Stolen

Wrong on every count.

I've done this. True, they ignore the court order to pay, and then you
simply send the bailiffs in. They come to their senses bloody quickly
when someone starts walking out with their[1] telly.

I've done this myself, so trust me (tm).

[1] More likely, someone else's originally.

 

In uk.rec.motorcycles, The Older Gentleman belched forth and ejected the
following:

Out of interest, how much does it cost and do you have to pay the
bailiffs or are they (the bailiffs) happy to take the work because they
get their fees from the person being bailiffed?

 

I can't remember, except that it was way cheaper than I'd expected, and
yes, the bailiffs get their percentage from the goods seized.

 

In uk.rec.motorcycles, The Older Gentleman belched forth and ejected the
following:

[bailiffs]

That bit's worth remembering, thank you.

 

You appear to have got a better response and result than most get.

Glad you got the beasties back.

I guess the "Steel Capped Boot" morris side will be getting a gig soon,
then... ;-)
--

Cheers!
Fr Jack
B12S (The Red Mist), CB450DX (The Moped)
FRJACKUKRM AT GMAIL DOT COM
Red death, to set you free

 

No you won't. You'll have your camera confiscated, and then you'll be thrown
in a cell for contempt of court.

 

They tried this when my bike was stolen and abandoned 300 yards
away.

Police got recovery firm to take it away. Didn't ring me.

I rang to arrange collection.

"That'll be £234."

"Eh???? HOW much??"

"£234. That's £150 call-out fee, the rest is VAT and Vehicle
Lift. And if you don't collect today there's a £30/day storage
charge."

At this point I think they expected me to to say "Oh, I see. I
had thought £234 seemed a bit steep, but now you've given such a
good explanation I'll happily pay that amount." I foiled their
cunning plan by not saying that.

So I got straight on to Plod and made it clear that this was not
acceptable. Plod rang back five minutes later saying "OK, no
charge."


--
<8P Wizard
Suzuki GS550 "I like that. Nicely shite" - TOG
Mitsubishi Galant 1.8 GLS I
ANORAK#17b BOMB#19 BOTAFOT#138 BREast#5 COFF#24
COSOC#8 DFV#11 STG#1
Remove location from email address to reply

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Wizard

I have to admit, I find this whole thing just... wrong.

Why the **** should one have to pay to retrieve one's own goods?

Bill the scrotes (if they're caught) by all means, but to bill the
victim?

There's something broken here.

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - To stay young requires unceasing cultivation of
the ability to unlearn old falsehoods.

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
SBS#39 OMF#6 Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (On its hols) Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big"
Suzuki TS250 "The Africa Single" Yamaha GTS1000

 

wessie said...

I've never paid an ambulance call out charge when I've been taken from
an accident scene. I wrote back to them after one incident saying I'd
have been quite happy to take a taxi or get a lift to the hospital, so
they could send the bill to the bloke who dialled 999. The rest of them
I've ignored and heard no more about.

 

Because the recovery company had to move it to somewhere secure?

The scrotes aren't often caught and when they are can't be guaranteed to
have the means to pay the fines.

Council tax is high enough as it is; I don't see why I should pay for
someone else's vehicle to be recovered and stored.

It's tough but it's surely down to the vehicle owner to cough up; and,
yes, I've had to pay for this in the past.

 

I've coughed up; I like to pay my own way rather than be a burden on the
rest of society.

 

() says...

a) They didn't- it was 300 yards away from me, as a simple
'phone call would have established.

b) 234 of your Earth pounds to collect a bike? Pull the other
one.

I recently saw a case in the Watford Observer about someone who
smashed a shop window in 1993. The shopkeeper still hasn't been
paid the 200-odd GBP that was awarded then.

I pay 75GBP/month council tax, umpty-ump GBP income tax etc etc,
TYVM. I don't mind paying my fair share of tax, as long as it's
then wisely spent on something sensible. I can do without paying
Funny Handshake Tax when my property is nicked.

--
<8P Wizard
Suzuki GS550 "I like that. Nicely shite" - TOG
Mitsubishi Galant 1.8 GLS I
ANORAK#17b BOMB#19 BOTAFOT#138 BREast#5 COFF#24
COSOC#8 DFV#11 STG#1
Remove location from email address to reply

 

Well, I was relating to the general rather than the specific case.

I think you're agreeing with me that billing the scrotes wouldn't sort
the problem; so someone else has to fund it.

Well, firstly it's not a 'funny handshake tax'; the police have
contractors who charge a flat rate. Some you win, some you lose. Pay a
contractor to recover a vehicle from a motorway and you'll see what I
mean.

Secondly, if *you* didn't stump up who would? Oh, right. The Police...
who are funded by who?

 

said...

I coughed up when they took my NI out of my wages.

 

() says...

OK, not all cases are alike. The OP's case sounds rather like
mine. I raised my experience because it might be in the OP's
interest to contest it, like I did.

Er, no. I'm not. I didn't spell out my point, so I'll spell it
out now: that 200GBP could have been recovered, if the
authorities could have been arsed to do so. Even if it was a
pound a week off his Giro, it could and should have been
recovered.

No, it's not a commercial thing. It's a scam.

I take your point that generally services should be paid for by
the consumer, rather than out of general taxation. But in normal
commerce, the purchasing decision is made by the person who's
paying, so suppliers have some incentive to offer good value.

In the case of recovery, there are a few (IIRC in Herts, three)
suppliers who have an effective monopoly. The authorities select
the providers, but don't care that they offer bad value because
it's not them that pay. And sometimes they even have totally
unnecessary work done- as in my case, and the OP's.



--
<8P Wizard
Suzuki GS550 "I like that. Nicely shite" - TOG
Mitsubishi Galant 1.8 GLS I
ANORAK#17b BOMB#19 BOTAFOT#138 BREast#5 COFF#24
COSOC#8 DFV#11 STG#1
Remove location from email address to reply

 

There's also the fact that you are not given the option of recovering it
yourself. The first most people hear about it is when they are told where it
has been taken and how much they owe.

 

You are if you remember to say so when you are first reporting it
stolen, otherwise the default is recovery. This is especially true
with bikes which present a higher risk of being re-stolen. Often
times tracking the owner down and getting them to the vehicle to
recover it takes a fair amount of time. Police are somewhat reluctant
to leave someone guarding the vehicle for that, so it's more than
likely that it will get recovered.

As for the recovery firms, every firm in a Police Area gets invited to
tender to be on the recovery list. A lot of the smaller firms can't
meet the standards required ie they don't have the range of recovery
vehicles necessary, or they don't have a secure and dry area to store
vehicles waiting for forensic exam, and they must have a max response
time of (generally) 1 hour.

In Herts and N London, for instance, Lanterns, On Time and SOS (bike
specific) are about the only ones who can meet the criteria, so tend
to be the ones called out.

That recovery fee is standard country wide, and as another poster
mentioned, is often a lot less than the commercial rates.

 

Lozzo
() says...

*ding*

Do we really want a society where people think "I'd like to call
an ambulance, but I'm afraid I might not be able to afford it?"


--
<8P Wizard
Suzuki GS550 "I like that. Nicely shite" - TOG
Mitsubishi Galant 1.8 GLS I
ANORAK#17b BOMB#19 BOTAFOT#138 BREast#5 COFF#24
COSOC#8 DFV#11 STG#1
Remove location from email address to reply

 

<Thwacks forehead with palm of right hand.>

Of course!

"Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Ring-ring."

First operator: "Operator. Which service do you require?"

Me: "Police, please"

Second operator: "Police. Can I help you?"

Me. "My bike's been stolen. And, if it should be found within
400 metres of my home and in a rideable condition, I'd like to
choose option a) 'ride it home myself' rather than option b)
'Pay 234GBP to have it taken a mile away'. "

Yes, that's how I should have handled it. Silly me.

And, of course, they couldn't put a chain on a bike, could they?
That would be less intrusive than taking it away. but less
lucrative.

Yeah, of course. When they rang to tell me my bike had been
found, I took, oh, about six months before I called them back.
Not.

Yes, it's so specialised, isn't it? All that advanced technology
to create a secure and dry area. I mean, that must call for...
<sucks teeth> walls... and a roof. And getting the vehicle in
there requires, oooohhh, a door. And for it to be secure, they'd
have to have, I dunno, maybe a lock. Yup, there's not many
outfits that have that sort of technology.

So you're saying that, if I offered 234GBP to collect a bike
from A and move it to B, where A and B are in the same county,
there'd be no takers? Excuse me, I have to go and start typing
up a business plan.

But enough of that. I haven't noticed you much around here
before. Tell me about yourself. Oh, hang on a minute.

<Googles>

Seven postings in all before this one.

1 recommending a supplier for tyres.

1 with details of procedures for getting a recovered vehicle
back from the pound.

1 on gory details of recovery of stuff from the scenes of
accidents.

1 recommending a Motorcycle Repair Man.

2 discussing details of ANPR cameras.

1 on police bike training at Hendon.


So... tell me about yourself. Troll, vehicle recovery operative,
or copper?


--
<8P Wizard
Suzuki GS550 "I like that. Nicely shite" - TOG
Mitsubishi Galant 1.8 GLS I
ANORAK#17b BOMB#19 BOTAFOT#138 BREast#5 COFF#24
COSOC#8 DFV#11 STG#1
Remove location from email address to reply

 

In uk.rec.motorcycles, Wizard belched forth and ejected the following:

{Rattie's posts]

Last one, I reckon.

Probably that miserable, wrinkly old **** that shouted at me for riding
on the pavement in Queen Victoria Street and then had the audacity to
tell me to push it when I turned it round to ride the other way after
getting the said telling-off.