A furious nan claims she returned from holiday to find her car had been left 'undrivable' by a 'meet and greet' parking firm.
After 10 days in sunny Gran Canara, Madeline Tretton was brought back to reality with a bump after stepping off the plane in Manchester as she waited three hours in the freezing cold for her car to be returned. When it finally arrived she claims it was covered in mud and damaged to the point she couldn't drive it home.
The 82-year-old landed in Manchester at 10pm on Thursday, March 10 with her thinking she had peace of mind by using the parking service. It was supposed to be as simple as dropping her car off with someone at the airport and then it being returned to her at the airport, but instead Madeline claims it was a £700 repair bill she faced for damage caused to her Mazda 2, LancsLive reports.
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Madeline who suffers from mobility issues and a heart condition said her holiday had been ruined when she returned to find her car covered in mud with damage to the underside panel, the axel and shock absorbers. She said: "I contacted [the parking company] who said they were investigating but then ignored my calls and e-mails, I read on Trust Pilot they had 74% poor reviews but by then it was too late."
Madeline had to pay for the repairs herself and says she has been left without a car for four weeks while it was in the garage having the necessary repairs done and waiting for parts. She added: "I am so disappointed by the way the company handled my complaint and we even have video evidence of the car at Terminal 1 with the damage but the company continues to ignore us."
Madeline says she used a company which shares an address with one listed on Companies House. Both have been approached for a comment but failed to reply in time - either to LancsLive or Madeline and her family.
A spokesperson for Charlie Cornish’s (CEO) office at Manchester Airport said: "I can confirm that Manchester Airports Group (MAG) is not associated with the company stated in any way. We will continue to support the police and our neighbouring councils’ trading standards teams in doing all we can to raise awareness and tackle this issue.
"We encourage customers to use initiatives such as Park Mark and the Government-backed ‘Buy with Confidence’ scheme to find an operator that has undergone a series of detailed checks."
