A single mother was duped out of £230 after a ‘meet and greet’ parking service at Gatwick Airport called just two minutes before her flight and never arrived to pick up her car.
Ella Alcindor, 38, from Suffolk was ecstatic to go on her first holiday in six years with her 76-year-old mother and her toddler when they first booked a get away to Egypt.
In the run up to jetting off from Gatwick Airport on September 24, Ms Alcindor had looked up companies to help park her car to avoid struggling with a buggy and luggage.
She settled on GPH Online LTD, and made her booking through comparison website Compare Parking Prices.
She told MailOnline: ‘It was about £20 cheaper but wasn’t ridiculously cheaper, nothing that would make you go “Oh that’s dodgy”.
‘On the morning of our holiday, I called them and said: “Just so, you know I’m I’m running about 20 minutes late, and they said, “don’t worry”.
‘They gave me directions on where to park and said if I went to that spot someone would meet me.’
However to her surprise when she arrived, the car park was packed out, so she was then instructed by GPH Online LTD to go to the floor above and meet her there.
But she was then informed that the driver was 45 minutes away, leaving Ella to struggle with her toddler and elderly mother who isn’t ‘very good at walking’.
Ella Alcindor, 38, from Suffolk (Pictured) was ecstatic to go on her first holiday in six years with her 76-year-old mother and her toddler when they first booked a get away to Egypt
However her holiday bliss was soon shattered when GPH Online LTD failed to pick up her car, leaving her worried she would be lumbered with a six thousand pound bill
‘It was really annoying because I had to actually park the car, and it was too tight to take everything out. So it was a bit of a nightmare,’ she said.
However, it soon became clear that no one was coming to collect the vehicle.
‘I called them for about an hour and a half until I was like, “we’re going to miss our plane,” she said.
The mother-of-one then decided to call the comparison website for answers, but they denied responsibility.
After some back and forth, Compare Parking Prices said they would find a driver to ensure someone met her.
‘They said they would call me straight back and that they would find the company and make sure someone met me – and then they didn’t answer.’
She added: ‘I totally panicked like what do I do?’ What can I do? I have to catch my flight. So I went on holiday with my only set of keys.’
After two hours and 85 phone calls to the firm, the meet and greet company contacted Ms Alcindor to say they were collecting her car – only two minutes before she boarded her flight.
‘I thought: “Are you joking? I’ve been calling for like nearly two hours at this point”, I said “you are too late. I need to get on the plane”,’ she said.
Ms Alcindor was left to struggle with her toddler and elderly mother who isn’t ‘very good at walking’ as well as their luggage – but this soon became the least of her worries
After 85 phone calls in the space of two hours the mother struggled to reach the company, who never came to collect her car (Pictured)
Ella luckily approached a member of staff at the airport to explain what had happened, and they suggested emailing Gatwick directly.
With no time to spare as she jetted away the mother continued to panic as she waited to search for deals for car parking.
Before resolving the issue and paying £180 her vehicle at the facility, the first day of her holiday, which she spent a year saving up for, was plagued with parking woes.
‘It was very stressful for the first day Before I bought that additional parking,’ she said.
‘I thought how am I going to get my car out and in which case how do I get my mum and my baby home.’
Ella was concerned she could be slammed a massive fine with for eighteen hours of parking she failed to pay in the interim.
She added: ‘I just felt sheer panic and felt incredibly stupid. I was thinking, am I going to be stuck with a six grand bill that I have no way of paying?
‘I am a single mother and I work part-time because I have a two year old so six or ten grand is out of the question.
Instead of missing her flight she was forced to go on holiday with her keys and pay an extra £230 for parking in the short stay car park at Gatwick (pictured: Gatwick Airport car park)
Luckily Ms Alcindor was able to get her £90 that she paid the meet and greet company back via American Express, however she ended up paying over twice the amount in parking fees (pictured: Short stay car park at Gatwick)
‘I was thinking what on earth are we going to be stranded are we going to be okay.
‘I wouldn’t be able to get a pint of milk without my car to walk, the nearest shop would be one hour and five minutes one way.’
Eventually she was able to contact the parking service at Gatwick directly who told her she wouldn’t have to worry about the fine and she paid a £50 fee instead.
In total she lost £230 in parking fees and was refunded the original £90 paid to GPH Online LTD after filing a dispute with American Express.
‘The whole time I was like to I did this to save £20 in the beginning never again. I paid double that and then some and then got all of this headache.’
A spokesperson from Compare Parking Prices said: ‘We would like to express our regret for the inconvenience caused.
‘Compare Parking Prices is a comparison and booking platform that connects customers with independent parking service providers.
‘As outlined in our Terms & Conditions, the service contract is between the customer and the chosen provider, and we do not directly deliver or manage these services.
‘Upon being informed of the issue, we immediately escalated the matter to the service provider, GPH Online Ltd, requesting an urgent investigation and resolution.
The mother-of-one was concerned she would be left with a shocking parking fine for the interim hours she hadn’t paid (stock image)
‘To ensure accountability, we also suspended GPH Online Ltd from our platform pending the outcome of the investigation.
‘We have refunded the full booking fee to Ella Alcindor and have requested the provider to address the concerns directly. We are awaiting their formal response to this matter.
‘At Compare Parking Prices, we strive to ensure that all providers listed on our platform meet the highest standards of service. Incidents like this are taken very seriously, and we act promptly to review and suspend providers when necessary.
‘We remain committed to providing a safe and reliable booking experience for our customers and regret any distress caused. If you require further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.’
MailOnline has approached GPH Online LTD for comment.