Impound (seized) car insurance

[Cardo]

On a serious note…. Do we actually take something to the police station like chocolates or something?

This is a serious question

I don’t know where you are, but my experience of police car pounds is they’re not attached to police stations. They’re car pounds in industrial estates and are staffed by civilians. Just take the required paperwork and a form of payment. They won’t be interested or amused by “gifts.”

 

[KennethS]

Also, if one can really be not insured while in an impound, I hope everyone in this situation is doing their due diligence and declaring SORN until they get their cars back into an insured area!

It is crazy. If one of our cars was impounded, for whatever reason, it would never cross my mind that our insurance might have an exclusion for driving in the impound facility. My luck, I'd go to collect my car and get done for driving without insurance leaving the compound. Madness.

 

[KennethS]

I’ve had a read of the article. It’s not something that’s particularly common. They could be referring to an insurance policy for a person without specifying a vehicle (very rare). I’m aware some very short term insurance policies also won’t allow you to drive the vehicle away. Essentially, they don’t want you insuring the car for one day, removing it from the pound and then continuing to drive without insurance. The bog standard insurance policy most of us have will be perfectly adequate for recovering a car from the pound. The OP’s insurance policy, despite there being a disagreement/issue over Person C’s cover, sounds like it should be suitable to remove the car.

There are also other types of insurance policy that will allow the likes of vehicle tradespeople to remove cars from the pound. But now we’re getting into the weeds…

That makes sense!

 

[Blueskye]

I wanted to give an update, the police decided to release the car.
They DID call DL to check our insurance was valid while impounded (as in you’re covered to drive off, not time wise), DL confirmed it was fine for them.

Advice:
- IF you have finance on the car, you need to make contact as they need to confirm you’re ok to take the car and they don’t want it back all of a sudden.

- Contact your insurance and do tell them what happened, ask them if YOUR policy covers you because they police will contact them very likely.

- Check you bloody insurance 10 times.


P.S. I think someone asked, no I haven’t double checked as such as the renewal was very recent so paperwork didn’t come through the post and the portal (for me) is a bit akward.

DL told me that if they find they’re at fault, they’ll pay for all associated fees (I.e. impounding and so on). - I’m not banking in this though.

I’ll try and retrieve sentry/Tesla cam footage, make sure it’s saved and have it for the future..

Will try and update the insurance bit once it’s solved. It may take a couple of weeks though as they’ve been painfully slow.

Thanks everyone.

 

[Blueskye]

Also.. DL updated my policy, and created a new one because apparently it was “defective” and the new one still is not on the portal
So in a way… I think it goes in my favour that their portal has issues! (because I received an email confirmation of the new policy when they did it but on the portal only the “old one” shows as live.

 

[Blueskye]

I don’t know where you are, but my experience of police car pounds is they’re not attached to police stations. They’re car pounds in industrial estates and are staffed by civilians. Just take the required paperwork and a form of payment. They won’t be interested or amused by “gifts.”

I forgot to mention, I was meant to go to the police station first, get it officially released, then go to the pound. Hence the Q!

 

[Sean.]

With new cars / policies especially I always double check the MID database and always scan the confirmation they email / hold on the portal.

I’ve had wrong registration plate fixed to a vehicle - turns out the number registered with DVLA etc was all correct, but that given to me / hence my insurer was duff - one letter was incorrect. This was a few years ago but still does happen.

 

[Sean.]

DL told me that if they find they’re at fault, they’ll pay for all associated fees (I.e. impounding and so on). - I’m not banking in this though.

If the coppers have decided to release it, then it sounds very much like DL screwed up the policy renewal somewhere along the way and someone owes you at least a very big apology, if not some compensation of some sort.

If this was in the states I’m sure you'd have a dozen ambulance chaser litigation lawyers PMing you by now.

 

[spdpsba]

On a serious note…. Do we actually take something to the police station like chocolates or something?

This is a serious question

Yes a box of chocolate will stand in good stead I suppose. But that is purely if you are not angry or unhappy with them. The forces are really tired and they do appreciate little bit of these goodies. Before any one make a comment I have worked jointly with the forces in a different capacity.

 

[Irata]

Sometimes I have to remind myself it's 2023, regardless of right or wrong, who did what and when, or even the outcome, what a hugely inefficient process for something that unfortunately does happen frequently.

Checking insurance at the roadside was electronic and reasonably efficient, but once impounded it's suddenly all people, paperwork, phone calls and possibly a box of chocolates.

 

[Blueskye]

I HAVE AN UPDATE!!!!!!!!

Well.. this happened way sooner than I ever expected.!
DL upheld the claim and will be admitting to their mistake.
I feel so blessed.
They will be issuing a letter confirming this and confirming person C was insured and remains insured.
They will pay for all of the impound fees that resulted from this incident

So I guess no one is getting prosecuted!

Oh, also they offered a compensation… a very measly one at that (less than £100 - don’t want to say exact amount as deffo identifiable )
I could have milked that one to be honest as I’ve been in and out of hospital and right after this happened and had to go through all that stress and the million calls etc.. but just let it go.
I just wanted this gone tbh.


So all is well what ends well.


P.S. I will go back to the po-po station with some chocolates for the ladies at the front desk and the letter!

 

[WannabeOwner]

I will go back to the po-po station with some chocolates for the ladies at the front desk and the letter!

During Covid I went to Supermarket. Everyone was out clapping for NHS once a week, as you will remember. I was pleased that the supermarket staff were still turning up for work - no Perspex safety screens at that point in time and no idea, at that time, just what the risk was ...

So I bought the nicest box of biscuits they had (Waitrose ...), and after checkout said to the lass "These are for you, I appreciate you being here".

"I don't think I can accept a gift, I'll call the manager to check"

"There's a queue of people waiting, whatever the manager decides is fine by me, ask him when you aren't busy"

"I know, I'll put them in the Rec room"

"Great idea"

...

A couple of weeks later Wifee goes to supermarket. Buys the same box of biscuits (we like them ...)

At checkout the lass says to her: "A nice gentleman bought us some of those biscuits, they were lovely"

"That was my husband" ...

so when she gets home and tells me this I ask "Did you give her the biscuits then?" ...

 

[Blueskye]

During Covid I went to Supermarket. Everyone was out clapping for NHS once a week, as you will remember. I was pleased that the supermarket staff were still turning up for work - no Perspex safety screens at that point in time and no idea, at that time, just what the risk was ...

So I bought the nicest box of biscuits they had (Waitrose ...), and after checkout said to the lass "These are for you, I appreciate you being here".

"I don't think I can accept a gift, I'll call the manager to check"

"There's a queue of people waiting, whatever the manager decides is fine by me, ask him when you aren't busy"

"I know, I'll put them in the Rec room"

"Great idea"

...

A couple of weeks later Wifee goes to supermarket. Buys the same box of biscuits (we like them ...)

At checkout the lass says to her: "A nice gentleman bought us some of those biscuits, they were lovely"

"That was my husband" ...

so when she gets home and tells me this I ask "Did you give her the biscuits then?" ...

That is so sweet

Honestly the simple thing is, behind the uniform there’s a person like you and me. And to be fully honest…the ladies at the reception desk REALLY tried to help.

 

[Wattsisname]

Insurance (in the UK) is a strict liability offence, you either have it or you don't.

I'm 99% sure the OP has got the wrong end of the stick in terms of the restriction on the policyholder collecting their impounded car. I'm almost certain this is an exclusion applied to "drive other cars" cover, to prevent anyone from being able to collect any impounded car (which could become uninsured, on the public road, as soon as they stop driving it).

If you're stopped and it's revealed you aren't insured to drive the car, for whatever reason, then the Police have the power to seize it, to prevent it from being driven away after they've left, or even just left there (it's also illegal for a car to be parked on the public road without insurance), etc.

They may allow someone else who is insured to drive it away, if they are present & fit to do so, but it's discretionary and I would assume in most cases wouldn't be practicable for them to permit. Imagine the grief they'd get if they let an uninsured driver carry on after they've stopped them, either because they "gave them a break" or drove off themselves and that person got back in and carried on... hence the seizure.

When our insurance allows us to drive other unspecified cars, the cover is usually third party and the vehicle must be insured. You cannot use this cover to drive another uninsured vehicle.
However, whilst this is so, it may not be relevant to this discussion