Having your car impounded means that the police and other authorities have taken it from you and taken it to the pound. To get it out of impound, you have to know first why it was impounded, and then fix whatever caused the issue. Whether your car was impounded for parking violations, criminal offenses, registration issues, or some other reasons, it assists to have a strategy and some steps to try to follow in order to retrieve it. In some critical situations, someone else can also retrieve it on the behalf of the vehicle’s owner.
Follow the steps:
Figure out why it was impounded
Before you can get your vehicle back, you have to know what was the reason behind its impoundment. In a few cases, if someone else was driving your vehicle at that time, you may not be familiar with the reason at first, but as the registered owner, you are still responsible. There can be many reasons that your car can be impounded.
- The vehicle was involved in illegal activity
- The vehicle was not insured
- The vehicle’s registration was expired or not right
- Parking fines
Call your lawyer if the vehicle was impounded due to illegal involvement
A vehicle can be impounded if it was used in illegal activity such as carrying illegal products while driving or some other illegal activities. For some of these main reasons, you may be unable to get it out of an impound particularly if the police require you to hold it for proof. Even if the registered owner was not driving the vehicle when it was impounded for some reason, you likely require a lawyer to get it out of an impound. You may need to pay a fine or appear in court.
Get your vehicle insured properly
In a few cases, the authorities may notice that your vehicle is not properly insured or registered, or their records show that it is not insured. In order to recover the vehicle at this moment, you would have to take care of insurance and take proof of it to the police pound to retrieve the car.
Find out what additional information you need
Relying on the reason for the impound, bringing the payment to release it may not be enough. You will have to provide proof of ownership, proof of your ID, and proof of registration. After you have corrected the issue that led to having your car impounded, get these documents and take them to the police pound to show that the issue has been resolved.
Figure out the total payment
Once you have come to know why the car has been impounded, you have to learn quickly how much it will cost for you to get it back. Generally, you will have to pay various costs in order to get it back on the road. You can generally figure it out by contacting someone at the police pound.
Go ahead and check which form of payment they will accept.
- Cash
- Money order
- Cash
Go to the police pound
In some situations, you may be required to report to the police pound first in order to clear up the reason why your vehicle was impounded, and then to the other pound to collect the vehicle. Make sure that you get a report of the release from the police pound, so that the police pound will know that they can release the vehicle to you.
Make sure that you get receipts for whatever you pay and a form from the police to show that you have satisfied any insurance or registration issues.
Secondly, you should know that the missing car was impounded or not
Figure out where you parked it
In some conditions, you will be aware that your car was impounded particularly if it happened while you were driving. However, in a few conditions, you just walk out and nothing is left. Probably the most common reason for a car to be impounded is that it was simply illegally parked.
Look for signs for impounding
If your vehicle was in an area that is marked as an impound zone, there will often be a sign in the vicinity that will identify the towing company. Look for that sign and get the number. Contact them to find out if they have your vehicle.
Contact the police pound
If you are unable to figure out why the vehicle may be missing for some reason, call the local police pound or you may turn online to see if the police have got a specific number for impound information. A few police pound have an online resource that helps you to search for the vehicle using either your license number or VIN.
In some critical cases, it may take some days for information of the car to be entered into the police pound database system. So you should check back a few times.
Retrieving your impounded car for someone else
If required, other than the registered owner of the vehicle may be able to retrieve the vehicle from the police pound. But, the person retrieving the vehicle should take care of paying all the expenses that the registered owner has had to pay.
Retrieving the vehicle as an agent of the registered owner
In some states in the UK, the registered owner may allow another person to collect impounded car insurance. May be the owner is injured, is out of the state at the time that the vehicle was impounded, etc. in these cases, the registered owner will have to provide a authorization letter to the person who is collecting on his behalf, which include the following information:
- Registered owner name
- ID of the vehicle
- Name of the person collecting on owner’s behalf
- A valid driving license
- Authorization letter
In some cases the registered owner is dead, then the relative can collect the impounded car by showing a death certificate and proof of relationship.
You can always contact Release my vehicle for impounded car insurance policy as our team is expert in providing insurance quotes in a few minutes to make you stress free. Our UK-based call centres are always open for you to assist you in case of any emergency. Contact us and we will be more than happy to guide you through the process.
