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Recovering your vehicle if stolen

Date published: 01 July 2019 09:19

If you have reported your vehicle as stolen and we then find it, we will arrange for a local recovery agent to collect and store the vehicle. This helps to protect your vehicle and reduce the risk to road users if the vehicle has become dangerous to drive.

A forensic examination of your vehicle may also take place, in an effort to identify offenders.

You will be advised of your vehicle’s location. It is then your responsibility to arrange to collect it. The agent will charge a recovery fee. This fee does not go to South Yorkshire Police; it covers the agent’s costs for recovering and storing the vehicle safely.

We appreciate that this process can be frustrating for victims of car crime, but it is important for everyone’s protection. The use of a recovery agent is a nationally agreed process, followed by all police forces in the country. If we did not arrange recovery of the vehicle, we could be liable for anything that happened to it, or other road users, while awaiting collection.

You can make your own arrangements for payment of the agent’s fee, but your insurers may deal with this on your behalf, so you may wish to inform them. If you do not collect your vehicle when advised to do so, you will be liable for any storage fees that accrue on a daily basis for each day the vehicle remains in the agent’s yard.

If you locate your vehicle and decide to move it yourself, without involving us, please remember:

  • You do so at your own risk, we accept no responsibility if your vehicle is damaged or stolen while you are arranging recovery
  • You must inform us (by calling 101) that you have recovered your vehicle, so that the vehicle is no longer registered as stolen on the Police National Computer
  • You are advised to have your vehicle checked by a mechanic once recovered, to ensure that it is roadworthy.