Airport parking firms again

[BriskodaJeff]

I'm sure we are all aware of these types of scam, but just in case...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-43697408

This one was all over the evening news in this part of the country yesterday. I remember at least one other (Gatwick?) previously. "Let me charge you £x00.00 to park your car in a secure, gated, private, guarded car park (aka layby on the A38) while you are away, sir, then lose the keys and leave you to find it for yourself". No thanks.

[Titanium_Man]

Parked my car at the Airport Tavern last year and came home to the entire car covered in mud. Driver cockpit I can understand, but not the rear bench and footwells. 

 

Will now only only use the official airport car parks where I stick it where I want/can. 

[Guest FurryFriend]

Golden rule is that if ANY airport park operator asks you to leave your car keys with them.... DON'T. 

And ALWAYS take several photos of your car including the mileage when you park, before you get on the terminal bus. 

 

It only takes 5 minutes. 

 

 

[BriskodaJeff]

Bristol Airport claim it is nothing to do with them (and legally I guess they are right) but I think this is one of the major issues. Just clicked onto the official parking website to see what it would cost to leave the car for a long weekend (most likely journey for most of us I would expect). I picked a random weekend a couple of months ahead, so it isn't emergency parking where they can hammer you because you have to use it. Here are the screenshots:

If I book a taxi from the centre of Bristol I'm paying c£22. Return via Arrow, the on-site taxi firm, pre-booked is £30. I know a lot of people come from much further afield than I do, but looking at the rates above you can see why a private firm might appear to be worth the risk to some (of course it isn't - but doubling the cost of your weekend away must be hard to swallow just to park at the airport). Anyone local knows that public transport links to BRS are pretty terrible once you get beyond working hours (when many flights depart / arrive) so there is a bit of a captive audience as onward travel to / from the airport isn't always easy or convenient.

 

[Guest]

There are plus and minus to every style or type of car park. 

 

Handing your keys over to the operator may come in handy if there is an emergency at the location; flood or fire. It happens  more commonly than you think. 

 

Taking photographs of your vehicle is great but I'm not aware of any car park operator who is happy to let you watch 24 hours/a week/fortnight of their CCTV footage in the vain hope you MAY observe the vehicle or  person who damaged your vehicle. The spaces around your vehicle can each be used by multiple vehicles in a 24 hour period. Short Term Car Park  usually means 30 - 60 minutes max. Long Term means any period after that. 

 

In most cases the Long Term Car Park are usually Staff Car Park as well. 

 

Best advice, go by reputation not by price.  Check the status of the carpark; who runs it, is it CCTV only or are there manned  patrols. How secure is. Et al... 

 

If you haven't used that airport or carpark before don't rely on post code to find the car park. The post code in the airport I worked at covered EVERY carpark. 

 

If not been there before, use Google Street View to do a dummy run to the airport/carpark. Its what I did when I used Manchester Airport. 

 

Fit dash Cams with a 'Park' option - they monitor when the vehicle is parked up. 

 

Hide your valuables, it is mind blowing the number  of people who leave valuables on display. 

 

Lock your vehicle. 

 

Before leaving your vehicle, close the doors (no, I ain't kidding).

 

Close all windows (again, quite common). 

 

Switch off lights. 

 

Disconnect items from the 12v socket. 

 

Check you have not left any travel documents, wallets, purses, hand luggage on the roof, bonnet or boot of your vehicle. 

 

Ensure you have breakdown cover. It may be the first time your vehicle has let  you down, but you won't be the first person to ask that member of staff for a jump start. 

 

Remember where you parked. 

 

Have a great holiday. 

 

 

 

 

[hwr1983]

We went on a cruise in 2016 - over Xmas.  And we drove down to Gatwick, and parked in their official Long Stay car park.  It was about £120 for 2 weeks.  There were much cheaper ones, even those that do "meet & greet" but I wouldn't trust them.  I'd given my wife an ultimatum... Park in the official car park on site, or we pay over the odds for a taxi.  In the end we had no choice as we got back on Xmas day and no taxi would collect us.

 

However, when we got back, and picked the car up, it was dark, and not until the morning I noticed some minor damage to the rear hatch.  But I hadn't taken any photos (as it was also dark when we left the car).  Luckily the scuffs came out with some T-Cut and elbow grease  

 

I will never use any car park other than the on-site ones where you take your keys with you

[Guest]

From personal experience it is generally other users of the car park you have to be wary of.

 

You were not supposed to walk to and from the car park to the terminal, but instead use the free bus which was every 15 minutes.  However, the general public being the general public I would regularly see people load up their vehicles and then push the trolleys into the middle of the road.  towards other cars, and so on.  There was no point in saying anything to them as I wasn't employed by the car park company, but another company inside the terminal, and if I had got into a dispute with them, my company would not have supported me and I would have been docked time/wages if it had caused me to be late.

 

I would, however, inform the car park company via the intercom at the barrier about the incident and then it would be up to them to deal with.

 

I would also regularly see trolleys that people could not get over the tram lines abandoned next to the track. 

 

The one incident that really sticks out was when I helped an old guy locate his car after he had just returned from  spending the weekend in the States.  After approximately 40 minutes, we found it (it was no where near where he said it was) I walked up to him as he had asked me to help him use the ticket machine, only to see that he had put one of those old fashioned leather doctors bags with the metal studs on the bottom, 2 huge sets of keys which looked like the kind to a castle on the bonnet of lurid purple Mercedes Benz coupe.

"I thought you said your car was a Jag?"

"It is, this isn't my car."

 

I walked off and left him, grateful he hadn't parked next to me.

[Guest FurryFriend]

23 hours ago, Fin69 said:

From personal experience it is generally other users of the car park you have to be wary of.

 

You were not supposed to walk to and from the car park to the terminal, but instead use the free bus which was every 15 minutes.  However, the general public being the general public I would regularly see people load up their vehicles and then push the trolleys into the middle of the road.  towards other cars, and so on.  There was no point in saying anything to them as I wasn't employed by the car park company, but another company inside the terminal, and if I had got into a dispute with them, my company would not have supported me and I would have been docked time/wages if it had caused me to be late.

 

I would, however, inform the car park company via the intercom at the barrier about the incident and then it would be up to them to deal with.

 

I would also regularly see trolleys that people could not get over the tram lines abandoned next to the track. 

 

The one incident that really sticks out was when I helped an old guy locate his car after he had just returned from  spending the weekend in the States.  After approximately 40 minutes, we found it (it was no where near where he said it was) I walked up to him as he had asked me to help him use the ticket machine, only to see that he had put one of those old fashioned leather doctors bags with the metal studs on the bottom, 2 huge sets of keys which looked like the kind to a castle on the bonnet of lurid purple Mercedes Benz coupe.

"I thought you said your car was a Jag?"

"It is, this isn't my car."

 

I walked off and left him, grateful he hadn't parked next to me.

 

 

Yeah.... Just like yesterday when I parked my Yeti in the Asda car park in Washington. A family of 4 unloaded a trolley full of shopping into their '17 reg car  and then just pushed the trolley to the side of their car, got in and drove off. 

 

And yet, I bet they'd be the first to kick off if somebody else did it, and a gust of wind smashed that empty trolley into THEIR car. 

 

No hope for people like that. Their kids will grow up thinking that's what you do...... I hate this couldn't give a toss type of person. I really ******* hate them. No hope. Ignorant and thick. 

 

Like John Cleese said in an episode of Fawlty Towers. You might as well put straw in hotel rooms for people like that. He was right! 

 

I put it safely in the trolley area....... 15 feet away. 

Edited 11 April, 2018 by FurryFriend

[Ootohere]

Hire cars are so cheep in lots of the UK that it can make sense to me to hire one for going to an airport to depart.

eg.  £54 for a Corsa size, £56 for a Fiesta from Arnold Clark hire, collect Glasgow 8.00am, drop off 8pm or sooner Aberdeen and get a shuttle bus to the airport.

(other locations and cheaper prices / shorter journeys to a flight and the return are available.)

Same sort of cost again for return trip and no Parking costs or car worry while away as your car is at home.

 

Edited 11 April, 2018 by AwaoffSki

[BriskodaJeff]

Absolutely right. I'd do as much as I possibly could to avoid parking at Bristol, including hiring a car - fortunately it's easier for me than for many as I can do bus or taxi relatively easily. It is frustrating though that it costs more to park at Bristol than Heathrow. I'm sure that is one of the reasons these scammers thrive.

[Ootohere]

'Drop off'  prices are absolutely ridiculous at Airports in Scotland and Glasgow being the biggest rip off of them all.

£2 for a quicky, £4 if there is any faffing and too many hugs and kisses, then if you are any longer, like someone picking people up and not just 'dropping off' and it takes more than 10 minutes a bag of smack costs less...

[Guest]

To be fair George, drivers have only themselves to blame. I would  regularly see traffic queued back to the second roundabout (past the Spitfire if you know my reference) so about 600m or more in stop start traffic to pay a minimum of (IIRC) £2 to drop someone off. 

 

Yet head towards the Long Term Car Park and you can drop passengers off in there for free, for up to 10 minutes. They get to the terminal via the free every 15 minute bus that took them adjacent to the pay to drop off zone. 

 

How many people used it? I couldn't see as I was too busy picking up rocking horse doo doo. 

 

I used it. Parked up at Harthill Services (treated myself to a lovely all day breakfast baguette), waited for the phonecall to say the person had landed, set off to the free pick up point. Due to no one using it I was guaranteed a parking spot, they get off the bus and I loaded up. 

 

Simples. 

 

Yet I regularly see posting on twitter about the outrageous cost to drop off and pick up. 

 

They even advertise this facility. 

 

 

[Ootohere]

Luckily i am seldom there and if so it is at 6.30am for dropping of for Wizzair flights. 

Edinburgh is so handy for sitting a McD's or The Gyle and just heading around for picking up for £1 or even free with a Blue Badge.