Storage Fees for Stolen Car

Last year my dad had his car stolen. Eight days later, the police notified him it had been recovered and he could pick it up at Joe's Body Shoppe & Storage, or whatever it was called, in a nearby town.

He arrives at JBS&S and the counter guy hands him a bill for four hundred bucks. Itemized, that came to $160 for towing charges, and $240 for six days of storage, or forty smackers a day.

Dad paid the bill, figuring his insurance would reimburse him for the towing and storage charges. After all, the car was stolen, was it not?

The counter guy directs him to the location in the lot his car would be found. He circumnavigates a sea of wrecked cars and trucks to get to his vehicle. The place looks more like a junkyard or a dump than a vehicle storage facility.

Long story short, his insurance company said "No Way" his coverage would include towing and storage, regardless of the circumstances of the necessity. So basically Dad got screwed twice. Their recommendation for recourse? "Find the guy who stole your car and sue for compensation."

A towing charge three times the going rate aside, what really got me was the $40 a day storage fee. Why is space such a premium for this junkyard? I've paid less for parking in NYC! They claim part of the fee is the security. What does that mean? Barbed wire fences and a couple Dobermans?

Anyway, I think I'll write my congresswoman and ask her to consider legislation that would require the police to seek less expensive ways to handle recovered stolen vehicles. Here's a thought: tow my car to the long term parking lot at the airport. They charge only six dollars a day. Or better yet, just dump my car at the fairgrounds parking lot. Except for ten days in October, they don't charge a thing to leave your car there.
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