My BMW was ‘taken on 600-mile joyride’ after I left it with airport parking company – I found a TOURIST MAP inside it
THE owner of a BMW claims her luxury car was taken on a road trip while she was abroad.
Kajal Bhagwandas, 30, left her car with a Gatwick airport parking company while she visited Mexico but returned to find an extra 600 miles on the clock.
But not only did it appear to have been used for some sort of excursion, she says the car had been sucked dry of its oil, the brakes were worn out and she found gum stuck to the roof.
Kajal says her BMW M3 didn’t even look the same and had mud splashed across the outside.
There was also a map of Bristol in the boot – but Kajal says she’s never been there.
She’s adamant someone else has used the car while she’s been away – but whoever it was didn’t care enough to try and cover it up.
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Kajal told MailOnline: “They didn’t even try and get rid of the evidence, they didn’t clean the car.
The alarm was raised when she saw the mud splatters across the side of her blue car but wondered if the car had been parked in a muddy field.
But when she got into the car, a message she’d never seen before popped up to tell her the brake pads were worn down.
She said: “Then as we started the car, we looked to see there were 600 miles which had been added to our mileage. We couldn’t believe it.”
As Kajal and her husband headed to their Kingston-upon-Thames home, she became certain it had been taken outside the parking lot.
The mother-of-one said: ‘When we were taking the suitcases out of the car, I noticed there was a city map for Bristol tucked inside the boot.
‘Then I found there was chewing gum stuck to the ceiling in the back of the car, so we knew then the car had been used for some kind of road trip.
She said: “I was really frustrated and just in shock.”
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NO CHANCE TO CHECK CAR
The couple had found the company online after a quick search and met a worker to hand over the keys after paying £115 for eight days.
In the terms and conditions, the company’s policy states any claims will not be considered once the vehicle is given back.
Kajal said: “When we came back, the guy handed us the keys and basically ran off.
“He was like ‘here you go’ and left. He didn’t give us a chance to check the car or anything.
“We knew they may need to drive it to move it but not 600 miles.”
The parking company reportedly denied any knowledge of the incident and said staff can’t take cars from the parking grounds.
A Gatwick Airport spokesperson said: “We are sorry to hear about cases where people have been mistreated by rogue parking firms like this.
“The airport has no relationship with these firms and, like other airports, Gatwick cannot prevent competitor parking companies from operating on site, provided they abide by bye-laws and terms and conditions of use of relevant facilities.
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“Any passengers affected by the actions of rogue parking companies like this should contact Trading Standards, which should be able to investigate the matter.
“Gatwick Airport strongly recommends that passengers use official on-airport parking.”
