Vehicle Has Been Seized By Police Incorrectly

tommyb3000
tommyb3000 Posts: 1 Newbie
in Motoring
Hello, I was incorrectly arrested over the weekend on suspicion of theft with a friend. We where arrested and chucked to the floor with 8 officers and 6 cars. Held for 16 hours with no evidence against us what so ever. Just a description of 2 males.

The searched my house and my friends over night as well as seizing my vehicle keys, house keys and seizing one vehicle. As they seized all my keys I had no access to home or any of my 3 vehicles (and had to stay on a friends sofa).

Anyway we where proven not guilty 2 days later. When I went to collect my vehicle (which was miles away) I had to pay a £150 fee to get it back for the recovery costs. Me and my friend from the start made it very clear we had done nothing wrong and they had the wrong people. This was obviously confirmed once they closed the case and where proved not guilty.
My argument with the police now is I am £150 short for the recovery fee. It was the polices choice to seize the vehicle so I should not be paying for this despite being innocent. As well as this I had no access to my other vehicles so I have also been left out of pocket for an additional £400 as I have been unable to work for two days. I am self employed.

Where do I stand on recovering the the £150 and also possibly getting money back for loss of earnings? The police officer has said there is nothing the police will do about this.

Thanks Tom
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Comments

  • wgl2014
    wgl2014 Posts: 1,144 Forumite
    Contact their civil litigation dept and complain, if you don't get what you want then sue.

    Bear in mind that not everyone who is arrested is guilty, that doesn't make the arrest or any subsequent seizures or searches illegal.

    I would suggest you consider getting some legal advice, were you represented in custody?
  • TooManyPoints
    TooManyPoints Posts: 1,246 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Anyway we where proven not guilty 2 days later.

    Or do you mean that the police decided to take no further action (which is not the same thing at all)? You do not get proven Not Guilty, even in court. You may be found Not Guilty but all that means that the case was not proved against you. There are subtle differences which you may have to consider when deciding what action to take against the police.
  • Stoke
    Stoke Posts: 3,182 Forumite
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31025413

    You can't sue the police.
  • Arklight
    Arklight Posts: 3,171 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post
    Is this like one of those things where they smash your door in and don't have to pay?
  • k3lvc
    k3lvc Posts: 4,174 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    So what's the full story ? 16hrs in custody for a theft case and seizure of your house/car keys when released sounds a bit 'school-holidayish' to me
  • Car_54
    Car_54 Posts: 8,204 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Stoke wrote: »
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31025413

    You can't sue the police.

    Nonsense. The article makes it clear that you can't sue them for negligence, which is not what the OP seems to be alleging.
  • System
    System Posts: 178,090 Community Admin
    Photogenic Name Dropper First Post
    k3lvc wrote: »
    So what's the full story ? 16hrs in custody for a theft case and seizure of your house/car keys when released sounds a bit 'school-holidayish' to me

    Sounds perfectly valid especially if it was an arrest on an evening.
  • AndyMc.....
    AndyMc..... Posts: 3,248 Forumite
    Combo Breaker First Post
    Tarambor wrote: »
    Sounds perfectly valid especially if it was an arrest on an evening.

    Yeah, the charged him recovery fees but not storage.

    Until he comes up with a better story I'm not buying it either.

    He shouldn't be paying any fees in the hypothetical scenario given so far.
  • k3lvc
    k3lvc Posts: 4,174 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Tarambor wrote: »
    Sounds perfectly valid especially if it was an arrest on an evening.

    But then found not guilty 2 days later ?? V. unlikely to be arrested day 1, held overnight, attend court on day 2, be remanded overnight and then found not guilty on day 3

    No rational reason to release OP and retain house/other car keys
  • AndyMc.....
    AndyMc..... Posts: 3,248 Forumite
    Combo Breaker First Post
    k3lvc wrote: »
    But then found not guilty 2 days later ?? V. unlikely to be arrested day 1, held overnight, attend court on day 2, be remanded overnight and then found not guilty on day 3

    No rational reason to release OP and retain house/other car keys

    There is, it happens quite often.
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