Bogus airport meet-and-greet

A ROGUE trader who ran a bogus meet-and-greet car service from Gatwick Airport has been sentenced following an investigation by West Sussex Trading Standards.

Muhammad Muneeb Amjad, 33, of Pycroft Way in London, was the director of Park Direct Gatwick Ltd which misled customers who believed their cars were parked securely while they holidayed.

The cars were left in an open field, with many vehicles left unlocked.

At least one of the vehicles was damaged and dashcam footage proved it had been driven around.

On Friday, Amjad appeared at Lewes Crown Court where he was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, and told to complete a 10-day rehabilitation course and undertake 60 hours of unpaid work.

The rogue trader was ordered to pay compensation to seven victims totalling £1,141 and costs of £1,200.

Amjad pleaded guilty to engaging in misleading commercial practices at an earlier court hearing.

In July 2019, West Sussex Trading Standards received a tip-off that the company was using a field in Ifield, Crawley, to park the vehicles of customers who were flying from nearby Gatwick Airport.

Officers carried out an unannounced inspection on July 30, 2019, and found that there were around 200300 vehicles parked closely together, with some almost touching, and many of the vehicles were unlocked.

The details of each vehicle were reported and letters were sent to the registered owners.

They confirmed they had used Park Direct Gatwick Ltd and believed their cars were parked securely in a locked car park with CCTV.

Trading standards also received a separate complaint from a customer whose car had been damaged whilst in the care of Park Direct Gatwick Ltd.

Park Direct Gatwick Ltd refused to repair or pay for the damages.

The judge told Amjad to pay the victim of the damaged vehicle £566 in compensation as part of his sentence.

Park Direct Gatwick Ltd went into liquidation, however, Amjad was prosecuted under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 for engaging in misleading commercial practices.