personal items taken from my written off car

paul2louise

i wasnt given that opportunity. i had to abandon my car in the middle of the road while the police arranged the salvage pick up. the police told me to grab quickly any valuables that i all i could take

Elliesmum

This happen to my OH when he had an accident. I didn't know him at the time and a friend of his went to get his belongings. There were a number of items missing like tapes and loose change etc. There was nothing my OH could do at the time as he was unconsious in hospital!

EM xx

brazilianwax

Ummmm, why keep so much stuff in your car??

My car was written off by a friend - she was cut out of the car and taken to hospital and the car was taken to the recovery yard. I was 200 miles away at the time.

I sent my dad the next day to get my stuff from the car. There wasn't much. Tax disc, parking vouchers, a few CDS, spare wheel and some tools. I could have lived without any of them, but going immediately meant the recovery guys hadn't even had a chance to move the car since it had arrived.

Several weeks later really is too late.

Did you leave that stuff in the car when it went into the garage for a service?

pinkfluffybabe

When my last car was written off, the RAC towed it to my house and the insurers picked it up from there; the man who came told me to take anything out that I wanted, as it was unlikely to come back - mats, tax disc, etc.

Come to think of it, I have quite a lot of little bits in my car, I leave them in when it goes to the garage and I have never had any problems.

vikingaero

brazilianwax wrote: »

Ummmm, why keep so much stuff in your car??

Umm, because a car is a tool to get you and your possessions from A to B. I have friends who have absolutely nothing in their car. No sweets or drinks for emergencies. No torches. No tissues. Nothing.

Conversely with 2 kids I have spare clothes, books, crayons, wipes, drinks, food, tissues. I also carry the usual warning triangles first aid kit, hi-viz vests, jackets, umbrellas etc.

The salvage people know they are onto a winner. No-one can prove the presence of the loose change or other possessions.

Would I be at fault for driving to work one day with my laptop and samples in the boot and I get rendered unconscious in a crash? Would I have the chance to get up and clear out the car?

I suppose the moral is to only leave what you can afford to lose in your car. And maybe carry a couple of black bin liners to clear it out quickly.

Debt_Free_Chick

vikingaero wrote: »

Conversely with 2 kids I have spare clothes, books, crayons, wipes, drinks, food, tissues. I also carry the usual warning triangles first aid kit, hi-viz vests, jackets, umbrellas etc.

Would I be at fault for driving to work one day with my laptop and samples in the boot and I get rendered unconscious in a crash? Would I have the chance to get up and clear out the car?

But you could probably claim for the loss ... no?

I suppose the moral is to only leave what you can afford to lose in your car. And maybe carry a couple of black bin liners to clear it out quickly.

And .... or in the case of the stuff you cart around for the kids, get one of those plastic storage boxes. Keep stuff in there and if you need to empty the car, chuck everything else lying around into it and take it away

olly300

brazilianwax wrote: »

Did you leave that stuff in the car when it went into the garage for a service?

I had a friend who took his car to the garage with random bits in it plus maps and a few building tools. The garage helped themselves to one of the tools (a chisel) and 2 of his maps. He was furious about the maps because he only discovered they were missing when he needed to use them 2 days later.

So I now take everything out of my car when I take it to a garage except for things like tissues and free cds. I have a box in my boot with useful stuff in it which I shove the rest of the junk into. While I trust the people running the garage I frequently use, I've had to get a new tyre 40 miles away from home when I was at work so had to use a garage I didn't know.

brazilianwax

olly300 wrote: »

I had a friend who took his car to the garage with random bits in it plus maps and a few building tools. The garage helped themselves to one of the tools (a chisel) and 2 of his maps. He was furious about the maps because he only discovered they were missing when he needed to use them 2 days later.

So I now take everything out of my car when I take it to a garage except for things like tissues and free cds. I have a box in my boot with useful stuff in it which I shove the rest of the junk into. While I trust the people running the garage I frequently use, I've had to get a new tyre 40 miles away from home when I was at work so had to use a garage I didn't know.

eXaCtLy!!!!!

I never leave anything in my cars when they're away from me. We have a boot bag thing with safety gear, maps, tools etc in it - that goes in whichever car is being used that week.

Before their services the cars get emptied of anything else - parking permits (in London they're worth a lot), CDs etc. Better safe than sorry I think.

Besides that, the cars are too expensive to run when empty, never mind carrying a load of tat around with me!

brazilianwax

vikingaero wrote: »

Umm, because a car is a tool to get you and your possessions from A to B.

I know - I'm a weekly commuter!

vikingaero wrote: »

I have friends who have absolutely nothing in their car. No sweets or drinks for emergencies. No torches. No tissues. Nothing.

Conversely with 2 kids I have spare clothes, books, crayons, wipes, drinks, food, tissues. I also carry the usual warning triangles first aid kit, hi-viz vests, jackets, umbrellas etc.

I carry basic tools, torch and safety gear, but otherwise I pack for the journey. London to Cardiff (and back) there's Red Bull and water. Cardiff to Inverness (at Christmas) is food, blankets, water, coats, gloves etc. I don't leave that lot in the car all year round!!! :rotfl::rotfl:

vikingaero wrote: »

The salvage people know they are onto a winner. No-one can prove the presence of the loose change or other possessions.

Would I be at fault for driving to work one day with my laptop and samples in the boot and I get rendered unconscious in a crash? Would I have the chance to get up and clear out the car?

You'd presumably be able to prove what work stuff was in the car and then claim for it. Other stuff is harder to prove

Debt_Free_Chick

Am I the only one with old pay & display tickets and dog hair in my car then?