I paid hotel £35 to park my car ... and they left it at Tesco

He was assured that he and wife Sarah would receive a suite and breakfast and that for an extra £35 a valet would park his Audi A3 in a secure parking facility.

But two weeks after their £400 night at the Radisson Edwardian Vanderbilt in South Kensington, London, the architect received a letter from Tesco demanding to know why his car had been parked illegally all night on the forecourt of one of its stores nearby.

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Mr Elphick, from Gloucestershire, said: "I was astonished. I believed that my car had been cared for while my wife and I enjoyed her birthday surprise. Instead it was just dumped in a supermarket by a valet who pocketed my money." The letter said Mr Elphick's car had been parked from 10.53pm to 11.08am the next day.

Tesco's customer services manager Mark Bather added: "The next time you do not observe parking restrictions a parking charge will be issued."

Mr Elphick said: "I was mortified because clearly my car had been in breach of the shop's parking restrictions and, if they had wanted, it could have been slapped with a huge fine or clamped and towed away.

"It's incredibly irresponsible of a hotel like Radisson to employ valets who take advantage of guests."

The hotel was once the London residenceof the American Vanderbilt family and has 215 rooms with marble en suite bathrooms.

The building has stained-glass windows, wood-panelled rooms and a decorative ceiling in the reception area.

The hotel's website says it offers visitors comprehensive concierge and business services, complimentary newspapers, 24-hour room service, a fitness room and laundry service.

It also says there is valet parking "upon request", adding that the valet uses a "local car park" for vehicles.

The Radisson hotels group said it had employed the same parking contractor for the past 12 years. A spokeswoman said: "The hotel manager has investigated this complaint fully and, until Mr Elphick brought it to our attention, we had no idea that the sub-contractor we used for valet parking was behaving in this way.

"We understood all guest vehicles were parked in a secure facility and that when this was full no other bookings for car spaces could be made. We were absolutely appalled to hear what was happening and have now terminated our contract with the company.

"We have also apologised to Mr Elphick and refunded the £35 charge he paid for our parking services."