My Car Broke Down and Police Recovery Took It To Compound

Wig

Warwick_Hunt wrote: »

He'll get nowhere with that, 30 minutes is policy and you can't complain about that.

But it was not 30 mins it was an hour, and the OP said up to an hour, could have been 30 mins.

So really what is the point of having breakdown cover if the police are always going to charge you £150 plus storage? Just because they think theirs will be faster. which it isn't.

TH71

Warwick

The police officer took over the situation and in the end, clearly gave the wrong information. She was only a young officer so whether this was a new incident to here I do not know

And yes the insurance thing with claiming back the fees was incorrect, as we found out after calling our insurance on Friday morning

Wig

Warwick_Hunt wrote: »

Under what law could they take it?

I assume,.... and surely you already know? given that you have already said "30 mins is policy" if the police consider a broken down vehicle to be a danger to road traffic, and it cannot be moved within 30 mins, the police can order the car to be moved by their own services and the vehicle owner is liable for costs.... surely this is the premis of what you have been saying all along on this thread?

TH71

Wig

Apparently none of this money goes to the police. Any monies goes to their recovery firm

TH71

The car broke down here on the left under the bridge and pushed into where the path ends

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.2372819,-1.422119,3a,75y,139.77h,99.98t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s-oBgTH5PAbkOdcFXZsZgqQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&authuser=0

Wig

TH71 wrote: »

Wig

Apparently none of this money goes to the police. Any monies goes to their recovery firm

Yes I am aware of that.

Warwick_Hunt

Wig wrote: »

Yes I am aware of that.

Which makes you both wrong.

shaun_from_Africa

The money payable (both the towing and storage) is only meant to cover the costs incurred so there shouldn't be any profit to go to the police.

Warwick_Hunt

TH71 wrote: »

Wig, we gave made a complaint to the police. Not sure where it will get us though

We have been advised to get in touch with the Ombudsman and our local MP to see if any of those will help out

No where, the only thing she did wrong was misinform you about claiming your costs back which is neither here nor there given she had already decided it was being recovered.

Cash-Strapped.T32

TH71 wrote: »

The car broke down here on the left under the bridge and pushed into where the path ends

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.2372819,-1.422119,3a,75y,139.77h,99.98t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s-oBgTH5PAbkOdcFXZsZgqQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&authuser=0

I know that road & the surrounding area very well - I live about a mile & a half away myself.

Not the best place to break down tbh, given how few people stick to the 50 limit.
Having said it was a 50 road in the OP.. Don't you think was just a little bit disingenuous - saying it's only a 50 road makes it sound like it's not really that dangerous, or busy a road, but it's usually rammed at all times other than the small hours and by far & away the majority of cars along there do anything from 60-80 as you'll know.

However I do feel for you - yes, I can see the copper's point in that it's a really bad place to have a broken down vehicle - it's not like there is a shoulder there like on many a-roads, and the path won't allow the entire car to be off the carriageway..
Only takes one boy-racer on his way to their nightly meet-up at Tesco carpark just further down the road to swing a bit wide on the corner.

Neither is it good to have the occupants hanging around the roadside for any longer than necessary - so sure, I can see her desire to get you gone asap - I would hate to be stuck at the side of the road on that drag strip between the Hornsbridge & Tesco roundabouts.

But it must have been galling to find out the info was wrong - I had to pay a similarly stupid amount to Richfords after a motorbike of mine was stolen/recovered.. Hell, it was recovered about half a mile from my driveway & they had to drive past me to get to the motorway - I could have pushed it home had anyone bothered to inform me.