The DVLA are not a problem as I straightened them out when the car was involved in a crash and they wanted me to provide my insurance details.
What I object to is that the police can authorise work that the keeper has to pay for - note this is not a fine, it’s a fee. Really it’s a stealth fine with none of the safeguards that (adequately or otherwise) apply to fines.
A friend of mine once had his car stolen and recovered less than a km from his house. Nobody told him it had been found, they just had it recovered and charged him over £100 for the pleasure. In that case he was entirely the victim of the crime, and of a simple oversight by the police. Nobody should be able to commit you to a contract with a third party without your knowledge, not even the police.
Had they simply told him “Your car has been recovered at XYZ” it would have involved a 15-minute walk, the sweeping-up of some broken glass, and a drive home. As it was, it involved a bill, impounding of his car, complaints, recriminations, and a really nasty sergeant at York station.
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that is so true. I guess in certain circumstances maybe the vehicle does need to be removed quickly, i.e. it could be causing an obstruction. But they should still give the owner a chance to move it, before taking it upon themselves to move it and charge the owner for doing so. Especially since you’re not the one responsible for the car actually being there in the first place! I presume that people don’t get charged for the return of stolen householed items, so why should it be any different when it’s a car.
EXACT same thing happened to me when my motor was half-inched a few years ago. All it needed was a new lock (£20 tops) and a new steering-column shroud (fiver from the scrappy) instead I had to pay £120 recovery. I wonder if insurance companies will cover this very annoying fine? I mean so it doesn’t count as your excess.
Not nice being punished for having your car stolen, which is bad enough without the rozzers making themselves more unpopular than they already are.
*grinds teeth in flashback annoyance*
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