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Crawley man sentenced to 14 months in prison for Gatwick parking deception

The director of a Gatwick ‘meet and greet’ parking company has been sentenced to 14 months in prison and disqualified from being a director for four years following an investigation by West Sussex Trading Standards.

Published

2 years ago

on

Asad Bashir Malik (Jura Close, Crawley, West Sussex) and his company London Parking Gatwick Ltd, which was turning over £.1.4 million, were found guilty at Brighton Crown Court of misleading customers.

Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings are still pending.

The company said on its website that all cars left with them would be parked in a secure compound.

But in 2016 reports to West Sussex Trading Standards claimed that over 1,000 vehicles were being parked in a field in Bonnetts Lane, West Sussex.

Trading Standards officers visited two fields, Bonnetts Lane and Keepers Knight, in July 2016 and confirmed that London Parking Gatwick Ltd was using these to park its customer’s vehicles.

Some of the vehicles had been left unlocked with their windows open and keys on the windscreen. Some of the vehicles were damaged and others had been issued with parking tickets. The investigation also revealed fake customer reviews on the company’s website.

Officers contacted the customers and established that they had been misled by claims on the website.

Richard Sargeant, Trading Standards Team Manager, said:

“Malik and his company deceived thousands of customers between 2014 and 2016, causing damage to their cars and making false claims on its website.

“This was a complex investigation for our team and I am very pleased with the outcome.

“I would urge anyone using a Gatwick meet and greet business to only use a Trading Standards-approved company.”

Anyone who thinks they have been a victim of an unfair trading practice can contact Trading Standards via Citizens Advice on 03454 04 05 06 or online via www.westsussex.gov.uk/tsreport


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Crime

Urgent appeal as £5k reward offered to find violent man who ransacked Crawley shop and assaulted child

Published

3 weeks ago

on

30th October 2020

By

Police have launched an urgent appeal and offered a reward of up to £5,000 for information leading to the capture of Jordan Charles.

Charles has links to Crawley and Bexhill in East Sussex as well as Croydon in South London.

The appeal for anonymous information has been launched to urgently find 23-year-old Jordan Charles, who is wanted for questioning over a series of violent incidents in Sussex.  

A string of offences in recent months includes: violence and robbery; threatening revellers with a knife in Brighton; using racist and homophobic language; spitting saliva and blood at police; ransacking a takeaway in Crawley and attacking a customer; attacking staff at another Crawley restaurant with a glass and a metal chain dog lead wrapped around his hand; punching and kicking a woman to the floor outside a nightclub; assaulting a 12-year-old girl who had come to the aid of her mother and aunt during a parking dispute.

He has also failed to appear in court.

Jordan Charles is black, about 5’ 9″, of medium build and with black hair. He is known to have links to Crawley, and is thought to still frequent the area.

Glenys Balchin, Crimestoppers Regional Manager said:

“This man must be found before anyone else comes to harm, which is why we are making an urgent appeal to the public in Sussex, Surrey and south London to help find his location. Jordan Charles is dangerous and the allegations against him are serious.
 
“It is important to remind people that assisting somebody wanted for questioning over a crime can lead to prosecution. We are appealing to anybody who may know the whereabouts of Jordan Charles to urgently tell our charity what you know 100% anonymously. Always. You can call our UK Contact Centre, which is open 24/7, on freephone number 0800 555 111 or you can use our simple and secure anonymous online form.
 
“Crimestoppers has been taking crime information since our charity was formed over 32 years ago. Every day over a thousand people trust our charity with their anonymous information. Nobody will know you contacted us, only you.”

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