“Scam” airport parking firm accused of hit-and-run with client’s car

An airport parking firm has come under accusations of foul play as drivers have returned from their holidays to find their cars having been damaged, driven for miles and even involved in a hit-and-run accident.

In April, Sophie Rose arrived back at Stansted Airport following her birthday trip to Dublin and found that her car had suffered £6,500 worth of damage after allegedly being involved in a hit-and-run in Harlow – over 14 miles away.

Mrs Rose had previously paid for meet-and-greet parking through a firm called GetAwayEssentials.com Ltd, which trades under the name ‘Keir Allan’. At the time of booking, Keir Allan had described itself as a service offering “secure” parking.

However, when she returned to the UK, Mrs Rose told the BBC she found her car with the “boot up in the air and the bumper completely smashed in”. 

First established in August of last year, Keir Allan insists it is not responsible, nor liable, for the damage to the car, and has thus far disputed the repair costs. According to the BBC, the firm’s director, Musa Ahmed, has also questioned the repair costs cited by Mrs Rose, claiming that the outcome now lies with the civil courts.

In a statement, Mr Ahmed said: “We refute any suggestion that customers' cars were used for any other purpose than to store and return the cars to the customers.” Ahmed did, however, admit that given the firm typically handles over 300 keys at a time, “due to human error, keys do get misplaced”.

Parked at Burger King

This isn’t the only complaint Keir Allan faces; victims have told the BBC that dashcam footage shows their cars were left in a Burger King car park following their drop-off, while another dropped their car off with a full tank of fuel and came back to find it almost empty.

Looking online, you don’t have to scroll too far to find complaints regarding Keir Allan, either; one user on Trip Advisor described the firm as “scam artists” after coming back from holiday and seeing a significant increase in mileage on their car. Another claimed to have found their car with the tyres slashed (by who it remains to be seen) and claimed the company “doesn’t have [its] own compound” and thus leaves cars on the side of the road.

Keir Allan’s services have since been removed from most holiday parking websites, although GetAwayEssentials.com Ltd remains listed as ‘active’ on the government’s website.

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