Car Pound Cops: Give me my car back!
Broadcaster: Channel 5
2 episodes
A brand new series consisting of two episodes which follows the dramatic work of recovery crews as they trace, track and tow vehicles driven illegally on Britain’s roads. This character driven documentary series reveals the daily challenges faced by a diverse group of men and women responsible for holding dangerous and deceitful road users to account. Every day, hundreds of thousands of cars are driving around without a valid MOT, untaxed, uninsured or unroadworthy. Others have been involved in a crime, been driven dangerously, parked illegally, are causing an obstruction, or amassed hundreds of pounds in unpaid fines. Uninsured and unroadworthy vehicles are involved in tens of thousands of accidents each year, some resulting in the serious injury or death of innocent people. Drivers of these cars significantly increase the insurance premiums the rest of us have to pay. Untaxed vehicles have a wider impact too, leaving the public purse short by £100 million a year.
Specialist recovery firms, operating fleets of tow-trucks and running their own car-pounds, are contracted by a range of agencies to help them get paid, or get these cars off the road; the DVLA, the DVSA, the police and local authorities. With access to two of these recovery companies CMG and Lantern, we go out on the road to discover the scale of this problem. From the moment they are called to action, to the trucks arriving on scene, and eventually towing the vehicle away to be impounded – more often than not to the dismay and anger of the owner. And, we are also at the pound, where owners arrive to demand the return of their car – something only possible if they have all the correct paperwork in place and are prepared to pay the towing fine. If not, after 14-days, their car will be crushed.
