A theft victim has been arrested for harassing a vehicle pound which is holding his stolen bike.

Michael Wheatley believes it should cost him nothing to get his stolen Honda Fireblade back after it was recovered by police within a mile of his home in Pitsea, Essex.

But it was taken to a pound over 10 miles away and by the time Wheatley was informed, he already faced a £160 recovery and storage bill, which he refused to pay.

Since then the unemployed courier has emailed and phoned Albert Road Recovery in South Ockendon over 70 times to demand the £2,000 1994 Blade back.

Now the bill for its release is £500 thanks to mounting storage charges – and Wheatley has been cautioned by police for harassment.

Wheatley, 46, said: “I phoned about 10 times but they wouldn’t take my calls or phone me back so I gave up on that and stuck to emails. I must have sent a couple a day for six weeks, so about 60 in total, maybe more.

“A typical email said: ‘I feel aggrieved that I’ve been the victim of a crime and yet I’m being charged to get my bike back.’

“Eventually they blocked my primary email address so I used another one to send a message saying: ‘I’m still not giving up. I’m going to follow this through right to the end and go to court if necessary.’

“It was then that police came to my home and arrested me.”

“I was fingerprinted, photographed, DNA tested, and cautioned under the Public Order Act.”

Recovery costs can usually be claimed back on insurance but Wheatley’s bike was uninsured when it was stolen from his garden in November.

He had taken it off the road to save money while he was out of work.

An Essex Police spokesman said: “A 46-year-old man was arrested on January 6 for a public order offence of harassment.

"He was later released having admitted the offence and agreeing to be dealt with by means of a caution.” 

 Stupid !!!   However the lesson I guess is even if you sorn your bike, insure it against theft.                                                                                                                                                                             

Or at the least don't be a donkey and leave it in a position to get nicked if unisured.                                                                                                                                                                              

So who's up for going to the police auction in a few months for a cheap 94 fireblade.........                                                                                                                                                                              

typical how many times have we said it that the law is an ass,how long have we got to put up with this crap?no wonder people are leaving this country,i myself only this week had a person of asian origin reverse into my car,then scream and shout that i am racist for calling him a blind person(slightly more colourful)then to find that he has no insurance,so what happens?i report him to the police for no insurance and nothing,are we all so bloody terrified of upsetting these bloody people that we have to pay for our own repairs?well i can tell you now hears one that aint going to lie down,i will see the b******d in jail first,or hospital(wasnt me you honour),Law it makes you sick,one for them one for us.

I think thats deplorable.This fireblade should be returned to its rightfull owner,free of charge immediately,with the full support of the police.Doesn't the much advertised Police and community charter say something about returning stolen property to the victims of crime?Or is this just another lie.Who profits more from this crime-the thief or the recovery company?Think about it cos it could happen to you.Won't be so amusing then,will it.Hope he gets his bike back soon.

If it wasn't for the coppers this dick would't have a bike to moan about. Who's more at fault here? The scroat that saw an opportunity or the Bloke that knew he wasn't insured  but still left his bike were someone could nick it. especially as it effects his job prospects. I think the storage charges are a small price to pay.                                                                                                                                                                              

If it wasnt for thieving little s**ts our insurance wouldnt be so high.
Cant leave anything down without having to chain it
                                                                                                                                                                               

I remember getting hit by a drunk driver, ripped the wheel out from under me, when I stopped sliding I went to see if he was ok as he was slumped over the wheel ..oh he also took out a car full of old people in front of me....anyway got to the car he was stinking of whiskey and talking bollocks.....I was going to bang him out there and then, luckily an off duty cop was there and said he wasn't worth the effort.......anyway I got trated like a criminal when cops arrived automatically thought it was my fault breath test and then told I would have to pay some £90 to get it recovered....which i didn't have got over drawn and bank charges all sorts.....had to wait 9 months to go to court and get money/ insurance payout and also had to pay storage for vehicle as well........all bollocks

The police will impound any recovered vehicle because it's a way of making revenue out of thin air and it pays the police wage bill.
If its insured ( fully comp or tpf&t ) when stolen your insurance should pay for it to be returned, but if its not you will have to foot the bill unless say the police stole it which does happen as we have seen recently.
As bluesbiker has said he should have had it somewhere more secure or insured.
The police do not need to tell you they have found your vehicle please come and pick it up, but if you are stopped and found to have no tax or insurance or mot they will give you the option to have it recovered yourself with in a certain time frame.
If the police are not satisfied they will recover it/impound it with a smile and a fee.
As far as Whiteairedfox is concerned if the driver is not insured you can claim from the victims of crime fund to help resolve your repair bill, its difficult but can be done.  But do get a crime number from the officer attending or his station.
Also you can pursue him through the courts and this can be a mine field so let your insurance company do it for you.
I have had many court appearances with uninsured drivers and my advice is dont back down unless your barrister tells you to.
Good luck.

If something is recovered, and the plate run, a courtesy call to offer you the chance to recover it would be nice. But as 9r says it is financialy beneficial to put it in a recovery lot and bill you storage charges. As for it getting stolen, I grew up in a town where if you left your keys in the car they would still be there when you came back and you never had to lock a door. That still doesn't mean you are asking some low life muppet with a list of previous convictions who really shouldn't walking the streets helping himself to your kit/ bike that you actually worked hard yes worked hard for, a concept that seems to be getting rare these days.

Should be like US/ Texas if he is on your property without permission you have the right to shoot the twat. Also 3 strikes and you go away for a long stretch.

3 strikes would be great way to do it.    I work next to cops and they have to deal with the same muppets day in day out.  Arresting them isn't the problem it's the courts and (in Scotland) the Procurator Fiscals office that is letting us down.                                                                                                                                                                             

"So who's up for going to the police auction in a few months for a cheap 94 fireblade"

Sounds like a plan!  I'm up for that.

Most police impounds are run by private companies.  They have costs to bear covering the site's rent, staff costs, security costs etc and these are recovered by charging vehicle owners.

I feel for the guy, but if he was insured he wouldn't have a concern.  And I'm sorry, before people say "he hasn't any money blah, blah", but if he really can't afford to keep the bike, he should get rid and stick the money in a bank until he can.  Far, far better that than having it sat there uninsured.

I wouldn't really go to the auction to take advantage of this fella, that would be morally wrong.  Now if it was an 03 954 blade, that may be a different story!                                                                                                                                                                             

One more thing; can people refrain from using foul language.  I've had to edit a couple of posts because of bad language.

It is perhaps a bit of a grey area because some of the "lesser" profanities could be seen as acceptable (hence, why I haven't edited all similar posts), after all we are all adults.

But we all have to remember that it is still a public site and many words may be found offensive by some.  As such the use of the F word, the C word (not that anyone has) or similar will not be accepted.  These posts will be edited or deleted and a PM sent to the offender.  Repeat offenders may be removed from the site.

The frog has spoken lol!                                                                                                                                                                             

Madscots right about the system, when things go wrong we do tend to blame the police, probably because they are the public face of the justice system. I have a few mates scattered around in police forces up and down the country, they will tell you the same thing, they have to follow procedure, as much as they don't want to, if they don't they are in the running for reprimand.
As for repeat offenders there's nothing they would like better than to lock them up, but we all know the state of the prosecuters office and prison system.
I was told by a person who works in a Scottish proculators office, they are encouraged to hammer Joe average for heavy penalties I'd fines as to try that with repeat offenders they usually on paper have no money so to pursue for fines it will be a fraction of what they can get of a hard working guy whomakes a one off mistake and 'batters the twat who stole his bike in a fit of rage".
In other words more money can be made from a hard working normal everyday bloke than a scum bag thief. Prison sentencing istoo lax and they are too full. The police can arrest but they are on the street the next day with a minimum fine paying it a£1 a week.

  I feel for the guy, but if he was insured he wouldn't have a concern.  And I'm sorry, before people say "he hasn't any money blah, blah", but if he really can't afford to keep the bike, he should get rid and stick the money in a bank until he can.  Far, far better that than having it sat there uninsured.   I'm in the same position as this guy, my bike is on a SORN and not insured, I can't afford it either, and if I could get a buyer I would. It's been in a mate's garage for 6 yrs and advertised umpteen times.   (Please don't ask me about the bike on here, PM me if ya want to know, or better yet read the classifieds forum)                                                                                                                                                                               

Seems there's fault here on both sides.   Anyone with no insurance is taking a chance. This guy lost.   If the police had contacted the owner promptly (which they can do without much trouble) then the charge might be more reasonable, certainly not enough to argue over.   But the police (and hence anyone subcontracting for them) are public servants, and should not be blatantly profiteering from victims.                                                                                                                                                                                 

Come on guys are we gonna say that some low life breaks into your house or smashes your window takes your ubber gucci stereo you deserve everything you get if your not insured.... If there was a proper punishment system in place you wouldn't have to worry about your bike of the road even in your garage...

Look at Singapore it has strict laws. You get beat with a martial arts cane. It is administered by a martial artist and anyone receiving is closely monitored by a doctor. It is harsh but the stats prove it works. Cleanest and safest I've ever felt with a crime rate of around 2 %. Enough said if you ain't doing wrong you nothing to worry about.

personally, I think we need to go back 30 years to when the cane was used in schools  - oh, and if you steal anything, the hand comes off, sorry, just my opinion......                                                                                                                                                                             

It brings to mind the old saying ... spare the rod & spoil the child.   Whilst I do not advocate beatings etc etc & would never go so far as to hit anyone let alone my child with anything other than my bare hands, the fact is I never really had to smack my kids. Ok bit of a fib I have done ... each of them twice, the 1st when they were younger & the 2nd when each of them in turn became a gobby teenager & forgot thier manners towards thier mother, but the fact is they were raised with respect & knew the lines that they were not to cross.   But the fact remains that my kids (and I am sure a lot of others) are raised with respect for others and others property, the upsetting thing is that too many just could not care less & have never had any form of teachings from elders in the family & think that they are 'hard done by' and deserve to have something just 'cos it is there'   As a councellor I noticed many teenagers in young offenders institutes who would not accept responsibility for thier actions & untill the do gooders make them face what they have done & stop blaming thier parents, society, school, area they were raised in, the post man, the milk man, the paperboy etc etc then they never will & things will go from bad to worse.   I agree with Nut, it was the fear of 'what may happen' that kept a lot of us in line, she may remember in school I got suspended for 3 days cos someone was pulling my pony tail in line waiting to go into class.. I turned round & slapped the girl across the face ... I was more horrified at what my mother would do to me when she found out !