Rogue Traders, 14/05/14 Web script for Gold Parking Presenter: Matt Allwright SONG “Gold! Always believe in your soul. You’ve got the power to know. You’re indestructible.” MATT (TO CAMERA) But your car is not. MATT (VOICE OVER) Indestructible, that is. It can be mistreated. Parked in odd places. MATT (TO CAMERA) And to cut a long story short, that’s exactly what’s happening – and worse - to some cars left here by holiday makers with an airport parking company. (Camera pans away to reveal sound man.) SOUND MAN: So true. MATT (VOICE OVER) Gold Parking Limited of Crawley say they run the most secure meet and greet company at Gatwick. They promise a “chauffeur” will meet you at the airport and drive your car directly to their parking “compound”. The Director of the company is this man, Shaban Malik, whilst the Operations Manager is his brother, Riz. MATT (VOICE OVER) Impressed with their website, Brenda Jean Jones and her husband David used them to look after her Audi A7 whilst they were away on Honeymoon in Cuba… BRENDA JEAN JONES: It said that the car would only be driven only a few minutes from Gatwick Airport and parked securely in their compound. MATT (VOICE OVER) But when their car was returned, they discovered Gold’s performance was less than sparkling. BRENDA JEAN JONES: It was pretty dirty, there was a rip in the tyre… but David just wanted to get in the car and drive home… But after a while he said, look there’s 1500 miles on the clock. They’ve done over 1000 miles, Brenda. 1 Rogue Traders, 14/05/14 MATT: So it had been used and it had driven a substantial number of miles while you’d been on holiday. Anything else? BRENDA: One morning, we had it come through the post – a parking fine. It said that the vehicle was parked in a residents’ parking lot without the permit… But within two weeks of the first parking fine, we had the next one. Just for a pay and display… MATT (VOICE OVER) So, the car clearly hadn’t been parked in the‘secure compound’ promised. Brenda made several complaints, but Gold Parking ignored them all… MATT (TO CAMERA) Damage, parking tickets, and hundreds of miles on the clock. (aside to camera) What on earth would Tony Hadley say? TONY HADLEY: It’s totally unacceptable. When you leave your car with a parking company you expect it to be returned in exactly the same condition as when they took it. MATT: Plus delivery mileage of course… TONY HADLEY: Plus delivery mileage. Of course. These people have taken liberties with the vehicle and its owner. Her Cuban vacation has aroused my indignation. MATT: Thankyou, Tony. MATT (VOICE OVER) But there are worse fates that can befall your vehicle. Dipesh Toor left his 45 thousand pound Mercedes with Gold whilst he was in the Caribbean with his wife, Rita. And though they returned from their holiday, the car didn’t return from its stay with Gold. DIPESH TOOR: They took us back to their premises… and they said they think that one of their ex members of staff had stolen the vehicle. And we said,”How on Earth could you let this happen?” MATT: I mean what you hope would happen next is that they tell you how they’re going to reimburse you or replace the car in some way with their insurance. DIPESH: When we looked at their insurance details… in there, it says that theft is not covered… we were shocked. MATT (VOICE OVER) Punctures, chips to the windscreen, damage to the wheels, damage to the interior, theft of 2 Rogue Traders, 14/05/14 personal property…. Gold refuse to take responsibility for all manner of things that could happen to your car whilst it’s supposedly in their care. Meaning that when police couldn’t find Dipesh’s Mercedes or the alleged thief, he had to use his own insurance to replace it. MATT (TO CAMERA) Something’s going on, we need to find out what. And that means parking a car. But not just any car – it has to be a car befitting someone of my stature.A heritage brand with phenomenal build quality. Like… MATT (VOICE OVER) A Mercedes! [music kicks in] Yeah, a sick white CLA to be precise . We’re also gonna need a high-roller to drive this motor. And that’s why one of our researchers has dug out his Dad’s shirt and done his hair slightly differently. Looking like the first one to be fired by Lord Sugar, “Grant” pays £80 online and heads to Gatwick.But this is no ordinary berk with a Merc – he comes rigged with secret cameras. SECRET FILMING SHABAN: Hi there sir, are you waiting for Gold? …Driver’s going to be another few minutes, so what I’ll do is I’ll check the car in anyway. MATT (VOICE OVER) This is Shaban Malik, the Director of Gold. Who goes on to give our car a quick once over. “GRANT”: She’s brand new, so look after her! SHABAN: Going anywhere nice? “GRANT”: Yeah, to Kingston, Jamaica. SHABAN: Nice. “GRANT”: You’re telling me. Week away, get some sun. MATT (VOICE OVER) There’s nothing to sign, no paperwork at all. SHABAN: That’s all done, Mr Thomas. “GRANT”: Awesome. Do I leave the keys with you? 3 Rogue Traders, 14/05/14 SHABAN: Yeah, just leave the keys with me. MATT (TO CAMERA) Remember, We’re expecting our vehicle to end up in a secure compound, monitored 24/7. (Leans over to gooseneck microphone) Make sure it’s a secure car park! SECRET FILMING “GRANT”: And it’s all parked securely isn’t it? SHABAN: That’s all done, that’s all done, yeah [embarrassed sounding laugh]. MATT (TO CAMERA) – on bike Well, I found that utterly convincing. I’m thoroughly reassured. Anyway, our man is off to Jafaica. Look - there’s his imaginary plane.So where’s his very real car? MATT (VOICE OVER) Well that’s a very easy question to answer – because we’ve hidden a tracker inside. As soon as it leaves us, the car heads towards Crawley, which we can only presume is the location of the promised ‘secure compound’. Wherever it goes, we shall follow… MATT (VOICE OVER) We’ve asked Gold Parking to look after our Mercedes whilst we’re supposedly on holiday. As soon as the tracker we’ve hidden inside tells us the car’s been parked, we’ll head off to investigate… MATT (TO CAMERA) Of course, we may have to peer at our vehicle through the chain link fence topped with razor wire. And we may face difficult and searching questions from the burly, shiny-headed security guards who patrol the compound around the clock. MATT (VOICE OVER) But then again, we might not. Because our tracker reveals Gold have left our car here, on a publically accessible, residential street in Crawley, near to boss man Shaban Malik’s house. It’s hardly the secure car park we were promised. And this is where our car stays all week… MATT (TO CAMERA) 4 Rogue Traders, 14/05/14 TONY: My Instinction is telling me that there’s something really badly wrong here. MATT: Tony, the word is instinct. Your instinct is telling you. TONY: No nonono, it’s instinction. It’s a proper word. MATT (VOICE OVER) Yeah, it’s not. After a week pretending to be in Jafiaca, it’s time for researcher Grant to get the car back. Remember he said he was hoping to get some sun? Well, we’re nothing if not thorough… Grant and his matching friend head back to Gatwick where they are met by Operations manager, Riz Malik. Who throws our stooge a bit of a curve ball…. SECRET FILMING RIZ: Have you got the other half of the ticket? “GRANT”: I didn’t get a ticket. RIZ: You didn’t get any paperwork? MATT (VOICE OVER) No, your brother, Shaban, didn’t give him any. RIZ: Do you have ID on you,sorry? “GRANT”: No I don’t, actually. RIZ: Don’t you have your passports on you? MATT (VOICE OVER) Grant hasn’t really been on holiday AND has been using a fake name, so he hasn’t got one. Quick, think of a good excuse… “GRANT”: I think Dan and Mark have got our passports. When we came through, we put them in the same bag, so we don’t have anything. MATT (VOICE OVER) Thatta boy. I taught him everything he knows… It does the trick. Riz hands over the keys – and then it’s our turn to put him on the spot…. MATT (TO CAMERA) Tell them your friend saw your car on the street. SECRET FILMING 5 Rogue Traders, 14/05/14 “GRANT”: This is going to sound absolutely ridiculous so forgive me, but I phoned a mate of mine yesterday, before we flew, and he lives in Crawley and he reckons he saw the car parked on a side street. Is that right? GOLD REP: Side street in Crawley [laughs]? That’s impossible. MATT (VOICE OVER) No, it’s true. One car, one big bag of Golden lies. But let’s just play devil’s avo-caaa. Maybe this was just a one off because their secure compound was full. To be sure, we need to park another vehicular marvel… MATT (VOICE OVER) This Ford Fiesta. We blew the budget on the Merc, you see.