The statutory recovery charge is
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£105 but what about 'extras'?
AS A RECOVERY operator of many years (1 have no experience of LGV recovery) my organisation on a sporadic basis collects vehicles on behalf of clients from police contracted recovery operators. Although the statutory charges are £105 I have paid over £400 on occasions.
The extra fees are for items like 'mechanical assistance' (a winch was used) or 'health and safety' (granules were spread on the road following an oil or coolant spillage).
While I have no issue with some of these charges, it might be beneficial for all concerned if there were a minimum charge for a straightforward 'between the kerbs' recovery with additional charges being applied at nationally agreed hourly fees for each category of casualty.
This system would be much more transparent than the present scramble or, indeed, what is being proposed by the consultation.
The majority of insurers operate 24-hour call centres so there should be little difficulty in authorisations being provided for extra time. James Riley by e-mail