My car was ‘held hostage’ by airport parking firm – the owner laughed at us and made us pay to get it back

A HOLIDAYMAKER claims her car was “held hostage” by a fraudulent airport parking firm which scammed her out of cash.

Tina Rees, 58, was returning from a girls’ holiday in Cyprus to celebrate a pal’s 60th birthday when she and her group were stung by the scheme.

Tina Rees claims her car was ‘held hostage’ by an airport parking firmSupplied

She said the experience had left her feeling ‘vulnerable’Supplied

The ten-strong party all left their cars in the care of Parking4You at a cost of £123 each before heading off on the trip.

Tina’s suspicions were first aroused when she was told to drop her motor off in a multi-storey car park, rather than in an official “meet and greet” bay.

However, it was the day of the group’s return that things really took a turn.

Tina, from Salisbury, Wiltshire, claims that when they got back in the early hours of the morning, they were asked to call the firm’s boss, Muhammad Ali, who accused them of being late.

According to Tina, this was ridiculous as they had paid for three hours of excess and the flight home had only been delayed by 45 minutes.

Nonetheless, Mr Ali allegedly demanded a fee of £15 per car to release them from the unknown location where they were being kept.

Tina told Sun Online: “Every time we phoned he just started laughing at us.

“We were given the details of the account [to pay] and it was a private bank account, not a business account.

“Nobody had any ideas where our cars were parked.

“It was a group of ten women at 3am…there were women with kids, what could we do?

“It’s appalling.”

Ultimately, they were forced to pay up and their cars were returned, but Tina claims that she checked her odometer and found that 200 miles had been added onto the motor’s mileage while she was away.

Her next step was to report the rip-off to Gatwick security, who apparently told her that it “happens a lot” and urged her to go to Trading Standards.

However, she says that the guard warned her that shady companies simply liquidate and then start up again under a new name to avoid prosecution.

Thankfully, Tina has been able to lodge a request with her credit card company to cancel the payment as well as opening a case with Trading Standards.

She added: “I will never book a meet and greet again.

“As a woman it makes you feel exceptionally vulnerable.

“I don’t think I’m the only one who opened a case that day.”

A Gatwick Airport spokesperson emphasised that, unfortunately, they have no jurisdiction over these “rogue” parking firms, even if they use the airport’s name.

They said: “Legally rogue firms can operate on the airport as long as they do not break our bye-laws.  

“We have been proactive in warning people about these operators, including appearing on BBC’s Watchdog segment of The One Show in May, to encourage passengers to be vigilant when booking through third-party operators, and give advice on what to check for.”

The Airport has also released a five-point checklist of things to look out for when it comes to airport parking.

Parking4You has been contacted for comment.

It comes after those living near an airport say parking was a nightmare.

And a driver who left her car with Britain’s ‘worst’ parking firm told how she found it covered in mud.