A holidaymaker who left his car in the hands of an airport meet and greet service has had the vehicle written off by insurers after he returned to find it had just three functional wheels.
Ioan Williams, 44, left for a family holiday to Alicante with his two children, Ela and Sion, on August 8. The trio jetted off from Manchester Airport after arriving in Ioan's white Range Rover, which he left with the airport's Meet and Greet service. At the time, he said, the car "didn't have a scratch on it".
The family returned to Manchester one week later on August 16, arriving back at the airport tired from a 1am flight and eager to load their luggage in the car and return home to North Wales. But as his friends successfully hauled their belongings, he was horrified to discover his car was inflicted with nearly £16,000 worth of damage.
Speaking to North Wales Live, Ioan said that, when he went to retrieve his keys from the Meet and Greet Service, he was told to "seek attention". He said: "I went to get some coffee while my friends who 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." The dad was initially told there was a delay getting the car due to people arriving early to the airport, but Ioan said he "knew something was up" when three men arrived in a van and asked to speak to him outside.
He 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."
Pictures shared by the dad show the wheel snapped off its bearings and damage to the front bumper following the incident. His insurers said the repairs cost £15,800, and the car was written off. While he has received a refund from Manchester Airport, he added that he is yet to receive an apology or compensation offer.
He said: "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 representatives said they were in touch with the customer, and that it was working with the insurance company. It added that it could not comment further on the specific case.
