With regard to vehicles that have been reported stolen (not the subject of finance agreement/fraud), that are the property of insurers or the original victim
where settlement by an insurer has yet to be made, I sought the charges incurred. The NPCC responded:
Historically and presently, third Party costs incurred during the seizure, retention and return of these vehicles is levied against insurance companies / owners. These costs include movements of shipping containers, professional unloading / reloading (of unrelated items), subsequent movement of the vehicles to storage, storage of the vehicles, fees from shipping industry for admin functions and demurrage and detention. These costs are invoiced to NaVCIS who in turn invoice them to the insurance / owner in an auditable process. No additional cost is added for any NaVCIS function.
Here is a recent working example:
Two stolen vehicles found in a container. The costs are split equally between the 2 cars – so each insurance invoiced as follows:
£100 Unload
£60 Shunts in Felixstowe
£150 Skip charge
£500 Transport and Freight Forwarder charge
£810 Total inc. vat
There may be an additional charge by a third party for the storage of the vehicle, whilst the insurance company/legal owner arrange for their transporters to collect the vehicle. However this is paid directly to the storage company by the insurance company or legal owner