Holidaymakers are stranded at Gatwick airport when rogue meet-and-greet parking service leaves their cars abandoned in junkyard, hotel and the short stay

Published: 13:10, 2 July 2026 | Updated: 13:18, 2 July 2026 Holidaymakers were left stranded at Gatwick for up to eight hours after falling victim to a 'dodgy' meet-and-greet parking service. Dozens of Brits landed at the Sussex airport last month to find that their vehicles were nowhere to be seen. All had booked through a comparison site, which advertises a variety of services. After a frantic search, the cars were found either in a junkyard, at a hotel site or abandoned in the short-stay car park. Some victims claim they had items stolen, such as blue badges and vehicle documents, and the vehicles were left dirty and low on fuel. Lauren James, 35, from Worcester, had just got back from two days in Bordeaux for a wedding. She said: 'We were all ringing the police in a panic. I was in tears because I thought our cars had been stolen. 'It was just a very traumatic and stressful situation with a lot of people involved. I won't be doing a meet-and-greet again.' Lauren James , 35, from Worcester, had just got back from two days in Bordeaux for a wedding and was in tears after thinking she had lost her car A police officer finding hundreds of car keys in a car boot Lauren booked through a website which she says is high up on Google when you search 'Gatwick parking'. The mother-of-two says the service cost £50 and had seemed legitimate until she landed around 11am - and the company stopped taking her calls. After around an hour she and her friend decided to start trying to find the car themselves. She says there were around 30 to 40 people doing the same 'in a panic' - including one woman who had been there all night. They started a group chat to tell each other any information they could get, and at around 3.30pm someone managed to track their car to a nearby hotel car park. A group of them Ubered to the site and found a police officer there with four men, and a car boot filled with hundreds of car keys. Lauren says her Volkswagen Tiguan was covered in mud and about a quarter of a tank of diesel had been used. She added: 'You just don't expect it. I want to raise awareness about these people and try to do something to stop them.' Damien Ford, 44, from Hayes, West London, had just arrived back from two weeks in Jamaica with his four-year-old daughter. He booked a £125 service for his Mercedes A-class Dani, 34, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, was away in Milan, Italy with her husband. She had booked through a different company advertised online - but using the same comparison site - costing £75 Dani, 34, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, was away in Milan, Italy, for a long weekend with her husband when she returned to similar circumstances. She had booked through a different company advertised online - but using the same comparison site - costing £75. But when she went to pick her car up at 11:30am it was not there. Her Skoda Kodiaq was also not at the hotel, but at an abandoned junkyard miles away, with the glovebox emptied of all their documents. It took seven hours to get the car back and they are expecting to get fines for tailgating and speeding - since it had 100 miles racked up on it. The school worker said: 'We had to walk past into a derelict junkyard and our car was there in the mud. It was pretty awful. 'We didn't ever think that we were going to be in a scam. It was shocking. The scams have gotten very sophisticated in the last year from how they used to do it.' Damien Ford, 44, from Hayes, West London, had just arrived back from two weeks in Jamaica with his four-year-old daughter. He booked a £125 service for his Mercedes A-class, which he also found on the comparison site. After around seven hours of going back and forth from the sites to the airport car park in heavy traffic on a 'wild goose chase' the dad discovered his car was parked on one of the lower floors. They had left the key on top of his tyre, and all of his belongings from the glovebox were strewn across the seats - with his charger missing. Damien says he later found a ticket in his car for the short stay car park dated 12pm on June 14, meaning it had arrived an hour after he started searching. He said: 'I had been on a ten-hour flight with my four-year-old and I was absolutely knackered. 'It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I lost my temper a little bit. My daughter was asleep on my shoulder, and she was hungry and tired. It was an absolute nightmare. 'If it was just me and two or three other people I would think I was stupid to have fallen for a scam. But there were so many people that showed up after me.' The group says several of them reported the issue to police, but they were informed that it was a civil matter as they voluntarily handed over their keys. Cars at an abandoned junkyard miles away from Gatwick Holidaymakers are calling for Gatwick to do more to stop rogue parking firms Now, the holidaymakers are calling for Gatwick to do more to stop rogue parking firms. Dani said: 'The police and Gatwick in these times don't help you. They are turning a blind eye. 'We didn't know whether we would get our car back and nobody would help. They are quite dismissive when you are in a crisis.' Damien added: 'I just can't believe that Gatwick don't do anything about this. It was a horrible experience. I don't want this happening to anyone else.'  The comparison website did not respond to a request for comment. Oli Bedford, Head of Car Parks, London Gatwick said: 'We are aware of rogue third-party parking companies purporting to offer valet or meet and greet services operating at a number of airports. 'At London Gatwick we are actively addressing this issue by working closely with the police, Trading Standards, the British Parking Association (BPA) and our car park operator; as well as frequently running awareness messaging and advice. 'We would always recommend passengers book official London Gatwick parking for peace of mind, and there are other reputable companies who also offer alternatives. 'We encourage all passengers considering using an off-airport meet and greet parking provider to do their research. Comparison sites can be a valuable resource, but it is imperative passengers thoroughly check out any company they are considering using before booking parking.' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.