Letter of the week: Beware of parking service

Classic Valet Parking at King Shaka Airport claimed me as their latest victim.

According to a website www.parkvia.com, they are listed amongst others who offer a great service: Jeffrey Pillay offers to meet you at King Shaka Airport drop off zone, drive your car approx 4km to their yard where it is kept securely under shade for the duration of your trip.

On your return he meets you at the drop off zone again with your vehicle all washed and clean.

The first time I used Classic Valet Parking I was super impressed and wrote a great review.

I should’ve checked before contacting Jeffrey again.

Yesterday I returned to KSIA to find my vehicle had been driven for 150km, my house keys and heavy-duty jumper cables were missing and obviously my Kombi T6 had been used in my absence.

I was probably lucky to have got it back at all!

Jeffrey is the only line of contact.

My complaints pale against some of the other reviews I have since seen on the site. Meantime he refuses to accept responsibility in my case and cannot give us the name of the owner of Classic Valet Parking. So be warned.

Steer clear of Jeffrey and Classic Valet Parking at King Shaka Airport, but he is by no means a reflection on any other similar service providers.

LORI KELLY

Zulu Sun Safaris

We contacted ParkVia for their comment (they refused to provide a contact number for Classic Valet parking) on Ms Kelly’s experience and received the following reply from customer service person Vele Velevski:

We are sorry to hear about the experience of your client at the car park.

However, ParkVia acts as a booking portal only and we would therefore refer you to our Terms and Conditions which state that this company cannot be held responsible for any incidents occurring while your vehicle was left in the care of the operator.

“1. ParkCloud acts as a booking agent only and therefore all responsibility and liability for all vehicles lie with the car park, hotel, meet and greet service or other establishment (“Parking Provider”) reserved.

You agree that you are making a booking through a ParkCloud website for online booking agency services only, and the supply of car parking is made by the Parking Provider to you directly when you arrive at the pre-booked location.

The Parking Providers are independent companies and not agents or employees of ParkCloud.

ParkCloud is not liable for the acts, errors, omissions, representations, warranties, breaches or negligence of any such suppliers or for any personal injuries, death, property damage, or other damages or expenses resulting therefrom.

ParkCloud has no liability and will make no refund in the event of strike, force majeure or other causes beyond its direct control, and it has no responsibility for any additional expense, omissions, delays, re-routing or acts of any government or authority.”

Therefore, please contact the operator directly on the contact details given in the booking voucher.”

So, no joy there. We then tried to contact Classic Valet Parking through the ParkVia website, however their portal has been greyed out, with the words “Not Available” posted across it.

We did contact Jeffery, who said he was a driver and not the owner of the company. He agreed to text the manager’s office number but did not do so.

We also invited him or his manager to comment on the complaint from Ms Kelly, but no comment has been received.

The best advice we can give readers is to read the comments on the ParkVia website before entrusting your car to a stranger, and possibly also check a website like HelloPeter. – Editor.