A DRIVER was appalled when she returned from a five-day holiday to find her brand new car covered in cigarette burns and stinking of smoke.
Rachel Kochar’s Volkswagen Golf R-Line was “filthy” on the inside, smelled “disgusting” and also had an extra 100 miles on clock, she claims.
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Her vehicle’s Bluetooth was even connected to three phones owned by people she had never met.
Rachel, from Bristol, said: “I felt violated.”
The motorist flew from London Heathrow to New York for five days last year.
Through comparison site We Compare Airport Parking, she paid £61 to meet and greet service Pay to Park, which promised to keep her Golf safe while she was away.
But Rachel was horrified to discover they had done “the total opposite”.
She said: “Before I left, it was in perfect condition and on my return it was filthy throughout.
“It stank of cigarette smoke. I had to drive it back from London to my home in Bristol and by the time I got back I felt ill from the smell.
“There were cigarette burns in the carpet and at least three phones with names attached to my Bluetooth.
“My car also had 100 miles more on the clock than when I left it.”
Rachel made a swift complaint and was told the manager would investigate the matter thoroughly and get back to her.
But even after repeated phone calls over the weeks that followed, all she received was “verbal abuse”, she claims.
At least two of the men she spoke to had the same names as the ones whose devices were logged into the Bluetooth system in her car, Rachel added.
She eventually managed to get the money she paid for the airport parking service back through her bank, but not the £150 she forked out to have the black diesel car valeted – nor the time spent cleaning and fighting her case.
“This probably sounds silly to some people, but I cannot explain the emotional effect this had on me for a long while afterwards,” Rachel, who travelled from January 27 to February 1, 2022, said.
“It took a long time for my car to feel like my own again – I felt violated.
“As well as the valet, I had to have an air freshener run through all the vents to try and get rid of the smoke smell which lingered for weeks.
“No one should have to experience this yet other people are continuing to do so.
“This company is running from all the main UK airports. They need to be stopped.”
The Sun has contacted Pay to Park and We Compare Airport Parking for comment.
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