Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be furious that I have to pay £150 to recover my stolen car

60 replies

therighttoshoes · 05/12/2013 12:31

My car was stolen earlier this week and found the next day, I had lost a set of keys which I thought was hiding somewhere in the house, turns out I must have dropped them on my drive or left them in the door as my car was reported blocking someones drive and locked.

The car was found less than a mile from my house, rather than call me and give me the opportunity to recover the car myself (I would have got a lift there and been there in minutes) They got a recovery company 6 miles away to come and take the car to their lock up and I now have to pay them £150 before they release the car to me.

AIBU to be more mad at this than anything else?? obviously I have had to get my house lock changed and will need to get my car locks changed too, which in total will cost over £500... I accept this, but to have to pay the police to get MY own car back is just completely taking the piss!!

OP posts:
pandaptogether · 05/12/2013 12:36

Agree with you, completely taking the piss, glad you got your car back.

asmallandnoisymonkey · 05/12/2013 12:36

Did the police have your number or am I missing something? I mean they could've knocked on your door but if they did that for everyone they'd never get anything done and people would be moaning about rapists and murders and things.

£150 is quite a bit of money and it is a pain, but it's not the Police's fault your car was stolen

Hercy · 05/12/2013 12:37

Same thing happened to my parents when their car was stolen. It went up by £150 per day, so if you happened to be away, ou could end up with an outrageous bill. Think it's pretty disgusting, if you've had your car stolen, you're the victim, why should you have to pay?

goandshowdaddy · 05/12/2013 12:41

Absolutely YANBU. Disgusting. Happened to friends of ours too - couldn't believe they had to pay as a victim of a crime. Shock

Original poster
therighttoshoes · 05/12/2013 12:43

yes asmallandnoisymonkey they had my number, But they didn't contact me until the car had been picked up had taken to a lock up

OP posts:
Original poster
therighttoshoes · 05/12/2013 12:46

I didn't realise that Hercy that is disgusting.

OP posts:
HECTheHeraldAngelsSing · 05/12/2013 12:48

That's outrageous! The victim of a crime should not be further out of pocket because of it!

Can you claim it on your insurance?

Tiredtrout · 05/12/2013 12:48

If you want the car theft investigated it has to be examined by scenes of crime, that can't be done anywhere other than a secure lock up. You can claim the recovery back from your insurance.

To put this in perspective a colleague was intentionally hot by someone in a stolen car this week. Should the police not investigate car theft then?

BarHumbugBeasty · 05/12/2013 12:49

Happened to DH. Except the police wanted their forensic team to go over it (and it was a right off). But their forensic team were busy and they expected him to pay for it to stay in their store for several days until they could get round to it.

Now that's disgusting.

Tiredtrout · 05/12/2013 12:51

Also when you reported it normally the call taker will ask if you want it recovered, the risk is if it's left there waiting for the owner to come pick it up it gets moved again.

MrsBungleScare · 05/12/2013 12:54

This happened to me!!! I was also furious. Two idiot thieves tried to nick my car. They got in but couldn't start it and so PUSHED it up my street. Someone down the road saw them and called the police. The police had my car towed by a garage from THE END OF MY ROAD rather than walk 100 hundred yards and tell me!

This was all in the middle of the night so when I phoned in the morning to say it had been stolen - that's when they told me it was taken from my street to a garage and I had to pay £150 to get it back. God, I was livid. The was about 5 years ago, I'm still worked up about it now! At least they caught my thieves!

So yanbu and I feel for you!

BarHumbugBeasty · 05/12/2013 12:54

Given lots of people have an excess of over £150, they won't be claiming much back.

Maybe they should give 24hrs free, since they choose to take it there before telling you, and it isn't being taken there because you have done something wrong like park illegally.

After that if it's staying there for them to work on it remains free until they've finished, if it's still there because the owner hasn't collected it then start charging.

That would be fair!

stubbornstains · 05/12/2013 12:58

About 12 years ago I was awakened by the noise of my van roaring into life outside my flat in London. I got my glasses on and to the window just fast enough to see it speeding off into the distance.

Rang 999. The operator said "OK, well, I'll put it on the log...." "Um, aren't you going to tell the police to intercept it? It's speeding down the Kingsland Rd right now!" "Oh well, they probably won't be interested. But can I interest you in our insurance scheme? If you pay x amount now, then you won't be liable for pound fees when it gets recovered..."

Angry Angry Angry. Still fuming after all these years....

Hissy · 05/12/2013 13:16

Add it all up and put in a claim to the insurers..

Get the car valeted too - keep a receipt.

Original poster
therighttoshoes · 05/12/2013 13:45

BarHumbugBeasty, stubbornstains, MrsBungleScare I think I'm even more angry after reading about your experiences, I was wondering if they would charge the thief the fine if they found them, but I guess not.

I don't remember being asked about recovery when I reported it, But I was upset at the time so maybe they did.

I don't think it is worth using my insurance with the hefty excess fee and losing 10 years no claims, although I think I will look at protecting my no claims next year.

think I'm going to have to suck it up and pay the fee and console myself with a bottle of mulled wine tonight.

OP posts:
chipshop · 05/12/2013 14:19

That's ridiculous! My DSis bought an old banger when she was doing a year's postgrad and came back from abroad to live with me. It kept getting nicked, by kids who would have a ride round and dump it in on the precinct, 15 mins or so away. The cops would call us, usually about 4am, and we'd go and get it. No recovery nonsense.

VivaLeBeaver · 05/12/2013 14:25

Years ago my car was broken into and the radio taken. The thief dropped a bunch a keys on the floor of my car, a bunch of keys with a Halifax keyfob thingy which said if found to post back to them/hand in as there was an Id number so they'd get returned.

I took the keys to the police station saying they'd be able to find the thief. They said they couldn't because of data protection and just to give them the keys so they could return them to the Halifax!

HECTheHeraldAngelsSing · 05/12/2013 15:27

DATA PROTECTION? No WAY!!
That is daily mail / express world gorn mad worthy Grin
Data protection prohibits police from investigating crimes...

BrandybuckCurdlesnoot · 05/12/2013 15:44

This happened to us after my husband was knocked off his motorbike. The bike was still ride-able but as my husband was rushed to hospital with a broken spine the bike was recovered. I wasn't informed for a couple of days and the costs were already at £150 and by the time I could get someone to collect it for me (husband still in hospital) I had to find £250 first before they would release it. 2 years later and we are still waiting waiting for the insurance claim to finish to get the money back.

YANBU

VivaLeBeaver · 05/12/2013 16:47

I know.

I snatched the keys off the counter and said I was going to chuck them in the river. I was told in no uncertain terms I'd be in a lot of trouble if I didn't hand the keys over to them!

VivaLeBeaver · 05/12/2013 16:47

Just think I could have been in the DM doing a sad face pose!

jammiedonut · 05/12/2013 17:16

Yabu, I'd be furious with the buggers who nicked your car, not with the police. They need to investigate, they can't just hand a stolen car back to its owner, nor can they leave it. It is an inconvenience though, and I'm sorry that your things were stolen.

HECTheHeraldAngelsSing · 05/12/2013 17:26

I know. You missed a trick there Grin

I imagine that they simply couldn't be arsed, because I cannot believe that the police cannot investigate a crime because of data protection!

It's coming to something when you get fobbed off with crap like that, isn't it?

melika · 05/12/2013 17:29

YANBU police are too quick to do this.

DazzleU · 05/12/2013 17:39

BrandybuckCurdlesnoot same here.

DH injured by someone else careless driving while on his motorbike and was catered away to hospital in ambulance.

Insurance company did ask for me to ring and find out where bike was - which I did and got an ear full of police person who and were the phone as it wasn't their problem and it was insurance companied job to fine out for us - and yes I did phone local police station number.

Policeman who turned up at door week after wanting to talk to DH unaware he was still in hospital said he'd fine where bike was and let me know - never did.

Week later letter in post - Tone of the letter really upset me though - kept saying bike had been abandoned and saying this was an offense also saying we had to pick up the bike immediately as it was costing us £150 a day.

Couldn't as had 3 under 3 no car and a DH in hospital - told insurance company that and they sorted it out.

It was upsetting in an already upsetting situation.