Cost Efficiencies

Providing cost effective controls to a previously variable expenditure

What are the facts?

Up to 25% of accident damage costs can be attributed to vehicle recovery and storage costs.  These costs impact upon insurance premiums.  They are costs that you can control

Over 60% of companies have no set policy or procedures in place for when an RTA happens.

This empowers the Police to invoke statutory powers and instruct one of their contracted vehicle recovery operators to recover the casualty vehicle – which, dependent on where the accident happens, can result in excessive and unrealistic vehicle recovery and storage charges being applied.

Even independent insurance engineers frequently approve these charges, why?  They have little or no knowledge of the law relating to Road Traffic legislation, and little knowledge of vehicle recovery.

Auto-Rescue Logistics have two schedules of charges that apply across the UK.

Schedule 1 applies to cars, vans, MPV’s etc up to 3.5 tonnes.

Schedule 2 applies to commercial vehicles above 3.5 tonnes.

Vehicle recovery invoices should be clear and straightforward, detailing what actually occurred at the accident scene together with a method statement and risk assessment. Photographs should accompany the invoice. 

Items such as management fees, winching, gloves, reflective clothing, damaged equipment, refreshments, incident manager (except in major incidents) should not appear on the invoice.

Where a police officer has ordered the statutory removal of a motor vehicle the charges to be levied on behalf of the police force / vehicle recovery operator are confined to the ‘statutory fees’ as set out in the Prescribed Sums and Charges Regulations 1989 as amended in SI No. 550 of 1993. These are the only charges that anyone is lawfully obliged to meet. (D H Mansfield Limited  v  NYK Logistics - Her Honour Judge Bevington, Judgement  27 April 2005))  Whilst you should reserve your right to pay only those charges that you are lawfully obliged to pay, Auto-Rescue Logistics do accept that in some instances the ‘statutory fee’ is wholly inadequate to meet the fair and reasonable cost of some statutory recoveries, and in such circumstances we believe  it is right to pay fair and reasonable charges to secure the release of the vehicle.

There has to be some exercise of control and restraint on costs where police contracted vehicle recovery operators invoice their costs for the recovery, it must be a detailed invoice setting out a comprehensive log of the work carried out, the number of personnel engaged, number of vehicles used at the scene together with an explanation of why such resources were required to carry out the work.