A DISABLED driver whose car was ravaged in the Luton Airport fire claims he has been left without a motor as his insurance company refuse to help.
Andrew Miller, a lifelong wheelchair user from Northamptonshire, lost his Citroen DS 3 to the car park blaze and now has “no ability to get mobile”.
LNPA disabled driver who lost his car to the Luton Airport fire claims his insurance company refused to provide him with a courtesy car[/caption]
PAAndrew Miller said that the decision was taking away his independence[/caption]
Andrew, 56, says he has been given “no information” on the condition of his vehicle, which was parked in the blue badge area of the car park while he was away in Ireland with his partner.
Two days after he left, the structure was engulfed in flame, as were the 1,500 cars within.
When he returned a couple of days afterwards, he was met by the airport chaplaincy team to help arrange onward transport, but nobody from airport management or APCOA, the company that runs the car park, informed him on the status of his car.
Now, almost two weeks on, Andrew claims that his insurance company refused to provide a courtesy car and offered him a “mean” £100 payout instead.
He fumed: “I’ve had to pull out of attending in-person business meetings, I even missed a colleague’s funeral, as a consequence of not having my own car.
“For many disabled people, like me, personal independence is everything. You take away our cars, you take away our independence and our ability to lead our lives.
“My independence has been completely taken away by this fire.”
He also hit out at the levels of communication from the airport, claiming to have only received generic updates and no response at all to his tweets asking for more information.
Andrew added: “It’s quite extraordinary how little support anyone has offered in this situation, I’ve basically been left to sort it all out myself.
” I can’t be spontaneous in anything that I’m doing.
“That’s robbing me of mobility, it’s an independence that I would normally have.”
Luton Airport has offered their “sincerest apologies” in a statement and expressed sympathy with those affected by the fire.
Operations director Neil Thompson said: “We have always been clear that most cars will be unsalvageable.
“From the outset, customers have been advised to contact their insurer and we have worked hard to provide all the required information so insurance companies can progress claims as quickly as possible.
“We continue to provide our customers with regular updates, but as the car park remains unsafe, we are unable to provide information about individual vehicles.”
A spokesperson for APCOA added: “Due to the instability of the car park structure which was severely damaged by the fire, unfortunately, we still don’t have access to it.
“As a result, we have been unable to provide any customers with bespoke information about their individual vehicles.
“APCOA and London Luton Airport have tried to keep all customers informed as the situation has evolved by sending regular email updates and publishing detailed information and guidance on our websites and social media.
“We have every sympathy with all customers who have been affected by this major incident.”
They also said that they had passed all “relevant information” to insurers in order to facilitate claims.