My Car Broke Down and Police Recovery Took It To Compound

TH71

phillw

It seems the WPC did not fully know how this was going to pan out. She says the car could be took to a local garage or home, but this was clearly not the case

A new clutch is going to be costing upwards of £450, so these other 'fees' we can do without

I have already said it but the rules need to change for a vehicle breakdown where the driver does not leave the scene. It should not be in the same bracket as shown below where you can be 'punished' if you like, with a vehicle breakdown due to no fault of your own

Off the .Gov page

When the police can seize your vehicle

The police can seize a vehicle if they think it’s being used in a way that causes alarm, harassment or distress (eg careless or inconsiderate driving).

They can also seize a vehicle if they think it’s:

• being driven by someone who doesn’t have a proper licence or insurance
• dangerously, illegally or obstructively parked
• broken-down or abandoned
• If your vehicle is seized there’s a ‘release fee’ of up to £200 plus a storage fee of £20 for every day or part day.

phillw

Johno100 wrote: »

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/

They use the "most cars are uninsured" excuse to mitigate, because most people will then say they deserved it. Abandoned cars seem to stay for ages, probably because there is nobody to pay the recovery fee and the commission.

Car_54

phillw wrote: »

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.

It doesn't need to be dangerous, simply to be causing an obstruction "to other persons using the road or land concerned."

Unless it was completly clear of the carriageway (and footpath, if any) it would fail that test.

phillw

TH71 wrote: »

It seems the WPC did not fully know how this was going to pan out.

Well either she knew what would happen and lied, or she is clueless. Knowing which doesn't help really, she won't get in trouble for either.

TH71 wrote: »

A new clutch is going to be costing upwards of £450, so these other 'fees' we can do without

Yes, it's unfortunate & of course with hindsight you'd do things differently. Like get the car serviced more regularly, not changed gear so abruptly etc.

I had a clutch go on me driving back from holiday, it had slipped a couple of times on a steep hill so I should have known what was coming. I was on an A road (within the speed limit officer) and I could tell there was something wrong as I could maintain speed, but not accelerate. I managed to get 30 miles on the dual carriage way and then half way across town trying to avoid stopping at roundabouts.

I got stuck at traffic lights and started pushing by opening the drivers door, luckily there was an army truck next to me and a load of lads jumped out and got me slowly crawling again. Pity they didn't stick around as I got to a hill and had to admit defeat. I was only about five minutes from my local garage, so I booked it in but they couldn't recover me. So I phoned the AA and they said it would be an hour, but I had an appointment I was going to miss which I was gutted about. Then a few minutes later an AA truck drove past, I tried to flag him down but he carried on. But then I saw him turn round, he'd been reassigned my call. The car got dropped off, I got a lift and I made my appointment.

I seem to remember my clutch was more than £450, but it was a main ford dealer. I loved that car, so many memories.

Try to find somehow to laugh about it, then figure out how you're going to make the money back.

Wig

Car_54 wrote: »

It doesn't need to be dangerous, simply to be causing an obstruction "to other persons using the road or land concerned."

Unless it was completly clear of the carriageway (and footpath, if any) it would fail that test.

It doesn't need to be causing an obstruction, simply to be broken down on land or a road is enough.

It does say that regulations can say that it can be moved to another road or land, so if the fee is paid the tow can be to a garage or your home... if they agree. If you don't pay at the roadside then they take it to their compound until you have paid.

quite, quite wrong IMO.

phillw

Warwick_Hunt wrote: »

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

They charge you extra if it's not upright or substantially damaged

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/2095/regulation/4/made

If it was totalled and on it's side, then I'd push it over to give them more fun for your money.

TH71

phillw

We don't have much luck with cars and clutches. 2½ years ago the clutch went in our Citroen Picasso and that cost £476. Two months later while parked on the road with nobody in it, somebody hit it on the rear and drove off and it was a write off due to the repair cost and value of the car

Car_54

Wig wrote: »

It doesn't need to be causing an obstruction, simply to be broken down on land or a road is enough.

Fair point!

AdrianC

TH71 wrote: »

Thing is at around 5.15 every evening bar the weekend, the traffic is always at a snails pace there

And why is that? Weight of traffic.

So if you close one lane for any longer than necessary, what happens? It gets even worse.

Given the location and the time, I'm not surprised they wanted it moved asap. The police could have called your breakdown provider, and leant on them to prioritise it, however.

I suspect that this is one of those cases where the fine detail is in the exact conversation that happened. I'm sure the police officer kept a contemporaneous record in their notebook.

paddycharlie

The only thing the officer did wrong was inform you that the fee was recoverable through your insurance. But either way you are liable for it. She wasn't to know it would have taken longer than half an hour for the recovery to show and who's to say your own recovery wouldn't have taken more than an hour to arrive.


Even if your car was fully off the road and in the carriageway it is still a hazard ad if she was to leave you there and an accident occurred she would have been at fault.


All it would take is a driver take their eye off the road to look at your car or move over lane to get away from your car for an accident to occur. And even though traffic was heavy at the time she couldn't take the risk.