Furious couple shell out £55 for airport parking but come home to smashed-up car

An angry couple returned home from a romantic getaway to find their car had been bashed while left in an airport car park.

Sam Watkins and Chiara Ferri shelled out £55 to leave their car at Maple Parking near Luton Airport before jetting off on a city break to Edinburgh.

When they returned, however, they found the front of their car had been bashed and one of the headlights had been smashed.

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Sam claimed Maple initially tried to dodge covering the costs and said he and Chiara had no choice but to drive the broken car home at night.

Maple, however, said that the car’s damage was purely cosmetic and the vehicle was safe to drive.

The matter has now been resolved.

Sam said: “I’m relieved now that they’ve finally owned up to their mistake and covered the cost of the damages.

“But it shouldn’t have taken this long, and it’s safe to say I won’t be using their services again.”

Sam and Chiara, both 30, left their Volkswagen Polo at the car park on October 15 of this year before heading off on their weekend getaway.

Two days later they returned, only to find their car was apparently not at the agreed meeting point.

It was then that Sam got a call from Maple, who he said claimed another vehicle had backed into their car while the driver was moving it to a private car park, causing the damage.

Sam said: “When we returned it was really late, and we were hoping to just pick the car up and drive home.

“But it wasn’t as simple as that, and when we turned up at the meeting point no one was there to greet us.

“We were confused until I received a call from Maple saying there had been an accident involving our car and another vehicle.”

Shortly after the call, a driver arrived with their damaged car.

Sam says one of the headlights was smashed and the right-hand side of the car had been badly damaged – but Maple claimed the car and both its headlights were still in perfect working order, despite any cosmetic damage.

Sam said: “When the driver dropped off our car, he had his hood up so we couldn’t see his face properly. He put the keys in my hand quickly, and then jumped into another vehicle and drove off.

“I rung the office – [who] proceeded to say there was nothing more they could do.”

He added that driving home was “so unsafe, and the front of the car was flapping about.”

Maple said they provided a courtesy vehicle for Sam and Chiara to use while their car was being repaired.

They said they also paid for a third party to repair Sam and Chiara’s car, with damages totalling £1,339.20.

Though Sam is glad to have his car back, he is not happy with how long the process took.

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A Maple spokesperson said: “We can confirm that when Mr Watkins collected his vehicle it was safe and driveable, having only sustained cosmetic damage.

“This is confirmed by our CCTV and Mr Watkins’ own video. In addition, both headlights were working prior to him collecting his vehicle.

“Mr Watkins made the decision to drive the vehicle home and was subsequently provided with a complimentary courtesy vehicle (a brand New Rav 4) until his vehicle was returned fully repaired.

“We have since spoken to Mr Watkins who confirms that he is happy that the incident has been resolved to his full satisfaction.”

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