Park N' Fly Airport Parking in San Diego, California

Returning with four pieces of luggage late at night with my three-year-old daughter after traveling all day, I was picked up at the airport by a Park N’ Fly shuttle to be transported to the parking structure I had parked in for the duration of my trip. When I reached my 2002 VW van, the valet pulled up next to my vehicle and then got out of his vehicle and opened the back double doors of the Park N’ Fly shuttle. As I was concerned with first getting my three-year-old daughter secured in our van and her Britax car seat hooked up properly before I unloaded my luggage, I did not realize until I finished that the driver had unloaded the rest of his shuttle vehicle and was asking me where I want my computer case. He placed it inside of the van and then went around the back of the van and then he shut the hatch on my Eurovan. I was not able to even go and check to see if he had unloaded every single piece of my luggage and placed it into my vehicle as he had already taken off after shutting the hatch on my vehicle.

When I pulled out of the structure after paying with my credit card, I then made a right out of the garage and proceeded past the first light and up a steep hill to the second light. When the light turned green for me to make a left to head toward the freeway, I stepped on the gas after quickly releasing the brake because the hill was so steep that my van rolled backward, the hatch flew open and the entire contents of my vehicle was strewn across two of the four lanes of traffic. I quickly pulled over to the shoulder after making a left and went to retrieve my belongings, all the while having to dodge vehicles. When I went to search for my large suitcase, it was not there.

After securing what belongings that were there in the street, I then returned to the Park N’ Fly garage and redrove the route I had taken out of the structure. My bag was not in the garage either, as I thought maybe it fell out while I was leaving the structure. I then pulled up to the office and explained my situation to the attendants. I never once heard an “I’m sorry” or anything of that sort. Five of the Park N’ Fly employees watched as I struggled with the rear hatch locking mechanism, as it was now not working and the hatch would not even close. After several minutes one of the employees offered to hold the hatch down so I could reach it better, and I put the locking mechanism back together and was able to get the trunk to close, but it now would not open.

Within the next few days following the incident I received a call form the Park N’ Fly customer center, as I had left my information at the reception desk requesting that they contact me if my suitcase miraculously showed up again. I spoke with Tracey Washington at 678-475-3887 in Georgia with reference to claim number 07-052-12-598 regarding my situation. She let me know that because I gave no indication that my trunk was not shut prior to leaving the garage that Park N’ Fly will not reimburse me for any of the contents of my luggage.

I have never had any problem with my trunk shutting until the attendant at the Park N’ Fly took it upon himself to unload and load my luggage and shut the hatch on my vehicle. I never asked him to do this for me, but since he took it upon himself to do it, I was under the impression that he would at least also take it upon himself to double check the hatch door after he had shut it to ensure that it was shut and latched closed.

I realize that Park N’ Fly is acting on the technicality of me not being aware of this unlatched hatch on my van that I did not even shut myself or even touch that evening until I discovered that my belongings were all over the road, but I am quite disappointed in their customer service. Not only have they caused me to lose $2500 worth of belongings, but Park N’ Fly did not even offer to compensate me for even a portion of the cost of parking in their garage. And Tracey Washington was more than excited, it seemed, to tell me that I have no claim against her company as it was totally on me that the incident happened in the first place.

Very best regards,

Denise Paddock