When you park your car in a multi-story garage, you generally expect that you’ll be able to retrieve it later. However, for one car park in London, that hasn’t been the case. For over two years, up to 40 vehicles have been trapped inside a parking stacker, leaving owners out of transport and out of pocket. Finally, though, it seems there’s been a break in the case.
As reported by the BBC, trouble first struck the parking stacker at Rathbone Square in December 2022. Due to an unspecified mechanical malfunction, the stacker was unable to remove cars from the stack and return them to owners.
The matter came to light thanks to the plight of one Mark Lucas. He had parked his business’s Vauxhall electric van in the stacker, only to later find he could not retrieve it. “It was about six o’clock that evening, we went back to the concierge and said, ‘can we have the van back?'” Lucas told the BBC. “To which he said, ‘we’re very sorry, but you can’t, because the stacking system has malfunctioned.'” That was over two long years ago.
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Lucas might have hoped for a fast resolution, but that wasn’t the case. As noted by the BBC, come January 2023, he was advised the vehicles were still stuck in place, as new parts were required to repair the stacker. With no way to get to his vehicle, Lucas and his business partner Steve Davies were forced to hire another van to get by—at the lofty sum of £800 a month. This was on top of the payments for the van stuck in the stacker, which was only six months old at the time it became trapped. They weren’t alone, either—owners of other vehicles trapped in the stacker reported to the BBC that up to 40 cars may have been stuck inside.
“We were told it’s just a bit further away. So we carried on renting, expecting to get the van back, but it never did,” Davies told the BBC. Despite repeated queries, the operators of the stacker failed to provide any accurate timeline as to when the van—and indeed, other stuck vehicles—would be freed from the stacker.
Months passed, then years, with no progress, and the stacker remained out of action. The MasterVario R3L stacker was installed at Rathbone Square by Klaus Multiparking, with another company, Double Parking Systems, in charge of maintenance. In the intervening years, neither company, nor building managers CBRE, were able to solve the problems or provide clear information as to a repair timeline.
Prior to the stacker’s failure, Klaus shot a James Bond-themed advert for the installation.
Fast forward to April this year, and the BBC reported that the building’s contracted maintenance company, Double Parking Systems, had actually repaired the system on March 15 this year. And yet, Lucas’s van would remain stuck until Thursday last week—two and a half years after it was first parked in the facility.
Despite concerns over the long time in parking prison, the electric Vauxhall Vivaro van was thankfully still operational when it was finally released. “It fired up and had enough juice to drive itself out of the bay, which we’re very pleased about as it could have been quite awkward otherwise.” Lucas told the BBC. After driving out of the bay, the van was then loaded onto a low-loader truck to be taken for servicing and checks.
The parking stacker at Rathbone Square also serves residents in the combined retail and residential facility. It’s believed there are still a number of resident’s vehicles remaining inside the stacker. The building is managed by CBRE, with the BBC viewing an email in which the firm noted other vehicles in the stacker will be released over the coming month. In the meantime, the stacker remains closed.
Inside the Klaus stacker.
While Lucas and Davies now have their van back, it’s only a minor comfort after the struggles of the last two years. The pair behind HCF Furniture have stated their “coffers are now fairly low,” having spent a total of almost £50,000 ($66,000 USD) to rent and later buy a van to continue their work in the meantime.
As for the matter of reimbursement for all the trouble, that remains up in the air. As noted by the BBC, it’s not yet clear which organization will be liable for the matter. Installer Klaus Multiparking, maintainers Double Parking Systems, or building management CBRE could all be on the hook. As far as Lucas and Davies are concerned, they’re having their van serviced and checked over first prior to submitting a claim for their major out-of-pocket expenses over the last two years.
Rain or shine, a trip to Rathbone Square is always a good time! Shelter from the storm in one of our coffee shops and eateries or get some much-needed fresh air in our green haven. Find us just 5 minutes from Tottenham Court Road station ???? https://t.co/sQfqpM3qto pic.twitter.com/l3iSQwWMyb
— Rathbone Square (@Rathbone_Square) January 15, 2023
Rathbone Square is a luxury residential and retail destination in London.
The stacker provided 79 parking spaces. According to sources that spoke to the BBC, up to 40 vehicles may have been trapped by the stacker malfunction.
It’s a hellish situation that almost beggars belief. It’s hard to imagine casually parking your car one day, only to lose it for years on end. The added sting in this case is that insurance payouts weren’t on the table from the outset since the cars weren’t damaged, but temporarily inaccessible.
Expect more stories like these—and they’re out there—as car stackers become more popular as cities grow ever denser and more populous. The only hope is that the companies that install and maintain these systems learn to repair them in timescales that can be measured with less than three calendars.
Image credits: Klaus Multiparking via YouTube screenshot, Vauxhall
I think the most galling storage charges I’ve seen is shipping companies charging for overseas port storage, of stolen cars, that they’re responsible for shipping (and aren’t taking responsibility for shipping back), especially in a few cases where the charges started months before they made any effort to track down the owner. At least in my case, it’s all belonging to a large company where it’s a relatively minor expense in a huge budget rather than a small business owner to whom it’s a huge impact, but it’s still incredible seeing someone like Maersk absolve themselves of any responsibility.
This sounds like a job for Stacker Hacker!
I wonder how many times that’s been an issue at the Carvana vending machines? Wait! I know of one. Two years ago when I bought my Cayman from them in Pittsburgh, PA, the vending machine was broken, but my car was waiting for me in the lot. They did still have about a dozen cars in the machine. I don’t know if or when it was fixed… I did miss out on being able to put the giant coin in the machine to get my car, but driving it is reward enough.
When I bought my F-250 from Carvana it got wedged in on the way out and I was forced to also buy a Mirage to knock it free.
Did you try shaking the machine?
I stopped reading at “Lucas” and “electric” in a single sentence.
Someone, in England, with the name of Lucas, being deprived of his electric van…
The jokes write themselves!
Truly the real Prince of Darkness.
Headline: Londoners Absolutely Furious After Cars Stuck in Stacker
Londoners: “Well it’s not gone well, ‘as it?”
Now I’m in no way defending the overly-litigious nature of America, but how was this allowed to happen and continue to happen for over two years??
Yeah exactly this – complain about the US and lawsuits, but there’s no way this would have gone on more than a couple months in the US.
Still might have taken close to 2 years, but in those 2 years there would have been numerous press conferences and hearings with many thousands of hours billed by attorney’s on all sides.
Lawyers would have been paid up for the two years.
A separate group of lawyers would then be paid for the class action lawsuit that’ll take another 2-5 years to complete following the retrieval of the vehicles.
This is another example of UK diddling over stuff that doesn’t matter. In the US, a judge (after everybody sues) would’ve ordered the building owner to dismantle or destroy the “stacker” in a way that allows the cars to be removed safely. You say that’s not possible?
FIND A WAY.
This guy better Call Saul.
Seriously though, I’d jump all over this if I were a lawyer.
Seems to me that you sue everyone, and let the Judge figure out who is liable.
Yes, and make them all parties to the same lawsuit. Don’t let them separate that out or they’ll all weasel out of it by pointing the blame elsewhere.
Franky, I’d have filed suit after one month, let alone 30.
This is a great business plan.
Wait until the garage is full. Refuse to let any car out. Charge owners forever for parking.
When they eventually stop paying, sell off the garage-stored extremely low-mile vehicles.
thats how we wound up with a TV show about storage unit auctions
Oh, man, now we’re going to see Car Storage Wars, where we see some surprisingly rare cars (that were planted by the production team).
Step 2, all the least informed people start paying way too much at these auctions in the off chance something they don’t immediately recognize is rare, making these shady practices even more profitable.
Bonus points if all these places hide the cars under covers until the bids are finalized, just like they keep bidders from entering the storage units to actually see what they’re buying.
That’s a mix between American Pickers and televised Mecum auctions
Oh, man. I haven’t thought about American Pickers in a long time, but you’re right. I can just imagine the bonkers deals they’d propose doing it that way, too.
“We’re here at this parking garage, where they’ve got quite a collection. Dale, what would it take for me to get that Lamborghini? Would you part with it for 35?”
“Well, Jimmy, that one is kind of my favorite. I think I’d need at least 45 for it.”
“What if we also bought those three Souls and called it 50?”
“60 and I’ll throw in the Sportage, too.”
This is just how new Carvana locations are established.
The days of inflatable gorillas is in the rearview, used car dealers across the country are kicking themselves for not thinking to put a 4 story clear car elevator that goes nowhere in the middle of their lots
Thankfully the panel van, like dozens of candy-loving London area children, remained unmolested.
you know, its just as easy to be a creep in a truck as it is to be a creep in a van
the trick is not being a creep
The van was here before, I rode the London Eye
Those viewpoints and angles, the sights made me cry
Then I went on a cruise boat
Down the beautiful Thames
It felt really special
That parking deck’s special
But I’m a creep
I’m surprised the parking vendor didn’t charge them the daily rate for all the time the vehicles were there.
They would have here in texas or florida.
after 30 minutes of not handing over the vehicle, the owner would be pulling a gun and demanding their property (that the bank technically owns) in texas or Florida
I’m not going to lie, when I first read the headline I thought that’s where this story was going.
Imagine if someone with modest means lower income lost use of a car and had to still make payments and still get to work the next day. Nightmare.
they would take the bus like they do when their street parked car gets broken into overnight
Luckily this is in London where there is functioning public transport.
Right!
There had to be someone who could have gotten them off with a fork lift of loader. Maybe if the group filed a claim with the buildings or company in charge of the parking insurance things would have moved. Just a crazy situation created by terrible out of touch people. Sometimes even though they “own” something they get forced out of public opinion turns on them.
This is London, though. As soon as someone hopped on a forklift and even made a small darting motion in the direction of the parking stacker, Health and Safety would have been there on the spot, waving them off and shouting, “You can’t do that, mate!”
This reminds me a lot of the Wolfsburg Autostadt, that giant tower full of VWs that acts like a giant car vending machine.
But there’s a key difference: This one fails, but ultimately delivers your car to you; the VW delivers perfectly, but the car ultimately fails.
Then it should work like an insurance payout – whichever organization actually received the money from the parkers originally should pay out, and then their lawyers can sort it out with the other potentially liable organization’s lawyers. The poor bastards who lost their cars for 2 and a half years should not be left hanging the whole time they’re sorting this out. They’ve waited long enough.
Impressed that the EV managed to drive itself out though. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the ICEs with now very old gas in them have a rough time of it.
Time to send Jackie Chiles to London…
I would have thought this would fall under Bailor rules and thus required reimbursement after a given number of days. Like when a dry cleaner loses your clothes. Either produce or pay. I guess not in this case.
there is likely some waiver or saign that says that you relinquish responsibility when storing it in one of their parking spots to absolve them from any wrongdoing
aka, this isn’t their first time dealing with this
Indeed that is possible. However, passive sign postings do not waive or supersede laws or regulations and I’ve never signed anything to park a car. Have you?
My alternative guess is that it had something to do with the lender or loan agreement.
And while writing that last sentence it popped into my head that the ownership of tools and equipment in the truck might transfer to the garage if there were acceptance of reimbursement from the bailee. That makes more sense. It’s not like they could remove anything from the vehicle.
there are often signs upon entry that waive any responsibility, whether you read them or they will uphold in court is an entirely different matter
the signs just provide the owner something to point to to prevent the lawsuit because people often just give up and wait two years while someone holds their van in a broken lift
Is there any information on exactly what the issue was with the lift?
I fail to see how there is ZERO ability to recover any vehicles off the lifts if it the 3 stack variety seen in the videos. Using a non-powered lift with a heavy duty forklift should be able to get the job done fairly easily.
How can anyone with the least bit of mechanical ingenuity not engineer a solution?
My theory? Lucas designed both the lift and every nearby forklift.
“How can anyone with the least bit of mechanical ingenuity not engineer a solution?”
Anyone who has ever owned a (perpetually broken) Triumph, MG, Austin, Jaaaaag, etc. knows the answer to this question and the answer – at least in the UK – is NO.
You somehow left out the lowest hanging fruit, Land Rover
Probably the “we are not going to try anything dramatic and expensive, they promised us it will be fixed next week and next week was two years later.
to be fair it does still kinda feel like 2022 sometimes
The hamster died, and they couldn’t get the corpse out of the wheel. They had to wait for it to decay before they were finally able to remove it.