Lost or stolen vehicles
Here you'll find details on how the police deal with the lost or stolen vehicles we find.
If we find a vehicle that's been reported lost or stolen we'll arrange for it to be moved to a police registered recovery agent for safekeeping.
We treat all lost or stolen vehicles we find as abandoned vehicles and remove them to:
- protect the vehicle from damage or arson
- prevent the vehicle from being stolen again
- prevent the vehicle from being used in a crime or anti-social behaviour
- make sure it isn’t an obstruction or danger to other road users
How to collect your vehicle
When your vehicle is ready to be collected you, as the registered keeper, will receive a notice letter. If we need to keep the vehicle to carry out examinations we'll send a letter once the examinations have been done and the vehicle has been released.
You have seven days to collect the vehicle after it's been released. If the vehicle hasn’t been collected within this time, it will be disposed of or sold.
For further information go to our impounded vehicles page.
Please note that if your vehicle has been lost or stolen you, or your insurer or the driver (if you weren't the driver at the time), will have to pay the statutory charges. You'll find full details in the Road Traffic Act (Retention and disposal of seized vehicles) Regulations 2005 – amended 2008.
We strongly recommend that you call the recovery agent (the phone number will be in the notice letter) and make an appointment to collect your vehicle. This may prevent a wasted journey and reduce your waiting time.
If your vehicle was stolen we strongly recommend that you take it to a garage for an inspection before you drive it yourself. It may have been damaged while it was being driven by the thief.
Insurance claims
If you've made an insurance claim for a stolen vehicle, you must speak to your insurer before arranging collection. The insurance company may have a claim to the vehicle and want to pay the charges and collect it themselves.
If you've already sent your V5C (registration document) to the insurance company, we'll need written confirmation from the insurer that you're authorised to collect the vehicle.
Keys
We can't release your vehicle until the recovery agent's staff have checked the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number). They can't do that if the vehicle is locked.
If the vehicle is locked and you don't have a key, or if your key won't open it, we'll arrange for a locksmith to gain entry (at your expense). We won’t release the vehicle to you until we've done this. It may take several days.
More help and support
Phone Vehicle Recovery: 01522 558125
Email: [email protected]