Was I Overcharged for a National Highways Recovery?

[Deangtv]

I'm interested to hear if anyone has had a similar experience.

I broke down on the M25 after a brake caliper came loose and jammed against the wheel. I managed to pull into a safe location, and National Highways attended before arranging recovery to Clacket Lane Services.

The vehicle was:

Fully upright
Not involved in a collision
Not substantially damaged
Simply winched onto a flatbed and transported

I was charged £320, but having since reviewed the charging structure, I believe my vehicle may have met the criteria for the lower £192 recovery charge.

What also concerns me is that the National Highways Traffic Officer said the recovery company determined the charge, while the recovery driver told me the charge was set by National Highways.

I've submitted a formal complaint, but I'm keen to hear from others:

Has anyone successfully challenged a recovery charge?
Who actually decides which charging band applies?
Based on the circumstances above, does a £320 charge seem justified?

I have photos and video showing the vehicle was upright and undamaged at the time of recovery.

Any advice or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[66HFM]

It may be helpful to set out what constitutes a £192 recovery and a £320 recovery

[Deangtv]

[Truckosaurus]

They might suggest the jammed wheel mean they couldn't just drive it onto the trailer so that counts as 'damaged'.

How long did it take them to load it? If it was only a few minutes then you could reasonably claim it wasn't a difficult scenario.

[TheAngryDog]

Truckosaurus said:

They might suggest the jammed wheel mean they couldn't just drive it onto the trailer so that counts as 'damaged'.

How long did it take them to load it? If it was only a few minutes then you could reasonably claim it wasn't a difficult scenario.

I'd not call it substantially damaged though.

OP, they've taken the piss.

[Altitude]

Truckosaurus said:

They might suggest the jammed wheel mean they couldn't just drive it onto the trailer so that counts as 'damaged'.

How long did it take them to load it? If it was only a few minutes then you could reasonably claim it wasn't a difficult scenario.

This is likely exactly why they have attracted the substantially damanged charge.

OP, you've already set out a complaint so there's not much more you can do. They are also both sort of right. The recovery guy is correct in that highways (or rather the government) sets out the prices that can be charged, but it will be the recovery that determines the level of damage with some initial input from the recovery request assessment such as damage and offroad.

From what you have said it seems like substantially damamged is a stretch, but that will also be taken into account for what was nbeeded to get it up onto the flatbed.

Best of luck.

[_Rodders_]

I'd be inclined to argue that too.

A broken part doesn't constitute substantial damage in my mind.

[Collectingbrass]

I think the difference will be whether the car had to be dragged on to the truck or driven on. A loose calliper and jammed wheel isn't a vehicle I would try and drive as a 3rd party recovery operator on the side of the M25, a lot of potential for this to go wrong.

[Panamax]

Collectingbrass said:

I think the difference will be whether the car had to be dragged on to the truck or driven on. A loose calliper and jammed wheel isn't a vehicle I would try and drive as a 3rd party recovery operator on the side of the M25, a lot of potential for this to go wrong.

I'm afraid I'm inclined to agree. The car wasn't "broken down", it was "broken".