Holidaymaker’s fury as she returns from Croatia to find her Citroen WRECKED by meet and greet parking firm
Julia Hickling's Citroen C2 had its front wheel ripped off when a company driver smashed it into a wall and several parked cars when it was meant to be in secure lockup
A HOLIDAYMAKER returned to find an airport parking firm had written off her car while she was away.
Julia Hickling's Citroen C2 had its front wheel ripped off when a company driver smashed it into a wall and several parked cars - while it was meant to be safely locked up.
She branded Cheshire Meet and Greet "despicable" and claims the firm is "refusing to accept any wrongdoing" and has yet to apologise for destroying her £2,000 motor.
In July the same company - which operates at Manchester Airport - was caught abandoning cars in pub car parks after their owners paid to have them stored in a safe lockup with 24-hour surveillance.
Julia, 44, left her car with the firm before jetting off on a two-week break in Croatia on April 8.
On her return, she was shocked when a company representative told her: "I have been dreading your call".
The staff member said a company driver had been pushed off the road by another motorist – who failed to stop – on the way to the firm’s secure storage site in Lymm, Cheshire, around 11 miles from where she dropped it at the airport.
But a police incident report revealed the crash had in fact happened more than 36 hours later – when the car should already have been locked away.
The crash on a 30mph road mangled the front end, sheared off the front wheel and set off the airbags, leaving the car a write-off.
Julia said it took her weeks of "stress and anxiety" trying to sort out her insurance claim with Cheshire Meet and Greet owner Lee Anderson. She claims he refused to answer calls.
Julia : "He still hasn’t bothered to apologise to me and he seems to be refusing to accept any wrongdoing.
"I accept accidents happen, but I just want an apology.
"It’s despicable. It seems like Lee Anderson thinks he can walk all over people and it doesn’t matter, but it does and he shouldn’t be able to get away with it."
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Julia, a cruise ship marketing manager from Silkstone Common, South Yorks, said she has received her insurance pay-out – but has lost her no claims bonus.
Mr Anderson said Julia's car had been stored overnight at another meet and greet company’s site before being taken to his own site in Lymm the next day.
He said a "passing car squeezed my driver into a BMW that was illegally parked" and caused damage "to over three cars".
He claimed the accident had been reported to his insurers and left with them so "as not to make an unfortunate incident any more stressful" to the owner.
Cheshire Meet and Greet claims to provide the "safest and most secure service" with chauffeurs who have "years of experience" delivering cars to a secure site with rates from £31.50 per week.
The company has less than a two-star rating on Google with several customers complaining of abusive staff and of chauffeurs turning up hours late.
In July, an investigation revealed the family-run firm was leaving cars in an unmanned pub car park 15 miles from its lockup.
Les Anderson brushed off criticism at the time, insisting: "Today’s news, tomorrow’s chip shop papers. Run what you like."
In August another firm operating at Manchester airport, called A Meet and Greet, was accused of LOSING a customer's car.
Cavan Simmonds and his partner and young daughter were forced to sleep on a concrete floor while waiting four hours for their Kia, before the firm finally admitted they had lost the key.
Manchester council has launched a crackdown on rogue meet-and-greet firms after receiving more than 100 complaints.
There are now around 50 airport parking companies in the city – with some suspected to be run by low-level organised crime gangs.
It follows complaints from hundreds of airport parking customers across Britain that their cars have been returned damaged or with excessive mileage.
In August Chris Lynch, 20, said he returned from Greece to find his Vauxhall had an extra 150 miles on the clock and had been caught SPEEDING while he was away.
He had paid Blue Star Parking £78 to look after the car and return it to him at Gatwick airport.
In June police found more than 1,000 mud-spattered and unlocked vehicles dumped by rogue parking firm in a field near Gatwick.
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