Recovering vehicle from Police impound

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Shades

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My brother in law was stopped by the Police for driving with no licence, thus invalidating his insurance.

The vehicle was taken to a Police impound however no details have yet been given on the procedure for recovering the vehicle from the impound. He has been informed over the phone that a valid driving licence is required and proof of insurance (which is obviously a problem!). We also know that the vehicle can be insured in someone elses name so that they (with a driving licence of course!) can go and pick the vehicle up.

I've tried looking on t'interweb to see if its possible to recover the vehicle on the back of a low-loader but have found no information. The vehicle would be transported directly to a private yard.

Has anyone had any experience of this and could offer some advice? Please? (especially the boys in blue amongst us!)
 
Yes, don't drive with no licence or insurance, I hope his car is crushed. What a knob!
 
AndyMac said:
Yes, don't drive with no licence or insurance, I hope his car is crushed. What a knob!
Click to expand...
Thanks Andy, I expected no less from you to be honest! :ermm:

I knew I'd get some grief when I posted the above Lottie.

However... I absolutely agree with you! Okay, the crushing part I may not agree with (its a nice car) but, once the car is recovered, if I see him driving around in it I'll be the first to report it to the police!! I don't care if he's my brother in law, he could end up hitting some (law abiding) poor soul who'd be left with increased insurance premiums... or worse still, having had his licence revoked (only recently) on medical grounds could go on to do something not worth imagining (especially if he had my nephews in the car!!)

The rights (not that there are any!) and wrongs are not up for debate, I'm well aware of those... and in all probability I'd agree with you anyway! Hopefully he'll have learnt his lesson and we won't see the car back on the road 'til he's been given the all clear, served a ban if issued and has all the correct documents.

Your two penneth worth has duly been noted though Andy but the question still remains... Has anyone ever recovered a vehicle from a Police impound on the back of a truck? ... We'll cross the other bridges when it comes to it!!!
 
Why not give the yard a call?
 
I think it will differ depending on the police force, although looking on the web he will have to get the vehicle insured by another driver and produce the details before they release it.
"Now if an officer has reasonable grounds to believe someone is driving without insurance or a licence, they have to surrender the vehicle immediately and will be handed a plastic bag to put their possessions in before continuing their journey on foot.
Motorists can't claim their cars, vans or motorbikes back until they have produced evidence of valid insurance and a licence and paid a hefty fee. This is £105 plus £12 for each day the vehicle is confiscated. They also face a court appearance."
There seems to be special temporary insurance cover you can get to cover this. Probably less hassle and cost than trying to convince them the car will be off the road.
TBH it's a bit like handing back the bag of heroine to the addict if you ask me, it should be crushed or sold regardless of how nice it is.
 
rodenal said:
Why not give the yard a call?
Click to expand...

Well, thats exactly what I would do... but the Police clerk on the phone said that a valid licence and issurance document were required, expecting the car to be driven away, before they give the yard the okay to release the car. No notice has been recieved from the Police yet, about the exact procedures, so I was just wondering, on the off chance, if anybody had any idea regarding the car being transported by truck.

To be perfectly frank I have no sympthy in the slightest for his situation... I've just been asked to see if anyone has any clues... Why he can't just pick up the phone himself I have no idea!!!!
 
AndyMac said:
I think it will differ depending on the police force, although looking on the web he will have to get the vehicle insured by another driver and produce the details before they release it.
"Now if an officer has reasonable grounds to believe someone is driving without insurance or a licence, they have to surrender the vehicle immediately and will be handed a plastic bag to put their possessions in before continuing their journey on foot.
Motorists can't claim their cars, vans or motorbikes back until they have produced evidence of valid insurance and a licence and paid a hefty fee. This is £105 plus £12 for each day the vehicle is confiscated. They also face a court appearance."
There seems to be special temporary insurance cover you can get to cover this. Probably less hassle and cost than trying to convince them the car will be off the road.
TBH it's a bit like handing back the bag of heroine to the addict if you ask me, it should be crushed or sold regardless of how nice it is.
Click to expand...

Thanks Andy :icon_thumright: Like I said I agree with you! Pretty much already knew all of the above but the confirmation is helpful. Didn't know about the temporary insurance cover, I guess that will be weighed against the cost of transportation and the hassle etc.

I think the heroin thing is going a little bit far but I understand where you're coming from. However junkies are chemically and psychologically addicted, its a lot harder to quit... stupid drivers just have to stop being dicks... although for some people thats probably not that easy either!!

Again, thanks Andy!
 
I think the ywon't let you transport it away on a truck. Whats to stop the person taking the car off the truck when it gets a bit away from the yard ?
 
On the insurance thing. Churchill allowed me to add another car to my policy for a max or 30 days when I got my A6 but still had the Octy.
 
As above, couldn't a family member add that car to their insurance temporarily. I went on a camping trip to Devon shortly after getting my A3 and didnt want to get it really muddy/sandy so added the escort to my insurance (for a week) which cost £10. Might be worth a try?
 
AndyMac said:
It has to be insured already to be added to your policy.
Click to expand...

Yeah, they found that out earlier when they went to pick it up... it can't even be driven as part of another drivers fully comprehensive cover for their own car... insurance companies closed that loophole a while ago.

Thanks for all your help guys... I know its a touchy subject for some people so it really is appreciated.
 
OK, you should have some sort of release form that needs to be stamped by the police station most local to you before the impound will release it, then you need to pay for the recovery fee and storage fees which are charged daily! Do you not have a friend or someone who has traders insurance?, they will accept that.
 
jojo said:
Do you not have a friend or someone who has traders insurance?, they will accept that.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately not, no. Its not for me so I'm not really that bothered, its not me going to have to pay for the insurance, release fee, storage charge and fine. Fingers crossed it will be a lesson learnt... well, we can live in hope!
 
jojo said:
OK, you should have some sort of release form that needs to be stamped by the police station most local to you before the impound will release it, then you need to pay for the recovery fee and storage fees which are charged daily! Do you not have a friend or someone who has traders insurance?, they will accept that.
Click to expand...

Yea as jojo said:
When he got the car impounded the police would have given him a write form which he'll need to take to the police station with someone who will drive the vehicle away. You can use anyone who has
a) a driving licence
b) an insurance policy which covers them for the use of other cars. comprehensive policyholders are accepted as they have third party cover on other vehicles that arent theirs.

so basically you don't need to go and get specific cover for that car, you just need someone who has a licence and is covered fully comp on another car to get it released from the impound.

that is probably the easiest option cos theyll need those documents to process the release of the car. You can still ask them though if they can release it without those documents and then take it back on a low-loader.

Once you've got the documents and the cars out of the impound you could put it on the low-loader then, but by that time if someones already insured to drive it they might aswell drive it all the way home.
 
p14va said:
so basically you don't need to go and get specific cover for that car, you just need someone who has a licence and is covered fully comp on another car to get it released from the impound.
Click to expand...

Well looks like everyone's oppinion of what you can do with insurance is very different.

To semi-quote my insurers (churchill);

* I am able to drive another car using my policy ONLY if my policy is fully comp and the car i'm driving is insure'd fully comp by it's owner and only with the owners permission.

I can add 1 additional car to my policy for a max of 30 days. I can do this a maximum 3 times a year and with a gap of 30 days between invoking this.

Now, it is different between insurance companies so don't take generalisms of definates. Always check with your insurance company first before you do anything.
 
p14va said:
b) an insurance policy which covers them for the use of other cars. comprehensive policy holders are accepted as they have third party cover on other vehicles that arent theirs.

so basically you don't need to go and get specific cover for that car, you just need someone who has a licence and is covered fully comp on another car to get it released from the impound.
Click to expand...

Aparently you can't do this anymore, Insurance companies have closed this 'loophole'. The other vehicle also needs to be insured (fully comp I think... which in this case it isn't)
 
auroan said:
Well looks like everyone's oppinion of what you can do with insurance is very different.

To semi-quote my insurers (churchill);

* I am able to drive another car using my policy ONLY if my policy is fully comp and the car i'm driving is insure'd fully comp by it's owner and only with the owners permission.

I can add 1 additional car to my policy for a max of 30 days. I can do this a maximum 3 times a year and with a gap of 30 days between invoking this.

Now, it is different between insurance companies so don't take generalisms of definates. Always check with your insurance company first before you do anything.
Click to expand...
Yea true sorry bout that, yep check your own insurance policy to see what it says.

Aparently you can't do this anymore, Insurance companies have closed this 'loophole'. The other vehicle also needs to be insured (fully comp I think... which in this case it isn't)
Click to expand...

I had to pick up someone elses car from an impound only 2 weeks ago so is it a recent thing :S??
I'm fully comp on my policy and third party on any other vehicle given permission of owner etc etc. whether its insured or not. cos the car I picked up wasn't insured at all and the police said its fine and the car was released to me?
 
No, the police got it wrong. The other car definately has to be insured otherwise you could run 2 cars on one insurance policy. Not much chance of both cars having an accident at the same time on the same day. Think most insurance companies would have sussed this out about 30 years ago.
 
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