covered with dirt and grass, McDonald’s receipts strewn around the car and dash cams disconnected.
And when he started the engine running the fuel tank light illuminated, meaning he needed to buy petrol as soon as he left the car park.
Mr Rogers says there had been half a tank remaining when he originally left it at Gatwick, paying £199 for the parking service.
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The 65-year-old from Chingford in Essex has been pursuing My Parking Limited for an apology and compensation.
The “meet and greet” airport parking firm - based in Hayes in west London - faced similar complaints from another holiday-maker last month.
Lynn Stone, 69 and from Lincolnshire, returned from a trip to North Africa to find her car now had an additional 200 miles on the clock – as well as being far dirtier than when entrusting it to the company.
Mr Rogers has now told Sun Online: “I was searching for parking at Gatwick and stupidly I went cheap.
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“When I finally got the car back, it looked like it had been parked in a chicken coop – it was filthy all over.
“There were an extra 473 miles on the meter, they’d disabled my dash cam and thrown the SD card away, the fusebox compartment was open and the inside was filthy.
“McDonald’s receipts had been left into the car, and it turned out there was a parking ticket I had to pay from when I’d been away in Turkey at the time.
“I’ve not been able to work until it’s all been valeted and fixed.”
Sam Colin, the firm’s customer support, wrote back to Mr Rogers telling him: “We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.
“Please rest assured that you will not be held responsible for the fine, and we will ensure that it is taken care of promptly.
“We appreciate your understanding, co-operation, and compliance with our investigation process.
“Once again, we apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciate your understanding.”
They also offered a goodwill gesture of a car clean valued at £15.
But Mr Rogers accused them of swerving his questions and complaints about the state the car had been left him after his three and a half weeks away.
He believes that were his car not under warranty, the extra cost to him would be about £6,000 - as it stands he fears he will have to pay £1,000 or so.
He runs his own chauffeur firm, so depends on his car being both functional and presentable.
My Parking Limited has an average rating of jus, with many scathing reviews about service.
The firm did not respond to repeated requests for comment from Sun Online.
Other drivers returning to airports to find their cars mistreated include a trucker who discovered his BMW was driven around a Bristol airport car park at speeds of up to 50mph.
A couple from Royston in Essex left their Ford Mondeo with a parking service at Gatwick but had still not been given it back a week after arriving home.
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Another holiday-maker, from Bath in Somerset, got back to Gatwick from Puglia in Italy to find his black E-class Mercedes “caked in mud”, with an extra 97 miles on the clock - prompting him to suspect it was used as an airport taxi.
And a couple from the Cornish city Truro fear a rogue parking firm driver - took their Tesla on a 109mph joyride on country roads, listening to Beyonce, while they were in Italian capital Rome.
