o Parking companies operating at London Gatwick Airport are coming under scrutiny…
o Chancellor George Osbourne has promised to stop airport shops such as Boots and …

o Parking companies operating at London Gatwick Airport are coming under scrutiny.

One company, Park Meet and Greet Ltd failed to refund a customer’s £109 deposit, as promised in their terms and conditions, when she cancelled a booking with them and shortly afterwards changed its name to GAT Parking Ltd. (Daily Express)

And another, Gatwick Sky Parking, is being investigated by Sussex Police after complaints from customers that their cars were damaged when parked by the company in an area that was touted as “secure”. One customer claimed damage of £2,000 for a badly-scratched bonnet. Another claimed damage of £7,000 with deep scratches, and the rear doors and back seat “caked in mud”, which raised suspicions that joy riders had used his car while he was away.

o Chancellor George Osbourne has promised to stop airport shops such as Boots and W H Smith from claiming VAT discounts on purchases made by passengers flying to countries outside the EU, rather than passing the discounts on to the customers.

Staff in airport shops, following orders from their ethically-flawed and untrustworthy managements, have been asking to see passenger’s boarding cards to check where they were flying to, pretending it was a condition of purchase. When the deceit was exposed last August many passengers stopped showing their boarding cards to airport retailers, an action both Boots and W H Smith said they would accept.

However in October last year the writer shopped in W H Smith at Stansted Airport and was told by staff, like other shoppers there, to use the automatic tills, even though there were free places at the staff-operated ones. The automatic till would not complete the transaction until boarding pass details were entered. When this was queried with staff there he was told ” You have to say if you dont want to reveal where you are going and we’ll come and over-ride the boarding pass requirement”.

So still clinging on to bad old habits?