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New regs trebled recovery charges, says top lawyer
Page 14
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COVER STORY
By Christopher Walton THE LAW COVERING the removal of commercial vehicles involved in accidents has suffered "teething problems': leading to operators paying high prices for recovery and storage, according to one specialist lawyer.
PeterBeckerley,partner at Rausa Mumford, says the introduction of the Removal, Storage and Disposal of Vehicles Regulations in October 2008 has seen -recovery and storage charges treble': The regulations outline the charges the police can enforce for the recovery of a vehicle after an accident. They range from £150 for a not substantially damaged vehicle of 3.5 tonnes or less that is still on the road, to £6,000 for a laden vehicle of 18 tonnes or more, that is off the road, not upright and substantially damaged.
Removal was previously fixed at a minimum of £105 in England and Wales under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.
Beckerley told insurers and operators attending the Insurance Forum in London last week that he had seen occasions where VAT had been added to statutory fees by recovery operators.
A spokesman for the Highways Agency told CM that HM Revenue & Customs guidance says that statutory fees and services fall outside the scope of VAT and it should not be charged or reclaimed.
On 29 January 2009, HA traffic officers in the East of England were the first in the country to operate under powers granted by the new regulations to order the quick and safe removal of abandoned, broken down and accident-damaged vehicles from the motorway. It is the first of seven regions to adopt the new HA powers. In England, traffic officers rely on arrangements with the police and their contracts with local recovery operators.
John Beech, operations director at Auto-Rescue Logistics, told operators they "must challenge" all charges in light of the new act and stressed there was "no VAT on statutory charges':
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