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My friend lives in NJ. His car was stolen, stripped, and abandoned. The city is making him pay for the towing and impound fees.

26,631 2,340 September 3, 2010 at 06:15 AM
Does that seem right to anyone else? It's basically costing him over $350 to have his car stolen and, since he didn't have theft insurance, it's a total loss. The only possible redemption is going to be today if a mechanic offers him any money for the scrap.

WTF?

I'm not even going into how rude the city employees were to him or how they turned him away yesterday afternoon because they didn't think he could get a tow truck (at his own expense) to the impound lot before they closed at 4:45. OR how they wouldn't help his wife when she was there at noon, because they were all at lunch.

Please reserve any comments about him being dumb for not carrying a theft clause or whatever you call it on his insurance policy. It was an older Honda Civic and he didn't think it was worth insuring for very much. I'm not sure how all of that works but his deductible might even have been more than what he would've gotten for the car, if that applies.

I think it's infuriating that the city is forcing him to pay towing and impound fees when his car was stolen! Does he have any recourse here? Maybe he can deduct the cost of the fees from his taxes or something? Who should he contact?

My friend is a really nice guy--I would've raged out on those impound lot employees for sure. My buddy said he knows when he's defeated and he's licking his wounds and counting his losses, and that his anger is reserved for the car thieves. I understand that, but really, it looks to me like the city's just adding insult to injury here.

Anyone have any experience with this?
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> bubble2 5,642 Posts
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DBC
09-03-2010 at 06:16 AM.
09-03-2010 at 06:16 AM.
Crying2
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SnakePlisken
09-03-2010 at 06:19 AM.
09-03-2010 at 06:19 AM.
tl;dl...why didn't the dummy have insuranace?
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.teri.
09-03-2010 at 06:33 AM.
09-03-2010 at 06:33 AM.
This is a tough one..One the one hand I see your point but on the other I don't know why it should be the city's responsibility to have it towed..unless they are the ones that stripped it. It's crappy that this happened to your friend but it's still his car (or whats left of it) so ultimately his responsibility to remove it. Why didn't your friend's wife wait until after the lunch hour, or come back after the lunch hour for help?
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veritablequandary
09-03-2010 at 06:41 AM.
09-03-2010 at 06:41 AM.
Quote from .teri. :
This is a tough one..One the one hand I see your point but on the other I don't know why it should be the city's responsibility to have it towed..unless they are the ones that stripped it. It's crappy that this happened to your friend but it's still his car (or whats left of it) so ultimately his responsibility to remove it. Why didn't your friend's wife wait until after the lunch hour, or come back after the lunch hour for help?
I'd expect them to make allowances in cases where the city police force did not do their job in preventing the car from being stolen & stripped in the first place. Maybe, if nothing else, a reduced rate or something? Or a tax credit would make sense at the very least.

His wife was on her lunch break. I'll also add that my friend had to leave work early (and burn PTO) to go to the impound lot to be told all of this nonsense. AND he has to do it again today so he can get there in time to get a tow truck to show up by 4:45. Annoyed
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SnakePlisken
09-03-2010 at 06:45 AM.
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.teri.
09-03-2010 at 06:52 AM.
09-03-2010 at 06:52 AM.
Quote from veritableqndry :
I'd expect them to make allowances in cases where the city police force did not do their job in preventing the car from being stolen & stripped in the first place. Maybe, if nothing else, a reduced rate or something? Or a tax credit would make sense at the very least.

His wife was on her lunch break. I'll also add that my friend had to leave work early (and burn PTO) to go to the impound lot to be told all of this nonsense. AND he has to do it again today so he can get there in time to get a tow truck to show up by 4:45. Annoyed
I agree. It does seem like they could make some allowance/reduced charge for crime victims. The city still has to pay someone to move the car though. Does your friend know how much the value of the stripped car is? Sometimes, dealers will pay the fees in exchange for ownership of the impounded car. Not sure in this case if it's worth the 350.00 but maybe worth checking out. Maybe the dealer could split the cost with your friend.
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DealCrazy
09-03-2010 at 06:56 AM.
09-03-2010 at 06:56 AM.
Since your "friend" already knew the car was not worth the insurance, he should not complain now. I feel bad about the person who stole the car. Imagine how desperate he must have been to steal a beaten up Honda Civic Rofl2
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veritablequandary
09-03-2010 at 07:00 AM.
09-03-2010 at 07:00 AM.
Quote from .teri. :
I agree. It does seem like they could make some allowance/reduced charge for crime victims. The city still has to pay someone to move the car though. Does your friend know how much the value of the stripped car is? Sometimes, dealers will pay the fees in exchange for ownership of the impounded car. Not sure in this case if it's worth the 350.00 but maybe worth checking out. Maybe the dealer could split the cost with your friend.
The dealer is offering him $600 for the car, which I guess will cover the fees and such. It was an extra $30 for it to stay in the lot until today. And I refuse to believe that the city isn't making enough off of legitimate towing/impounds to cover the cost of towing/impounding stolen/abandoned cars. If they aren't, they need to hire some more cops.
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MrsTrish
09-03-2010 at 07:01 AM.
09-03-2010 at 07:01 AM.
I would not rage on the people who where working the impound lot, they are just doing as told.. However, I would be at every city council meeting after raging on the elected officials who put laws in place that punish victims of crimes.
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General Ghoul
09-03-2010 at 07:10 AM.
09-03-2010 at 07:10 AM.
Quote from MrsTrish :
I would not rage on the people who where working the impound lot, they are just doing as told.. However, I would be at every city council meeting after raging on the elected officials who put laws in place that punish victims of crimes.
He should call and complain to his city councilperson, or the local mobster, whoever has more power.
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emelvee
09-03-2010 at 07:32 AM.
09-03-2010 at 07:32 AM.
I had my car totaled years ago...right after I dropped collision coverage. I think I was paying around $1,500/year for full coverage, and it was only worth around $10k. I figured the chances were low that I'd need the collision coverage. Doh
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ikrit
09-03-2010 at 07:53 AM.
09-03-2010 at 07:53 AM.
Quote from DealCrazy :
Since your "friend" already knew the car was not worth the insurance, he should not complain now. I feel bad about the person who stole the car. Imagine how desperate he must have been to steal a beaten up Honda Civic Rofl2
People usually don't steal cars for the sake of driving a "new" car. They usually steal for the parts.
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slutsky
09-03-2010 at 08:13 AM.
09-03-2010 at 08:13 AM.
It happened to me once. Thay asked for $300 to destroy my stolen car.
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.teri.
09-03-2010 at 09:16 AM.
09-03-2010 at 09:16 AM.
Quote from veritableqndry :
The dealer is offering him $600 for the car, which I guess will cover the fees and such. It was an extra $30 for it to stay in the lot until today. And I refuse to believe that the city isn't making enough off of legitimate towing/impounds to cover the cost of towing/impounding stolen/abandoned cars. If they aren't, they need to hire some more cops.
So by selling it to the dealer, the fees will be covered and it will be just like the car was stolen. Nothing out of pocket for towing/impounding expenses but he no longer has a car. Thats where not having insurance really hurts. My state has this 'fee' that I just can't understand. We are required by law to carry liability insurance; however, if you choose to drive uninsured you can, if you fill out a form and pay a 550.00/year fee. Not sure what the fee is used for. Confused It's probably just another way for the state to make money.

I still like your idea of a tax break, even for insured people who are crime victims. If nothing else claiming your deductibles would be nice.
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