A holidaymaker who left their car at a meet and greet airport service has returned to find it “written off”. Ioan Williams left his car at the Meet and Greet service at Manchester Airport while on a holiday to Alicante with his children Ela and Sion, from August 9.
His white Range Rover was left in the care of the airport’s Meet and Greet service, which he claims was in pristine condition, stating it “didn’t have a scratch on it”. However, when they returned a week later, Ioan was told there was an incident involving his vehicle.
Expecting a minor issue, he was shocked to find the driver’s side wheel at an angle. The repair cost quoted by insurers was £15,800, effectively writing off the vehicle, reports North Wales Live.
Ioan said Manchester Airport and his insurance company are cooperating over the issue, he is annoyed that he’s received no apology or offer of compensation.
Ioan said: “I left the car with them on the 9th of August. This is the official meet and greet and Terminal 2 and camera goes around your car before you get in to the car park to assess if any previous damage.
“My car didn’t even have as much as a scratch on it. I dropped my keys off inside the terminal where they give me a receipt for. We then went away on our holiday.”
Ioan and his family arrived back at 1am on August 16. Ioan, 44, said: “I went to get some coffee while my friends, which also parked there, went before me. When I arrived at the pick up for meet and greet I saw my friends putting their luggage into their car. I went to scan my barcode to access my keys. But it said seek attention.”
He was initially told there was a delay getting the car down due to people arriving back early. A van later arrived with three men in and they asked to speak to Ioan outside.
Ioan said: “I instantly knew something was up and thought that my car had been stolen but he said one of ‘our drivers have kerbed your wheel’. I thought ‘oh god’ and said ‘I hope you’re going to paint it’.
“To which he replied ‘I think you need to have a look at it’. When we walked up to the car I noticed that the angle of the wheel wasn’t right and obviously been involved in a high impact and I stated this to him. He agreed and said that the driver has been dealt with but there weren’t any cameras in that area.
“The car was obviously not drivable as something had snapped. They paid for a taxi home for us and I had to leave the car there. I wasn’t home until 5am.”
Ioan said the insurance company had been in touch and “have been cooperating with me”. He added: “The cost of the repair came up to £15,800 to fix, making the car a write off.
“I loved that car, I bought it for myself for my 40th. Although I’ve been paid out for the car it’s not the point I didn’t want to get rid of it.
“Manchester Airport refunded the £149.99 I paid to park there. But I haven’t had an apology email/letter from them or an offer of compensation whatsoever. I’m there quite often but I’ll never use their meet and greet service again.”
Manchester Airport are in touch with the customer and their insurers are working with the customer’s insurance company. They could not comment further on the specific case. They did say in these situations it was normal for an apology to be issued once the situation has been fully resolved.