The OPs original post is here :
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=68167&...f
He attended the scene when his car was found but was not permitted to take his car back. The police removed the vehicle for fingerprinting.
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he is in a bit of a no win situation isn't he
Police have ordered the recovery of the car, for forensics, to try to catch the thief.
In straightforward cases where the car is abandoned somewhere and police don't necessarily want the car recovered, but if it's left there it might be re-stolen, they have it recovered by a private contractor having previously asked the registered keeper if they wish to be part of the recovery scheme.. i.e. at the time the vehicle was stolen the reg keeper says 'yes' or 'no' to the scheme.
the private contractors are part of the scheme, on the condition they recover their costs from the reg keeper or insurance co. not the police...as mentioned above by mlc, to keep police budgets in check
in this case, i'd suggest it IS the responsibility of the police, as they've specifically asked for it for forensics.
what the OP needs to do is;
A, see if insurance co. will cough (far easier)
B, see if contractor will release to owner with bill being sent to police as on this occasion the police required it, not called contractor on behalf of owner, as part of scheme (might be difficult as contractor will want their money and it will be difficult to get from police)
C, get hold of police and require them to sort it out (might be slow old job due to bureaucracy, being patient and getting to the right perosn who deals will be the secret)
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thanks to midlife, and pug for a swift response, im still slightly incandescent with rage though, i was treated like a leper when i went to get my car back.. i feel like a victim twice over
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can i add to the mix..the car was stolen from a private driveway, and also abandoned on private land (hard standing near private garages) and it was on a sorn ticket
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can i add to the mix..the car was stolen from a private driveway and also abandoned on private land (hard standing near private garages) and it was on a sorn ticket
shouldn't make a difference
basically the system used generally to pick up stolen cars sooner rather than later and paid for by you or your insurance co. via a contractor called by police..
..is different from the police asking the contractor to do something for them i.e. pick up your car for them to have it examined by a Scene of Crime Officer
where it gets muddied, is if the police in your area are using system 1, and whilst they have the vehicle at the contractors are reverting to system 2
we don't do that where i work, but there again we don't examine every stolen car here, which they might do in your area... which gives you a better service..but...includes this headache!
Edited by Westpig on 19/10/2008 at 19:47
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Blimey zookeeper, i haven't a clue about your problem, but remembering your situation with the foreign truck and its insurance (and i am prepared to bet you've still had no joy there), may i be the first to wish you a very much better 2009.
You do deserve a break.
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There would appear to be a bit of political slippage here. It's a bit rough, to put it mildly, for the police or any other official body to stick someone for a bill of several hundred pounds when through no fault of their own their car has been stolen by some of the toerags running about unchecked.
Obviously, front-line plod won't really be to blame. But someone is. Lobby parliament (he urged, putting his feet up and thinking of other things).
Get my point? All the tinkering with the system and hiving off of official functions to venal private companies is being done in an increasingly slovenly way.
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There should be a few basic questions asked when you report your car stolen and a number of options.
1. If your car is found do you wish us to contact you to come and collect it providing it is driveable and legal to drive on the road?
You will have to be able to attend in a very reasonable time as we will not be able to commit a resource to sit on it whilst you attend.
We would however wish to have the vehicle examined to perhaps find forensic evidence which will identify the culprits and it will require to be stored somewhere dry and suitable to enable this examination to take place. (Depending on local policy). This will usually be the recovery agent but the recovery costs will be born by yourself. You may decline this option if you wish but we will be unable to progress the case.
3. If we contact you and there is no response or you are unable to attend in a reasonable time then the vehicle will be recovered to one of our agents? There will be a recovery and storage fee payable by yourself.
2. If your car is found do you wish us to recover the vehicle to our agents? There will be a recovery and storage fee payable by yourself.
Playing devils advocate here, you stated the vehicle was on SORN and therefore not legal to drive on the road. Although not of your own making you would have had to have the vehicle recovered in any event!
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Im wondering, seeing as the car was on SORN, was it insured?
Edited by the swiss tony on 19/10/2008 at 20:41
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what is it all coming to when were having to pay costs for the police to investigate a crime? secondly if your insurance company pay the bill would that not count as a claim on your policy and thus affect those without protected ncb?
chris
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the car was sorned since the end of july and privatly parked, i had just insured the car 0ne week previous to it getting stolen i had intended taxing it the week after i insured it ( monies tight around here) but sods law and all...you cant win!
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oh and the debacle with the near fatal crash with the daewoo, ive been in contact with the witness to the crash but im still waiting for a written statement ..dont hold your breath ive nearlly given up on the matter........word of warning get covered with legal stuff on your insurance , it may cast a bit more but in the long run it may save you a load of grief
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hi room just an update on the stolen car, i got a letter from the storage people which stated that the car would be disposed of 7 days after the date of the letter (it took 4 days to reach me) so i rang my insurance company explaining the situation and they have since paid the storage fees and had the vehicle moved to their own storage facility, it is awaiting the assessors report as to the damage.... this obviously means that i have had to make a claim for theft, now will this affect my premiums next time as it was a new policy without any no claims bonuses? cheers...zoo
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Met police one differs slightly, in that... at the beginning the person reporting the stolen car is asked whether or not they wish to subscribe to the recovery system
if they say 'no' and the car is found, it is left in situ (even if it is in a sink estate and gets vandalised or re-stolen) as not every stolen car is looked at for forensics. Where it gets muddied is if the owner originally elects 'no', but for whatever reason the police wish to have it looked at for forensics anyway (which wouldn't be done in the street) e.g. it was stolen in a burglary and burglary is a priority crime...then there's a grey area, which i'd imagine, if pushed hard enough would mean the Met Police would have to cough up...albeit most people are grateful for as much investigation as possible, so probably roll over and pay themselves or claim on the insurance
it is surprising how many people with thoroughly decent cars still say 'no'. I wouldn't want to go to a carp hole estate in the small hours to collect my potentially damaged car with a flat battery...let the recovery agent and insurance co, deal.
Edited by Westpig on 22/10/2008 at 19:18
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I seem to remember the recovery system costs £120 or more Wp, and people can be very stingy when it comes to protecting their 20,000 quid motors...
I found this out when I thought my car had been stolen. It had, but by the council unfortunately. That cost even more (blush).
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Call the Sun news desk.
Tell them your story. Agree to give an interview and pose for pictures. Call the relevant forces PR chief (yes they do have one). The car will be valeted and returned to you ASAP.
Only thing these clowns understand is bad publicity.
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...let the recovery agent and insurance co deal.
Is it just me?
But do some people NOT realise what insurance is all about?
Yes, you pay. It is a grudge purchase. BUT when you need it, it is useful to have.
Yet many folk waffle on about their NCB and premiums and the rest...
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Ian (Cape Town)>> Is it just me? But do some people NOT realise what insurance is all about? Yes you pay. It is a grudge purchase. BUT when you need it it is useful to have.
Is it just me, or do some people not realise how insurance actually works. A claim under £1,000 and you end up out of pocket.
So a £250 bill for recovery, and £100 for a new window and £500 for a new steering lock, then the recovery bill is an extra, unpleasant cost to be covered by the poor car owner.
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Met police one differs slightly in that... at the beginning the person reporting the stolen car is asked whether or not they wish to subscribe to the recovery system
Yes, I remember this when we reported SWMBO's Astra stolen many years ago.
As the victim of a crime, and being somewhat angry at having my property ripped off, I was not particularly happy about being "sold" something within seconds of calling my local police station. We were also told in a rather 'threatening' manner that if we said no to the "service", and the car was re-stolen after being informed of its whereabouts, we would be liable for any damage caused.
It just struck me, rightly or wrongly that far more time and effort was being put into selling me this service than catching the scrotes who'd ripped the car off in the first place.
It was a hard sell, bascially, and not thinking rationally at the time, and feeling angry and the complete lack of sympathy or support, I wasn't having a bar of it. The car turned up later that day, vandalised and undriveable. It was recovered to our house by the RAC in the end, and picked up by the insurer from there.
If it weren't for the reference number for insurance purposes, I actually seriously doubt I'd bother reporting a car theft to the Met again.
Cheers
DP
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