Please please advise on what to do about my stolen car :(

DrGen

Dear MSE forum members,

My car was stolen 2 nights ago and is still missing.

It is a very old car with quite a high mileage, not worth very much, £200-£400 perhaps. It was valuable to me as I had just spent around £300 on its MOT, repairs and new battery in December and January and obviously, it was my means of transport.

It was insured for theft but with an excess of £150. I have 2 years no claims which would be lost if I made a claim for theft (checked this with my insurer).

As a result of this it was initially pretty easy to decide not to claim.

My insurance company hasn't been very helpful or informative, they basically just hassled me whether I wanted to claim or not. My understanding is that the policy is currently "cancelled" but can be reinstated (eg: on another car) within 30 days of the theft.

Unfortunately after doing some research and being in contact with the police, it seems that if they recover the vehicle I will be charged at least £150, and possibly more, even if it is not in a useable condition, and that I could even be charged for its scrappage

I have tried my best (calls and emails) to declare that I do not agree to the police recovering my vehicle or any costs incurred. I will try to avoid this charge by literally racing the police to my vehicle (I have a driver friend willing to help) and then sitting in it until my own garage comes to tow (at a much more reasonable cost of anywhere from £70-£100, particularly as I would presumably be paying this anyway to take it from the police to a garage). Obviously though, I may not be able to avoid this fee.

The possibility that I will have to give the police £150 as well as paying hundreds to repair damages to my car makes me consider a claim as potentially worthwhile, even so I doubt it given the value of the car and the excess. But then what if I don't claim and have an accident next year anyway, losing my bonus I just feel pretty unlucky right now. Could someone please offer an opinion on what I should do?

Also could anyone answer some other questions about my insurance (which is with Diamond). I have asked some of these on the phone, but they don't seem to be giving me a clear answer, and to be honest I find they have been rude and upsetting to speak to.

- If I don't make a claim, and don't transfer the insurance to another car, will I get any of my premium back (am I entitled to any of it back)?
- If I don't transfer the insurance onto another vehicle, and don't make a claim, will I have to pay a cancellation fee?
- Will this count as a "cancelled policy" on my insurance record? If so will it increase future premiums even if I don't make a claim?
- If I do continue the insurance on another car, but don't make a claim - will I have to pay a fee to switch my insurance to another vehicle?


Could someone also answer some questions about the police/recovery situation?

- Where do I stand legally in terms of requesting that they do not recover my vehicle / that I shouldn't be liable for these fees?
- Are the police under an obligation to give me some time to reach the vehicle and recover it? These questions taken in the context that it is not an immediate danger or obstruction to other road users..
- Will the police actively prevent me from recovering the vehicle? I understand that driving it now would be unsafe and illegal, but can I get into trouble for attempting to safely recover it (before they can)?


And any other sensible comments or suggestions are welcome

I feel quite distressed about this, as I can come to terms with stupid kids taking my car.. but then to be robbed again by the police (it feels this way), and for my insurance company to getting in on the profit.. despite me not making a claim.. it's almost more than I can stand really

It feels like I'm going to lose even more than the value of the car and noone is on my side, not even the police :(:(

InsideInsurance

If you cancel the policy because your not going to reuse it on another vehicle then you pay the cancellation fee but it doesnt count as an insurer cancelled policy that has to be declared.

Of cause there is the other possibility which is your vehicle may be involved in an accident in which case the other parties may have a claim against your insurance depending on if the driver at the time is identified or not - however this again goes under the theft claim not a separate claim.

da_rule

If the police do find it then they may seize it as evidence (to have it fingerprinted etc). They should only begin to charge you once they have finished with it. If you decide you do not want it back then most recovery companies will allow you to sign a document saying you waive your ownership of it. This allows them to scrap it/sell it/keep it and keep any proceeds, but you would not be liable for any of the charges.

scotsbob

Hopefully it has been taken by joyriders who will set fire to it, as is their normal practice.
Maybe the thieves will abandon it and some vandal will set fire to it, that would solve your problems.

Johno100

da_rule wrote: »

If the police do find it then they may seize it as evidence (to have it fingerprinted etc). They should only begin to charge you once they have finished with it. If you decide you do not want it back then most recovery companies will allow you to sign a document saying you waive your ownership of it. This allows them to scrap it/sell it/keep it and keep any proceeds, but you would not be liable for any of the charges.

You would hope so, but I understand the £150 is a standard recovery charge agreed nationwide, with subsequent daily charges. I don't know what happens if the police are tardy with their forensic examination and days/fees stack up.

Here is an example from my area.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/car-owner-charged-for-storage-of-vehicle-231334

I think the OP has to be careful with his plan to beat the cops to the car, I wouldn't put it past some forces to charge the OP with obstructing the police.

ruggedtoast

Unfortunately driving is fraught with unexpected expenses. There doesn't seem to be much point claiming for a £200 - £400 car, do you know what your excess is? Probably £350 or something anyway.

Stooby2

What police force area do you live in?

DrGen

Thanks everyone. I am feeling more cheered up now than in my original, fairly miserable post

My insurance excess is £150 - certainly if the car is not recovered I will not make a claim. If it is recovered (by the police at a cost of £150) I think I will still not make a claim.

The thing is Diamond have only given me 30 days to find another car onto which to transfer my policy. With my final year exams coming up (DrGen is an optimistic username!) I just don't have time for this, but its frustrating as I know I will need a car for my job starting in late July, and would be useful to have one from mid-June - which is only 3 months time. Particularly as I doubt I'll get any/much of my premium back for this year anyway.

My parents are helping me with this now, I may transfer my insurance onto their old car, and then just leave it with them. I think I will object to any excessive transfer charge if possible, would anyone know where I stand with this?
I am making assumptions ofc, it may be that my insurance company is reasonable about this.

As for the police - I am under West Midlands, but of course depending on where the car is located it could be a different force. I understand it is a national policy, but such an unreasonable one! I have contacted private tow companies which will do the same job for around £70-£100, and a garage certainly wouldn't charge me for storage!
So disappointing to discover the police in cahoots with rip off merchants. To some extent I understand their hands are tied on cost - but I wish they would show some flexibility and allow me to pick up my own car if it is not an obstruction.

DrGen

scotsbob wrote: »

Hopefully it has been taken by joyriders who will set fire to it, as is their normal practice.
Maybe the thieves will abandon it and some vandal will set fire to it, that would solve your problems.

Yeah unfortunately it actually seems this way.

The thought of my car just being destroyed by teenage idiots is better than the eventuality where I decide it isn't worth paying £150+ to have my car released, whereby then some police endorsed impound will flog off MY property for their profit (this is what actually happens if you don't / can't afford to claim it - they will not even allow you to retrieve your possessions from the vehicle!)

There's something wrong with national policy when I'm left hoping my car isn't recovered because the official process is so expensive, disappointing and stressful!

Mark_Mark

scotsbob wrote: »

Hopefully it has been taken by joyriders who will set fire to it, as is their normal practice.
Maybe the thieves will abandon it and some vandal will set fire to it, that would solve your problems.

Why will this help the OP?

The police will have to recover a burnt out vehicle so it will cost at least £150 to recover it. If they have taken it off road to burn the fist will be more.

Stoke

British Police - Proudly refusing to solve or prevent crime since 1980.

The more I read stories like this, the more I become displeased with the people who are supposed to protect us. The police are pretty much your enemy when it comes to solving a crime, unless it's nice and easy. My friend had a similar situation to you. His car was a P-reg Fiat Cinquecento. As you can imagine, it was worth nothing. It was stolen from the front of his house last year so he reported it to the police... as you do. They firstly tried to suggest a family member had 'borrowed' it, and that if it had been stolen, it wouldn't be in their interests to find it. They told him the same as you, regarding the £150 recovery fees, also a penalty for releasing it once impounded. Despite notifying the police, he received two speeding fines a week later and a letter to inform him the vehicle had been impounded due to illegal parking. Yet the police didn't put 2 and 2 together and still insisted the vehicle hadn't been stolen. They refused to accept his version of events until the vehicle was inspected and it was clear it had actually been stolen.

Best leave them to the real criminals, like student protesters...