Towed Peugeot 107 was released by Edinburgh Council to car thief !

[TomClive]

This was very annoying.

 

At the weekend I stupidly parked my wife's Peugeot 107 on a single yellow line. All the permit holders spots were taken and I needed to unload our shopping. I thought I would come back to move the car when there was a free space.

 

Needless to say with a 5 month old baby other things turned up and I forgot.

 

Apparently the car was towed by Edinburgh Council so I got in touch with them to release it. I was frustrated because I thought at the worst I met get a ticket. It wasn't in a hazardous position.

 

I can't post links but CAB states the following for Scotland:

 

"When local authorities or the police can clamp and remove cars

 

Although local authorities have powers to clamp cars and get them towed away, they rarely use these powers. They may do so if a driver has repeatedly not paid a fine, and does not have car tax or insurance either. If a car is causing a hazard, perhaps because it has been abandoned, they will remove it rather than clamp."

 

When I contacted Edinburgh Council they said they have already released the car to someone else. I thought this was a clerical error but the pound confirmed that they had given our car to some random person. This person had apparently paid the release fee with a debit card and provided personal documentation.

 

We obviously phoned the police who have been investigating. They stated that the pound had inadequate safety procedures.

 

The irritating thing is that we have misplaced the spare key and this could cause insurance problems.

 

Could the thief have used the spare key ?

Is it possible to take a car without a genuine key ?

If the thief had the key why not drive it away on the street where he wouldn't need false docs and debit card ?

How did the thief know that the car had been towed ?

The car was bought on hire purchase but is comprehensively insured. Who sorts out the liability ? Us, Insurance, Police or Arnold Clark who the car was bought from.

 

Does anyone have any advice ? (Apart from to park more carefully next time)

[TheBogsDollocks]

Let the Police investigate and make sure you also make a formal complaint to the council for failing to comply with section 100(4) RTRA 1984

 

 

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/27/section/100

 

 

and for releasing it to a person other than the owner or person authorised by the owner.

 

 

Take the complaint all the way to the Ombudsman if necessary. You may get compensation.

[edjama]

Was It Definitely Towed From Outside Your Property. Could The Thief Have Taken Your Spate Key, Parked The Car hazardously, Had It Towed And Claimed It Back?

Did The Thief Drive Out Of Compound, Or Tow It?

This Could Help You Find Out What Happened.

Maybe An Error Means The Car Was SoLd, Not Stolen, Ai Believe abandoned Vehicles Can Be Sold On

[TomClive]

I've just received a phone call saying it was a clerical error by the pound and they have filled in the wrong paperwork. Our car is still in the pound.

 

They still expect me to pay all charges to recover it. I have to go and pick it up before half 7 but I'm furious. I've had to take time off work to deal with police and insurance and now they say they want to charge me for it.

[ericsbrother]

If they are charging you a storage fee tell the person in charge of the relevant department that you will recover the excess from them plus your travelling costs as they are entirely culpable.