Another Recovery question

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tenohfive

6,276 posts

181 months

Thursday 14th June 2012
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AJS- said:
To the police, by any chance?
No, that would be 30 minutes. Response time is pretty important when you've got several officers making sure that an obstruction caused by one accident doesn't cause another. A police officer sitting behind some blue lights and a few cones isn't being particularly productive.

Providing that level of response costs money, funnily enough.

TPS

1,860 posts

212 months

Thursday 14th June 2012
quotequote all
16v stretch said:
As already said, Police recovery operator fees are set nationally.

They are nationally set, and are non-negotiable. They include the cost of any specialist equipment or labour used in the recovery. So you should not be charged for bedwash or any lifting, only the set rate, + storage.
I take it you know there are different charges i.e. on road,off road damaged etc?
The op has put....

Rob348 said:
:the recovery want to charge £150 pick up fee £75 bed cleaning,and £75 for lifting
The price for off the road damaged is £300 and he has been charged £300.
Ok they may have wrote down bed washing and winching but they have done the job for the set price.

16v stretch said:
The lorry recovery rates aren't actually that bad, when you see the cost of the trucks used to do the recovery. The car rates are actually pretty laughable.
So a car recovery rate of £200 is laughable compared to a few thousand for a heavy off the road.
Sorry are you being serious?

16v stretch said:
Also, a breakdown company will usually prioritise an attendance, when the police are on scene, to reduce the chance of the police recovering it.
Yeah right.


16v stretch said:
One main breakdown organisations one off callout fee is £108, not including specialist equipment. And, if you were already a member and you've had an accident (not including damage to any third party property) you're covered for an attendance, with only the cost of extra equipment to pay.
Who then?

16v stretch said:
5 years of experience in the breakdown industry here.

16v stretch

974 posts

156 months

Friday 15th June 2012
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Notice my use of plurals when talking about the fees. I am aware that there are more than one.

Also, £150 +75 +75 may equal £300, but it shouldn't be broken down this way under the scheme.

If the vehicle was offroad or substantially damaged the fee should be £300. not £150 +75 +75. The fee is the fee. There is no breakdown of costs. It includes all costs for any specialist equipment and is charged dependant on how the damage is assessed under the fees listed.

Ontop of a roundabout can be interpreted many different ways. Is it just a kerbed, otherwise flat roundabout? Massive huge walled roundabout? You cannot quantify if it is offroad without pictures (apologies if I've missed them, the system here struggles to load Word...)

And I believe you've not entirely understood my point regarding the fees. The fees for most vehicle recoveries from the police in regards to cars, are inflated, as I quantified with an example for if you paid privately you would most likely get it cheaper.

Heavy recovery is a different game altogether, a vehicle on it's side requires 2 heavy lifters, snatch blocks, full IVR accreditation, a few men, a few hours labour, and at least 2 wreckers that will burn through £45 of diesel, per hour, while using the hydraulics. These lorries cost an awful lot to purchase in the first instance. So, out of the fee, how much of this do you think is profit for a hgv on it's side with a spilled load? And, you wouldn't get this much cheaper when paying privately.

Whereas,

Your general vehicle will be loaded onto a slidebed or demountable, perhaps even a demountable transit with a winch. for this 15 minutes of work, and them taking it back to their compound you are charged £150. Substantial damage is normally defined by no longer being able to roll. So for £300, you might have to use a pair of skates or similar, which do not cost £150 for 2.

And yes, as a breakdown company, we do try and prioritise an attendance where the police is on scene. If the police call their contractor, we have to get our guy to stand down which still costs money, and risk a complaint from the member. Do you really think that any other breakdown company would go "Ahh police are there, no worries, they'll sort you out!" barring the AA, who won't cover you for a surprising number of "Accidents" which has included clipping a pothole.

Green Flag charge an instant callout fee of £108 if you have no cover, and their cover will still be able to be used if you've had an accident that hasn't caused damage to any third party property. Subject to you paying for specialist equipment if it's used. This is the same terms and conditions as you get with a membership.

A standard callout fee from a lot of private garages would extend to about £50 - £70, if the vehicle rolls, there's usually no extra equipment required.

Does £150 still seem so good?