pgudge

Last night my friend had his car seized as the police said there was no insurance on the vehicle. Today he's been in touch with insurance to clarify all is well and his policy is still active, and it is, and he's gone to police station to complain. The police then contacted the insurance company to confirm he is covered under his Motor Trade policy.

And they have said, OK he can go, and that he has to pay £170 for recovery costs! Is this right!!! Is this just "one of those things"?

He said they treated him like scum, and were reluctant to help. He has insurance and TAX and MOT and they took the car and expect him to pay £170 to get it back!

Thanks for any info.

Jamescsti

Not sure on how it works, the only time my car was recovered was after an accident and insurance paid it.
Probably best he pay's it to get his car back, as they charge a storage charge per day, then complain to recoup the cost

pgudge

Yeah, they said he's best paying right now to keep costs down, so I suppose they were being *slightly helpful*

Who would he complain to?

Thanks,

Jamie120182

Dont they normally give them the benefit of the doubt and a producer if they cannot get hold of the insurance company at the road side? This seems very unfair if everything is above board, surely if that was the case every car they pull over in the evening or at a weekend would obviously not have any insurance


Where there any other charges?

Jamescsti

The Police National Computer shows whether a vehicle has insurance or not and usually who the insurer is and who is insured to drive.
If the driver in question is on a traders policy however I assume it is not attached to a particular vehicle?
Don't know about traders policy's really though

pgudge

No other charges, and yes, I think the reason they seized the vehicle is because it didn't have any insurance attached to it as he's got a Motor Trade policy. They gave him a producer to bring insurance docs in. But then still said he HAS to pay the recovery costs!

GC8

Complain and when you do, ensure that you make it clear that you will drop the complaint if the charges are dropped. It will work.

Horrid Cars

**** me, that cant be right?

He has done NOTHING wrong and he should not have to pay him a penny!

Its the Police who couldnt do their job, so dont pay!

STi_Si

The recovery company set the charges and the Police have nothing to do with that side of things. Charges have recently gone up to approx £150 recovery and £20 per day storage so £170 is about right.

Unfortunately it's a rather grey area where Tradex policies are concerned as technically the car itself does not have insurance, just the driver I think.....

It would be worth making a complaint if only about the way he's been treated, however will need to write in to try and claim the charges back with copies of insurance and receipt etc.

wrx300scooby

Correct!! Basic recovery has just gone from £105 to £150 and storage has gone from £12 per day to £20 per day. With regards to recovery additional charges are made for extra men, where the car is situated and so on. It can very quickly become an expensive job.

wrx300scooby

Basically put yourself in the place of the recovery operator. He's been pulled away from his favourite TV show, had to use his own truck and diesel to recover your mates car. He needs to earn a wage like you and I, that's how he does it. I'm afraid it is one of those things BUT I have known the police pay the bill which unfortunately for the recovery guy amounts to a measley £60 for the same job!!!!

s70rjw

iTrader: (2)

What your mate needs to do is pay the £170 recovery fee and get a receipt. Then submit that with a letter to the Legal Services Dept at whichever police force seized the car. They will then reimburse the costs.
Despite the usual rubbish spouted above, the car was seized lawfully as it was shown as having no insurance. The fact that a traders policy was in place, does not alter the fact that the MIB database would show the car as not having insurance. Police can only make reasonable enquiries with insurance companies during office hours. Police have a duty to seize cars shown as having no insurance.
This is a totally different ball game to not being able to produce your insurance. That is when a producer is given.
Hope that helps. Bob

Peanuts

iTrader: (15)

I had something in my mind that says you cannot use a trader policy on a vehicle registered in your own name.
Many people are being prosecuted for this with rising insurance costs.

ash002004

iTrader: (1)

Not all of that is true

yeah it has risen to 150 recovery and then 20 each day its in there, and if the police pulled your mate @ night then there is no evidence of insurance and no proof as the five o can't ring up the insurance to clarify the truth

with regards to motor trades policies, ill think everyone will find that alot has changed recently, and although you may be insured on a trade policy, yes your insurance will sit there and say "the police are wrong dont know what they are on about as you are insured" but the fact of the matter is, most police forces now will say to you when you bring your policy in to get your car cleared from the compound, that "The actual vehicle and registration HAS to be on the policy" i.e you need to actually add that vehicle to the trader policy, and pay the premium for it. I know this down to very first hand experience!! lol. To be honest i dont think your mate will be able to have the costs re-imbursed

SteveScooby

iTrader: (2)

If the police took the word of every driver of cars that showed no insurance, who said that they had a traders policy, then everyone would use the excuse and the seizure scheme becomes a total waste of time.

ash002004

iTrader: (1)

And the only reason for this rise in strictness is that everyone who drives un-insured and gets a producer, and then produces a fake cover note (as 80% of police force's receptionists wont actually get the note and ring up and check) and then just has that stamped as ok, then does the same at the recovery agent. This is also because of the same people getting their mates who have traders insurance to get it out for them everytime.

Alot of forces now have changed the way you can get back seized cars, i.e Bedfordshire now make you produce everything @ one of their three police stations, this includes insurance note for the vehicle in yours/the nominee's name (ONLY an original) the logbook, supplement or a sales receipt for the vehicle to prove ownership, and then both counterpart and photo license. only THEN can you go to the recovery agent once the police have stamped everything and meticoulusly checked everything, they'll give you a stamed form which you can then produce at the compound to release the car. whereas before, you'd do ya normal producer at the police station, and seperately go to the agent and do the same there.... now it ALL has to be done at the police station. Police are hot on it now and are getting cleverer. Mot no longer has to be produced though

billyray911

iTrader: (4)

Traders policies are a grey area and unfortunately,lots of scum know this and leave the legitimate traders getting the flack.The problem is that most traders buy and sell cars all the time so dont update their companies with the reg numbers of cars that pass through them. 'Company' cars,however should be listed with the insurance company.
Also,Some insurance companies are also slow at putting their customers reg numbers on the policy,which in turn,does not show on PNC on time...
There is a way around the paying of the fine-but its dependent on officer discression,Unfortunately,if your mate had a run in with the officers involved and they seized his car to do his legs,then you may just have to pay up and then claim from the force involved(there should be a department dedicated to seizure of cars and any issues involved).
Anyway,as long as your mate has got his original insurance certificate,he could speak to the officer who authorised the seizure(used to be only RPU officers could authorise this),and show him/her that he was legit at the time of driving(not if he has subsequently got insurance as the offence was committed at the time of being stopped).They can then fax a cover sheet to the recovery agent,authorising that the seizure was in error and that the car can be released without charge.If it is officer error,the charges are still payable,but by the force in question.
If the officer,is not on duty and if the seizing officer is an RPU officer,speak to the RPU(traffic) sergeant and they can do the above.
Hope this helps a little bit

ash002004

iTrader: (1)

but i guarantee when he goes to the police station to get it out they'll say the actual vehicle HAS to be on the policy!

billyray911

iTrader: (4)

It should be easily sorted.As long as there is some continuity ie as long as the officer who makes the phonecall to confirm the existence of the policy can then fax the recovery agent-job done.
I can only presume that this issue has arisen because its a new policy and the holder hasn't been sent his certificate and the company hasn't updated their part of PNC.

Ah...didnt read the op replies-didnt realise he has a traders policy.This will be down to the specifics of that traders policy and what 'business' he was doing at the time...leave it with you

ash002004

iTrader: (1)

IF you have a traders policy, and are driving say en escort or whatever, on a pnc check (not sure about anpr) then it will come up uninsured, wether its in the traders policy holder's name or not. Only if the vehicle is put onto his policy will it turn up insured. Most policies let you put upto five cars onto them, so that you are insured (till you remove them) to drive those cars, and they will come up insured on the pnc

Peanuts

iTrader: (15)

ie, you're "donald"

ash002004

iTrader: (1)

whaaaaaaaaaat?

bob r

iTrader: (46)

The recovery charges are paid to the recovery firm who are not part of police afaik.
Telling some oily bruiser stood behind his make shift scabby desk to drop the charges and then you won't complain is laughable.

If you get anywhere with that let us know.

GC8

The reason that I suggested this Bob, is that I have taken a similar course of action myself. South Yorkshire Police can and will waive the cost where a valid complaint is in the offing. Mine was well over £500 btw.

GC8

Consider yourself informed.

GC8

This is the trouble with the internet. Its virtually impossible to know who is speaking knowledgeably and with experience and who is just airing their uninformed opinion or repeating something that they heard.

billyray911

iTrader: (4)

People seem to think that "making a complaint" will suddenly change everything.Unfortunately,the op's friend has fallen foul of the many loopholes in traders policies.
This is mainly the fault of traders not updating records or carrying their policies with them (easier said than done!)and the insurance companies being lax.
The days of getting a 'producer' are more or less over.Officers could have given the benefit of the doubt though and still issued a producer,but for seem reason didnt...

GC8-didnt read your update,so not aimed at you

GC8

Not so. The EU 4th directive gives a trader fourteen days in which to enter the vehicles details. Irrespective of how long you intend to keep the vehicle, you have until the close of the 14th day in which to enter the vehicles details, If you dont then you are still insured.

ash002004

iTrader: (1)

But explain the fact that the car comes up uninsured then

hux309

Donald 'ducked'