Man's BMW vandalised when left with airport meet and greet service

EXCLUSIVE Holidaymaker claims his BMW was vandalised, driven 2,000 miles and parked illegally – landing him with fines – after he left it with Heathrow Airport meet and greet service for 30 days

  • Ravi Joshi left his BMW 5-series with Universal Terminal Ltd while away in India
  • It was driven 2,400 miles in his absence and taken to Northern Ireland by ferry 
  • Read: 80 travellers had their cars ‘stolen’ by Heathrow meet and greet firm

A holidaymaker has told of his horror at discovering his car was damaged, apparently driven 2,000 miles to Belfast and given a series of fines – after he left it with a Heathrow Airport meet-and-greet parking service.

Ravi Joshi left his prized BMW 5-series with Universal Terminal Ltd when he flew to India from Heathrow for one month with his wife and two children to visit his sick mother in December last year.

But the 42-year-old IT consultant from Rugby, Warwickshire, was horrified at the state of his grey family saloon when it was returned to him at the airport car park 30 days later.

The car, which he had paid £18,000 for three years earlier, was vandalised. The bonnet was dented, the headlight and indicator were smashed, the ABS braking system was broken and engine was ruined.

The BMW had been driven 2,400 miles in his absence and had been taken to Northern Ireland by ferry, tickets found inside the vehicle seemed to indicate.

Holidaymaker Ravi Joshi has told of his horror at discovering his car was damaged and apparently driven 2,000 miles to Belfast and given a series of fines – after he left it with a Heathrow Airport meet-and-greet parking service while away in India

Mr Joshi was horrified at the state of his grey family saloon when it was returned to him at the airport car park 30 days later

The car then broke down as he was driving his family back home and has now been written off due to the extensive damage to the bodywork and engine.

And to compound Ravi’s misery he has received numerous fixed penalty notice fines through the post because his car was captured on camera parking illegally.

Ravi said he has reported the incident to police. Scotland Yard confirmed that the Metropolitan Police has launched an investigation.

‘This has taken a heavy toll on me,’ Ravi told MailOnline. ‘It’s been a total misery. It has given me nightmares. We were standing in the freezing cold for two hours waiting for the car at Heathrow.

‘I reported the damaged to the police and decided to drive home. But the engine was damage because whoever had driven it did not put coolant in and it wouldn’t go over 20 miles an hour.

‘I worried about the safety of my family so I stopped at the Beconsfield Service station where we had to spend the night.

‘Then I had to organise a recovery truck to take it back to Rugby. But the insurance company has told me it’s a write-off because of all the damage. Now I’m going to lose my eight-year no-claims bonus.’

The bonnet was dented, the headlight and indicator were smashed, the ABS braking system was broken and engine was ruined

While Ravi was away the BMW was clocked in Sussex, in north London, west London and even in Cairnryan, Scotland, where it was loaded on to the Stena Line ferry to Belfast

Ravi has received numerous fixed penalty notice fines through the post because his car was captured on camera parking illegally

Ravi paid £122.69 for 30 days parking with Universal Terminal Ltd which he booked through Ezybook Airport Parking.

This was less than half the price of other meet-and-greet firms.

READ MORE: Up to 80 holidaymakers say they had their cars ‘stolen’ after paying £145 each to Heathrow meet-and-greet firm – with 70 vehicles found by police in ‘field’ near the airport 

He explained: ‘I was tempted to book with them because money was tight and we were going away for such a long time. But this has made my financial situation worse. I had to pay £120 for the hotel and more than £300 for the recovery truck. Now I don’t have a car, it’s making life very difficult, like the school run.

‘I have tried to contact them but the phone numbers don’t work and the company appears to have gone into administration.

During the 30 days that Ravi and his family were in India, the BMW was clocked in Sussex, in north London, west London and even in Cairnryan, Scotland, where it was loaded on to the Stena Line ferry to Belfast.

Ravi is the latest to report that their vehicles have been damaged or gone missing after booking through the price comparison website Ezybook Airport Parking.

Last month a number of holiday makers had their cars allegedly stolen after paying £145 to Terminal Universal Ltd at London’s Heathrow Airport.

The customers left their cars with the meet-and-greet firm but their vehicles were never returned.

Some of the cars were said to have been found in a field about 15 miles from the airport.

Many of the victims claim they had booked their valet service via Ezybook.

Ravi said he has reported the incident to police. Scotland Yard confirmed that the Metropolitan Police has launched an investigation

‘This has taken a heavy toll on me,’ Ravi told MailOnline. ‘It’s been a total misery. It has given me nightmares’ 

At least 80 holidaymakers had their cars stolen after paying upwards of £145 to park them with a meet-and-greet firm at Heathrow Airport. [File image] 

One driver returned from a family holiday to find his new Mercedes had different tyres and part of the engine had been replaced.

The £18,000 car was also splattered with black paint and had an extra 240 miles on the clock.

No one from Ezybook picked up the phone when MailOnline contacted them for comment.

Heathrow Airport encourages passengers to use only trusted valet services.

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