A Government increase to £150 on the tax related to the recovery of stolen and broken-down cars, will push up the car insurance premiums for the majority of motorists.

This unfavourable rise in the cost of millions of motorist's insurance premiums also comes with an additional bill of £20 a day, if police have to store the offending vehicles. Motoring authorities and groups acknowledged that even if drivers claimed back the fees from their insurance companies, they would still find that the cost would be tacked onto their annual bill. However, as a result of an increasing number of cars being abandoned on roads, to the detriment of other motorists, officials feel that the charges are essential.

Fixed fees for the recovery and storage of vehicles are also facing a 45% rise due to the effects of inflation, resulting in the £150 tax charge. In addition, the cost of recovering an HGV could be as much as £9,000, while cars and motorbikes outside the London orbital are charged at £15 and those having to be stored inside the M25 will cost £20. These charges are being implemented under police authorisation as a way of targeting drivers who park illegally, dangerously or cause an obstruction. Officers are permitted to tow these vehicles away and then charge for recovery and storage.

If a motorist whose car is stolen on the first day while he or she was away on a two-week holiday, they will be confronted with a bill for as much as £430, with £150 for recovery and up to £280 for storage on their return. The typical insurance bill has risen to £550, and the cost of tacking on an uninsured driver to the average premium is an additional £30, while the price for younger drivers can be as much as £2,000. The governmental profiteering involved in enforcing this unnecessary stealth tax reveals how the public are suffering from policies which punish the motorist whose car is stolen rather than providing support in the instance. Moreover, the police force have contracted out the recovery of stolen or abandoned vehicles to private firms, which is simply increasing the costs that unwitting motorists will be forced to cough up. However, the majority of people will pay the inordinate policy excess for fear of losing their no-claims bonus. Although everyone concerned, the vehicle owner, the police and the insurance company, benefit from the car being towed to safety, the only party who is left with the full cost of this service, is the person whose car was stolen in the first place.

Around 230,000 cars are stolen each year with only half that number being returned to their owners, therefore millions of drivers, not to mention their insurance companies, will suffer the annual charges incurred as a result. It is the younger drivers, particularly students away at university living in, in most cases affordable and thus unsafe areas in cities such as Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and London who are likely to pose the biggest threat to other drivers if involved in an accident with them, as they may not be able to afford an adequate policy to cover against all eventualities.

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