A driver has been left infuriated after his car was stolen from a Bolton NCP - before his calls for help were not returned. Dad-to-be Jamie Hoole parked up his Ford Fiesta ST at the Deane Road multi-storey car park at 12.56pm last Thursday (March 31), believing the building was safe for his pride and joy.
But after returning to the car park at 3.09pm - and paying for his parking session - he realised the Ford had disappeared. Jamie reported the theft to Greater Manchester Police and contacted NCP for help in the days that followed, but says he was given no information back.
"I returned to the car park and I couldn't find my car anywhere," Jamie told the Manchester Evening News . "I had to look around for half an hour - it's all on split levels so it's a bit difficult to know where you are.
"But an NCP attendant came round and they could not find it either. At that point I realised it had gone."
As drivers need to have paid for their parking before leaving the car park, Jamie says the NCP worker told him the person who stole his car must have pressed the intercom for help leaving the building. It left Jamie believing that NCP had 'just let them out' with his Fiesta.
Jamie, 33, said: "I couldn't believe it. The prices that NCP charge are steep. The reason I go there is because it's more secure than one that's outside, but then I get told they have probably just let them out with my car without checking anything or asking for ID."
Frustration only grew for engineering manager Jamie, from Darwen in Lancashire, in the days that followed. After reporting the incident to GMP on the same day, Jamie says he heard nothing back from the force until contacting them again online yesterday.
He was contacted on Facebook by someone who said they had spotted Jamie's Ford, but as he went out to see it, the car 'shot off'. Even after believing the car had been spotted, Jamie did not get a response from police.
Jamie says he was eventually told an officer had not been assigned onto the case until Monday, and they had been off for two days since. NCP says it was contacted by GMP with a request to view CCTV of the incident today (April 7).
The incident has taken its toll on Jamie, whose girlfriend is pregnant with their first child. He added: "It's left us in a difficult position. The baby's due next month, we're looking to buy a house, we've got no car and we're also having to wait for a pay-out now from insurers."
As well as GMP, Jamie says he contacted NCP with a request for the CCTV, but the company had not responded to him. Since being approached by the M.E.N. , NCP confirmed that the person who stole Jamie's car had not used the intercom to leave the building, but had followed another driver closely behind through the barrier.
A spokesperson for NCP said: "We can confirm that we have today received an official police request for CCTV and so have arranged a visit for the police to view this footage. We have already reviewed the footage in preparation of an official request, and we can see that the vehicle left the car park by tailgating a white vehicle in front of it.
"The driver of this vehicle did not press any button or have any communication with our intercoms. It is always concerning when an incident like this happens and we will do all we can to help the police in their investigation."
Anyone with information about the incident can contact GMP by calling 101, or report it online at the force's website, using reference number 1873 of March 31, 2022. Details can also be passed on to the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, by calling 0800 555 111.
GMP was approached for comment.
