Gatwick Airport: Holidaymakers ‘left out’ by car park firms

Holidaymakers claim they have been left hundreds of pounds out of pocket after using two companies that provide car parks at Gatwick, the UK’s second largest airport.

One passenger said she had to take a taxi nearly 150 miles home to Norfolk after Drive Park and Fly told her they could not find her car key when she arrived at West Sussex Airport.

Meanwhile, a Galaxy Parking Limited customer said he was charged six pounds every time his car entered and exited the Gatwick exit zone while he was on holiday.

The BBC has contacted the two firms – which are not linked to Gatwick Airport – several times for comment, but they have not yet responded.

West Sussex Trading Standards said it had received 199 complaints against a range of parking operators since 2022/23.

Kim Renyard said when she tried to pick up her car, Drive Park and Fly said her keys “were lost or misplaced.”

She said she spent hundreds of pounds on a taxi to Norfolk, saying her car would be brought home as soon as the company cut new keys.

Although the company said they cut a new key, she said her old set was returned with the car.

“I don’t actually know what they did with my car while it was in their care,” Ms Renyard said.

She said she had not received any money and was more than £300 out of pocket, despite being told by Drive Park and Fly that she would be reimbursed in full.

Richard Bowyer said he returned from a family holiday to be told Drive Park and Fly “never remember” having his car.

He booked a hotel, but when he was still missing his car the next morning, he had to take a taxi home to Hampshire, costing him around £400.

A week later, he said, his car was found in a short-term parking lot, exactly where he handed it over to a company representative.

Another holidaymaker, Leon Palma, from Southampton, booked a meet and greet with Galaxy Parking Limited.

But he said his holiday was cut short when he received a series of automated email confirmations showing his car had entered and left the Gatwick Drop-Off zone six times during the same morning while he was abroad, each time at a cost of six pounds.

Mr Palma said: “It’s put a stress on my holiday because I think if something happens to my car I’ll be at fault because I’m the owner.”

West Sussex Trading Standards said it had received 13 complaints about Galaxy Parking Limited and nine complaints about Drive Park and Fly since December.

West Sussex Trading Standards manager Richard Sargeant said we have had problems with various operators for a number of years.

“We’ve had cars drive off-site, cars left in supermarket car parks and customers’ cars getting speeding tickets.

“This year we have seen customers’ vehicles being left in a short stay car park and when they come back their car has not moved at all and the customer has to pay money to have their car released from the car park itself.”

He said people should always look for an “approved trader to buy with confidence” who has been vetted by Trading Standards.

Natasha Ferdinand, of Somerset, said she thought her Drive Park and Fly experience had gone smoothly until she was fined for parking in a no-stop zone.

“The problem was that people parked it in the parking lot, not us,” said Ferdinand.

She said she tried to get Drive Park and Fly to pay the £100 fine but her staff “either hung up the phone or ignored my emails”.

Oliver Bedford, head of parking at Gatwick Airport, which is not linked to Drive Park and Fly or Galaxy Parking Limited, said passengers needed to do their research.

He told the BBC: “Although there are plenty of legitimate companies outside the airport and the official Gatwick car park, there are some businesses that are not operating in a proper and orderly manner.”

He said people should be “especially careful” when looking at comparison sites” for providers and checking their details.

“Do they have independent reviews? Make sure what you book is completely trustworthy,” he said.