Travellers are being urged to exercise caution when selecting airport parking services after a significant increase in complaints regarding theft, damage and fraud involving meet-and-greet operators.
Police forces and airport authorities have issued warnings about unofficial providers advertising discounted long-stay parking, following reports of vehicles being stolen, burgled or damaged whilst supposedly under secure supervision.
The case of Terence Baxter highlights the risks facing motorists. He booked a meet-and-greet service through Compare Your Parking to store his Volkswagen at Heathrow whilst on holiday. After paying £109 for three weeks of supposedly secure parking, his booking was subsequently amended without his initial knowledge, transferring the service to Park At Airport Ltd. The drop-off location proved to be the car park of the Heathrow Holiday Inn, where an agent completed paperwork in the boot of a vehicle.
Upon returning from holiday, Baxter and his wife were left waiting at the arrivals terminal when the promised collection service failed to materialise. After multiple unsuccessful telephone attempts, the company informed him that his vehicle had been stolen, along with seven others. Baxter is now pursuing an insurance claim that has been classified as “at fault”, leaving him to bear the financial consequences whilst the parking operator continues to trade.
Customer reviews on Trustpilot suggest Baxter’s experience is far from isolated. Numerous complainants report vehicle theft, lost keys and penalty charge notices for parking violations or unpaid ultra-low emission zone charges incurred whilst their cars were supposedly in secure storage. Park At Airport has attributed vehicle and key thefts to organised criminal gangs and claims to be cooperating with police investigations. The company stated that it clearly communicates that vehicles may be moved between compounds and has implemented enhanced security measures following recent breaches.
Sussex Police confirmed to the Guardian that its investigation had been closed due to insufficient evidence. A spokesperson noted that officers remain aware of ongoing concerns about certain parking providers’ practices and continue to work with relevant authorities, including trading standards, to address these issues.
The scale of the problem extends beyond individual cases. Unscrupulous operators typically lack formal contracts with landowners and often moonlight from airport hotel car parks, directing customers to drop off vehicles before relocating them to unauthorised locations outside airport perimeters, including construction sites and fields. The current regulatory framework permits anyone to establish a parking operation legally, provided they do not breach airline bylaws.
Research conducted by Which? into airport meet-and-greet companies revealed that some comparison websites operate in collaboration with disreputable parking firms. Guy Hobbs, travel expert at Which?, explained that rogue operators frequently appear prominently in search engine results and on comparison sites. These businesses often adopt generic names that are changed as soon as they accumulate poor reviews, making it easy for consumers to be deceived. In certain instances, Which? believes the comparison site and parking provider to be the same entity.
A test booking on Compare Your Parking, the comparison site used by Baxter, generated quotes from various providers with official-sounding names such as Heathrow Park & Ride, accompanied by unattributed four or five-star reviews. Examination of the small print revealed that in several cases, the actual contract was with a differently named company. Research by the Guardian found that these companies had one-star reviews on Trustpilot, with customers reporting unsafe storage compounds, theft and damage.
Compare Your Parking operates as the trading name of Compare Travel Services Ltd, whose director was previously associated with Wizpark, a meet-and-greet service that attracted critical reviews from customers on social media. The company did not respond to requests for comment.
In response to mounting complaints from scam victims, Heathrow Airport joined a new quality-control initiative this year designed to vet member parking operators. The Approved Meet and Greet Parking Operator Scheme, known as AM-GO, was launched by the British Parking Association with support from Police Crime Prevention Initiatives. The scheme requires member companies to uphold a code of practice. Birmingham Airport has also signed up to the initiative, though most airports do not yet maintain lists of approved parking operators.
Industry experts recommend that travellers thoroughly research providers before booking and verify that facilities display the Park Mark logo, which indicates that premises have passed police safety checks. Deals priced significantly below market average should be treated with suspicion, as they typically indicate substandard or fraudulent services. The consumer group Which? has recently published comprehensive guidance on the most reliable and cost-effective on-site and off-site parking options at UK airports.
The current situation underscores a regulatory gap that permits unscrupulous operators to establish parking services with minimal oversight. Until more comprehensive vetting systems are implemented across all UK airports, the responsibility for due diligence falls primarily on consumers. Travellers are advised to prioritise reputation and security credentials over price when selecting airport parking services, and to maintain detailed records of all booking communications and documentation.
