Joined Jul 2005
Scarydevil Monastery
Forum Thread
My friend lives in NJ. His car was stolen, stripped, and abandoned. The city is making him pay for the towing and impound fees.
September 3, 2010 at
06:15 AM
in
Rant
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?
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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In the end my tires were found and I got them back. They had been removed from the rims and had to be remounted and balanced. I was pissed about having to pay for that. But it never occurred to me than anyone but the thief should have been responsible for that cost. I chose not to pursue that but had the thief not been caught I would never have expected someone else to cover the costs.
I have also had a few other semi-valuable items stolen from me over the years and my house was broken into twice. But it wasn't the fault of the police or the city.
And yeah, maybe I'm laying it on a bit thick with the "cops should've prevented this" stuff, but honestly, isn't it reasonable to expect to live in a mostly crime-free society? Isn't that what we pay taxes for? So if the city fails in that responsibility, why do I have to keep paying taxes? Am I getting what I paid for? And in this case, not only am I not getting what I paid for, I'm being charged extra for their failure. On top of everything else they gave him shitty attitude too?
This is blaming the rape victim, taking all of her cash after you do the rape kit, and then forcing her to eat a shit sandwich with a smile on her face to boot.
Although I do appreciate you backing off from the hyperbole and rhetoric. Going forward I shall endeavor to remain civil also.
This is why I said "let's leave the insurance part out of this" in the OP
We'll call and someone like "Shamrock Towing" will come pick up your car, and take it to their impound lot. Shamrock doesnt give a damn about what happened to the car, other than they had to transport it and store it and they expect to be paid.
The police probably saw this abandoned/stripped car on the road and called to have it towed since it is obviously not appropriate for it to be left there like that.
Your aggression and emotion towards blaming the local police seems misguided.
Ultimately the owner of the vehicle is responsible for it. If he saw his car was stripped and decided to leave it there, rather than have it towed to his house, he bears the responsibility when the police come by and have it towed for him. Its unfortunate, but true. People are also not allowed to break laws just because something unfavorable happened to them.
We'll call and someone like "Shamrock Towing" will come pick up your car, and take it to their impound lot. Shamrock doesnt give a damn about what happened to the car, other than they had to transport it and store it and they expect to be paid.
The police probably saw this abandoned/stripped car on the road and called to have it towed since it is obviously not appropriate for it to be left there like that.
Your aggression and emotion towards blaming the local police seems misguided.
Ultimately the owner of the vehicle is responsible for it. If he saw his car was stripped and decided to leave it there, rather than have it towed to his house, he bears the responsibility when the police come by and have it towed for him. Its unfortunate, but true. People are also not allowed to break laws just because something unfavorable happened to them.
oops
Darned taser wielders.
Police try to protect and serve, but they cannot be everywhere all the time. And to expect to live in a crime free society is like expecting everyone to be honest all the time. A pipedream at best.
oops
Darned taser wielders.
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We'll call and someone like "Shamrock Towing" will come pick up your car, and take it to their impound lot. Shamrock doesnt give a damn about what happened to the car, other than they had to transport it and store it and they expect to be paid.
The police probably saw this abandoned/stripped car on the road and called to have it towed since it is obviously not appropriate for it to be left there like that.
Your aggression and emotion towards blaming the local police seems misguided.
Ultimately the owner of the vehicle is responsible for it. If he saw his car was stripped and decided to leave it there, rather than have it towed to his house, he bears the responsibility when the police come by and have it towed for him. Its unfortunate, but true. People are also not allowed to break laws just because something unfavorable happened to them.
Oh, and apparently its a growing trend. [nytimes.com] Hope everybody's got a "rainy day/paying the city when I get robbed" fund stashed someplace!
Police try to protect and serve, but they cannot be everywhere all the time. And to expect to live in a crime free society is like expecting everyone to be honest all the time. A pipedream at best.
lol i picked them because they are a real tow company that my agency uses down here in arizona
Sorry...just trying to lighten the mood here...
We'll call and someone like "Shamrock Towing" will come pick up your car, and take it to their impound lot. Shamrock doesnt give a damn about what happened to the car, other than they had to transport it and store it and they expect to be paid.
The police probably saw this abandoned/stripped car on the road and called to have it towed since it is obviously not appropriate for it to be left there like that.
Your aggression and emotion towards blaming the local police seems misguided.
Ultimately the owner of the vehicle is responsible for it. If he saw his car was stripped and decided to leave it there, rather than have it towed to his house, he bears the responsibility when the police come by and have it towed for him. Its unfortunate, but true. People are also not allowed to break laws just because something unfavorable happened to them.
Police try to protect and serve, but they cannot be everywhere all the time. And to expect to live in a crime free society is like expecting everyone to be honest all the time. A pipedream at best.
I don't think it's a pipe dream to expect to live in a crime-free society. And I certainly won't accept that as an answer when I ask why something happened. Would you? Can you honestly tell me you could get mugged and then shrug and say, "well, that's the price we pay for living in society! Time to go make more money!" I'm pretty sure I remember reading that you foiled a home invasion or two--par for the course? Just how things are? Price of doing business? Honestly?
Don't you? How many times has your car been stolen? How many times per week/month are you a victim of a crime?
And no, I (knock on wood) have not ever been the victim of a crime. I don't live in NJ either. I'm not sure what that has to do with this argument though.
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Usually the only time a vehicle makes it to a police impound lot is if it is there for evidence.
You have to look at it objectively:
Car gets stripped. Sucks, no insurance. Owner's responsibility, criminal's fault.
Abandoned, stripped car left on street, police come by, have it towed. Sucks but is proper procedure. By the way, how long was this thing left on the street without being checked to have it stripped and towed without the owners knowledge until after it was impounded? Owner's responsibility, police officer's duty.
Now regarding the wife showing up at noon and not being able to get the car out, that is shitty, and they shouldnt have to pay for the extra day when they made the effort to come out.