My Car Broke Down and Police Recovery Took It To Compound

phillw

TH71 wrote: »

That is what we said after. In future it will always be about 30 minutes

Just had a google around and there a quite a few that have experiencing what we are. Here for one https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=10&t=136225&i=0

Motorway is kinda understandable. Although I sat on the M25 hard shoulder waiting for the AA for over an hour. It took longer than normal because I had suspended the membership several years earlier :money: extra call out fee was annoying, but not as annoying as the engine seizing because of an oil leak that I kinda knew about.

Wig

phillw wrote: »

Your mistake was telling them it would take up to an hour. If the car was safely off the road you should have sat in the car and locked the doors until your recovery turned up and refused to let theirs take it.

And add a smashed window to the bill, and an arrest for willful obstruction? Not a great idea, ok to try it on for a few minutes but you have to know when to back down.

Also what would be the legal situation in if both recovery firms turn up yours and the police.... yours is free the police would have to pay for the call out of theirs if yours was allowed to take it. So my guess is the police would order your tow truck to move on and stop obstructing a police matter.

Warwick_Hunt

Tarambor wrote: »

Section 99 of the Road Traffic Act. A vehicle deemed to be causing an obstruction or a danger will be removed under the Section 99 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. The owner may reclaim his or her vehicle from the garage concerned upon payment of the statutory fees.

When the police call a recovery company to tow you the only option is to storage because that is what the rules the government made say the recovery company have to do. The fee is a flat one that is the same no matter where you are in the country and is one set by the government.

No, it can be taken to anywhere within reasonable distance the owner chooses for it to be taken. Providing they pay the fee.

phillw

Wig wrote: »

And so Warwick, Under what law would the OP have had a choice?

If you're sat in the vehicle with it locked and the steering is locked then they might not be able to recover it anyway.

The law is largely irrelevant, a decent lawyer would argue that it wasn't dangerous.

phillw

Wig wrote: »

And add a smashed window to the bill, and an arrest for willful obstruction?

Tell them you are scared they aren't real police officers and your recovery is on the way and then if they tried anything like that do them for criminal damage & wrongful arrest.

If the car was off the road and not a danger of course. If they'd still do that when a car was safely off the road then they are crazy psychos and need to be reported.

Warwick_Hunt

phillw wrote: »

Tell them you are scared they aren't real police officers and your recovery is on the way and then if they tried anything like that do them for criminal damage & wrongful arrest.

If the car was off the road and not a danger of course. If they'd still do that when a car was safely off the road then they are crazy psychos and need to be reported.

If the car was off the road then the cost is more than £150.

phillw

Warwick_Hunt wrote: »

If the car was off the road then the cost is more than £150.

I thought he was saying it was off the road and cars could pass, if it was still on the road and there was no barrier then he should have pushed it further. Maybe get the police to help.

I managed to persuade two passing policemen to help me change a tyre when I was on the hard shoulder of a dual carriage way. My ford supplied spanner decided to break so I borrowed theirs, they tried to say it wouldn't fit but they had a mondeo as well so I assured them it would. It wouldn't budge though as one of the bolts seized, so they were jumping on it. Eventually one of them used a night stick on it, I wouldn't want to be the recipient of that.

Some police are good, some are bad. Sounds like he got a bad one, or maybe he didn't talk nicely enough. Sometimes you can talk them round, I talked my way out of loads of speeding tickets. It helped I knew one of them..

Warwick_Hunt

phillw wrote: »

I thought he was saying it was off the road and cars could pass, if it was still on the road and there was no barrier then he should have pushed it further. Maybe get the police to help.

I managed to persuade two passing policemen to help me change a tyre when I was on the hard shoulder of a dual carriage way. My ford supplied spanner decided to break so I borrowed theirs, then that still didn't work as one of the bolts seized, so they were jumping on it. Eventually one of them used a night stick on it, I wouldn't want to be the recipient of that.

Some police are good, some are bad. Sounds like he got a bad one, or maybe he didn't talk nicely enough.

Off the road or off the carriageway?

phillw

Warwick_Hunt wrote: »

Off the road or off the carriageway?

I had to google for the definition, off the carriageway should be good enough.

"carriageway: the part of a road intended for vehicles rather than pedestrians."

Technically obstructing the path would be an offence, but not one where it's justified to cause damage.

I wouldn't have cancelled my own recovery until the police christmas party fund recovery had turned up anyway.

Johno100

phillw wrote: »

A cynical man like myself would assume that they get a commission. At the very least they told you anything to get you to comply. Don't believe what they say, the police are allowed to lie to you.

And some forces have in the past and I have no reason to believe the practice has stopped.

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/2010/11/23/west-midlands-police-pay-out-1-3m-for-breakdown-tip-offs/

Up to £1.3 million was made by West Midlands Police in the last two years by tipping off recovery companies about broken down cars, it was revealed today.

In the old days when forces operated their own recovery/towing vehicles the OP's car would probably have been moved to the nearest side road, taking all of 10 minutes and no charge.