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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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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:

Oblomov · 05/12/2013 18:29

Disgraceful.

Original poster

therighttoshoes · 05/12/2013 20:10

it's even worse when somebody has been injured.... Where is the compassion??

OP posts:

Original poster

therighttoshoes · 05/12/2013 20:17

Cannot believe the data protection story.... I would be livid.

OP posts:

Felyne · 05/12/2013 20:53

So did the police call the towing company or did the people whose driveway was being blocked? Could it be that when the towies got it back to the yard and looked up the owner that's when it came up stolen and the police were called?

BrandybuckCurdlesnoot · 05/12/2013 20:57

Dazzle - sorry you went through the same thing. It's just another worry and expense that you do not need when your partner is stuck in hospital recovering from an accident. We almost let them keep the bike as we couldn't afford the charges to get the bike out. We had to extend our overdraft in the end as it was ridiculous to lose a £2000 bike for £250 charges.

It is just a money making scheme for the recovery company. It doesn't cost £150 a day (or £50) as I think it was after the first day to store a vehicle.

I couldn't go and get it. I don't drive and was juggling our children and being at the hospital daily. Fortunately I did encounter a very understanding person at the recovery company who was very sorry for the predicament we were in, but there was nothing he could do.

Sallyingforth · 05/12/2013 21:46

I can understand your frustration, but
my car was reported blocking someones drive and locked
if that was your drive and you called the police, you'd want them to get the car removed ASAP, rather than call the owner who may of may not be able to come and fetch it right away.
And unfortunately once the police have taken possession of the car, they are responsible for it and have to take or send it somewhere safe. If they just abandoned it down the road and it got stolen again or involved in an accident, you would be even more upset.
So sorry, but you are B just a little bit U.

Original poster

therighttoshoes · 05/12/2013 21:53

There definitely should be some leeway in incidents like that when someone is in hospital..... Or even not have the stupid fines in the first place.

Felyne The person who's drive it was called the police and the police called the recovery people, I asked why didn't you call me?? He said it was procedure.... I don't think I've ever used the word absurd so much in one conversation.

OP posts:

Cityofgold · 05/12/2013 22:12

This is the most frustrating thing in the world, happened to my motorbike a couple of years ago. I investigated a bit at the time the logic of the argument goes something like this:

Someone has to store the stolen/crashed vehicle.
Whoever stores that vehicle will have associated costs - rent of space, provision of security, movement and transport of vehicle etc...
The police are under pressure to cut costs, therefore they contract this out to third party providers.
The costs of the contract per vehicle are met by the owner of the vehicle.
If the owner is not liable/at fault then they can recover the cost from their insurance company.

This is one of the reasons why all our insurance premiums have gone up, because all these costs (and the all the whiplash claims!) are now being met by our insurance premiums. If (like me) you suffer a loss that is not worth claiming through your insurance policy you end up with the thick end of a £500 bill. Rubbish. Not sure what to do about it though?

Tiredtrout · 05/12/2013 22:16

It isn't a fine, it's a recovery charge, the police don't have their own tow trucks, it's subcontracted, I know it's a pain in the arse but where would you prefer they take the costs from in the budget, forensics, medical examiners, officers maybe?

Ilovefluffysheep · 05/12/2013 22:36

Just a little clarification - you're not paying the police, you're paying the garage. The police don't get any of the money paid.

Original poster

therighttoshoes · 05/12/2013 23:12

Maybe they pass the fine onto the culprits of the crimes!!! And hike up the costs of those that they catch to make up for the ones that they don't, making the victim of the crime pay out is just ridiculous when they will most likely have extra costs on top of that..

And just for clarification.... my main issue is that my car was ONE mile away from my house, they called a tow company SIX miles away... you don't have to be a genius to calculate who could have got there quicker. So it was completely a unnecessary cost (which frankly I cannot afford) and i would have preferred to have been given a choice!!!

OP posts:

bunchoffives · 05/12/2013 23:35

It's alright saying that it is not the police who are charging £150 but the tow company, but it is the police who will not release your vehicle (who effectively steal your property from you again) if you do not pay the tow co - even though it was the police who incurred the bill.

I wonder what would happen if you went to small claims to recover the £150 from the police? After all, they instruct the tow co (so incur the bill) not the car owner. I'm not sure under what law they are allowed to do that?

.... of course if you question anything the police do you are likely to be persecuted by them ever afterwards.

SantaIKnowHimIKnowHim · 06/12/2013 00:07

YADNBU. Our car got stolen from outside our house about 10 years or so ago. Looked outside the next morning, had completely gone.
To top it all off, not long after we noticed, we got called and visited by the police to tell us that it had been recovered about 3 STREETS away where it had been dumped. So about a ten minute walk.
Although the police had impounded it and it would cost us £100 to get it back (can't remember the exact amount, but was around there!)
Absolutely LIVID.
So the scum wasters who stole it and drove off in it presumably got away with it, but we had to pay to get our OWN car back?!
Felt like telling them to go BOLLOCKS.

SantaIKnowHimIKnowHim · 06/12/2013 00:12

*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....*

That is absolutely DISGUSTING. I'm raging on your behalf! What the hell are they there for if not stopping criminals?!

YouSayWhaaat · 06/12/2013 01:19

I would stand in the depot and stamp and scream and shout until someone gave me my car back or called the police. I would threaten the bastards with the press and my MP (for all the good that would do)

The suggestion that you should pay for this is absolutely fucking outrageous. I consider that I pay taxes so that victims of crime don't have to pay for this.

Your bone idle police force should hang their heads in shame over this but I suspect thei could not give a flying fuck.

YouSayWhaaat · 06/12/2013 01:56

So several people reporting this.

I dare a police officer to post here and explain how this is in any way ok.

Profiteering of the most disgusting order.

Revolting.

Rhiana1979 · 06/12/2013 06:11

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

Scenes of crime came and dusted for prints on my car outside my house after my car got broken into so this isn't entirely true.

Lemonraisin · 06/12/2013 06:24

I don't this is okay and I'm sorry that your car was stolen. Looks like I'm the police officer who dared to post.

The police don't generate profit from this. The fees go to the recovery company. As someone has already posted, if the car needs to be forensically examined it has to go under cover (which costs more money).

There are occasions the police will pay however the parameters are small and tbh, I don't know what they are and are likely to be different for each force.

In case no one had noticed, the government are cutting and have been cutting the police budget. This situation is far from new as exemplified by all of you posting. Maybe start a collective petition or write a letter to your Crime Commissioner - after all, didn't you vote for that person?

For what it's worth, I don't think victims should pay for this. Sadly, I suspect situations like this will be on the increase.

samithesausage · 06/12/2013 07:13

My ex had his car broken into. The policeman watched the guy breaking in (apparently drug addict and known offender) and then walked over and arrested him. The car got recovered. It took them 6 days to tell him where the car was. 650 pounds. He wasn't happy.

Rooners · 06/12/2013 07:19

I complained strongly to our local police about 12 years ago when this happened to me (bike stolen, found 5 minutes walk away, carted off to recovery place many miles away and a huge fee (and needed a lift) to get it back.

I got met with a brick wall of NO JOY

utter, utter corporate profiteering BASTARDS.

I normally like the police but seriously, what a load of shit.

Rooners · 06/12/2013 07:21

x posts - I mean the recovery company are profiteering with the help of the police.

Ours is called Eclipse and they are wankers.

Operation Lancashire I think it was called back then.

I wrote so many letters.

MrsDarylDixon · 06/12/2013 07:31

Years ago my beloved fiesta got nicked. The police phoned to tell me where it was and apparently it was all locked and secure so they weren't going to recover it.

It was gone by the time dp and I got there (about 10mins)

Next time they found it it had been burnt out. I bloody loved that car!
So you see OP, it could be a lot worse...

Joysmum · 06/12/2013 07:36

If you're that pissed off about the £150 tow truck fee, just wait until you get your next car insurance renewal! You didn't look after the keys and your car was stolen as a result. Your premiums will go through the roof!

Felyne · 06/12/2013 08:41

That's true about the insurance. We had a car stolen off our driveway (old story; stole keys through letter slot - still no idea how they did it really as keys were not visible through letter slot!)
If they ever catch who did it I am thinking of suing them for the increased costs we incurred but it was several years ago so I'm not holding out much hope.
I'm just grateful they only stole one car as the keyring they took had keys to both our cars plus our house keys on.
Some awful stories on this thread. :(

milk · 06/12/2013 08:48

In my area it costs £400 to release a car!

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