POLICE AND THIEVES

15-06-2006

It's a good news, bad news kinda day.

First you wake up to discover that your car has been stolen (that's bad!).

You ring the cops and they tell you it's been recovered just 100 yards from where you live (that's good!)

But there's a catch.

Without your consent, the motor in question has beentaken awayon police orders by a local garage (maybe that's good, you're not sure).

But then you're told that the cost ofremoving the car and storing it - more than £200 - has to be paid by you (that's very, very bad!)

Such was the fate of Michael Swift and his partner Alice from Birmingham.Their Ford Fiesta was snatched in the early hours last week from outside their home in the leafy suburb of Bournville.

Neighbours heard the alarm go off and dialled 999.The police response was impressive - a copper chopperswooped on the area andforced the villains to flee, leaving the car just two minutes walk away.

The following morning, Michael and Alice realised it wasn't parked outside their door and rang their local police station.They were toldthe car had been found nearby, but was now being storedby a local garageacting on police instructions while a forensic examination was being carried out.

As Michael says: “I've been the victim of a crime and the police are there to find out who did it. If they have to take my car away to do that I can understand it, but surely it should only be removed with my permission.In any event, don't see why I should have to pay for them to do their job."

Michael's local police force says that a £105 statutory charge is legal under the Road Traffic Act, and was agreed some years ago between the Home Office and the Association of British Insurers.

Now there's a surprise.

It's a deal which leaves the civil servant and the insurance companies no worse off so why wouldn't they cut a deal?

Meanwhile the innocent crime victim is left to face a double whammy - first at the hands of the villains, then at the hands of the cops.

As Michael puts it: “If we claimed on our insurance we'd lose our no claims bonus, so we'd pay the price in years to come. So instead we'll have to stump up now. It would have been cheaper if the police had never got involved at all."

One question The Stirrercan't get to the bottom of is how garages can demand a charge of more than £200 when the official fee is set at £105.

We can't understand, either, how a government which promised to be tough on crime is willing to fleece those who are victims of it.

Michael says: “Fixing the locks after the break in cost us £80. It's so frustrating to find that getting our car back from the forces of law and order will cost us twice as much as the damage cause by the criminals.”