Stolen Car? That'll be £170 please.

Main story from the Shuttle read it and weep, especially at the repeated response that all this was "force policy".

If we take the story at face value Miss Monk reported her car stolen, it was then found not by the police but her sister a short distance away.

The police "insisted" it be taken away for forensic analysis; then when done charged Miss Monk £150 for removing it and £20 for storage during the analysis. As the car was undriveable, to add insult to injury, she then had to cough up £65 to have it returned.

So had the police informed Miss Monk that their analysis would incur a charge would she have arranged for the car to be returned at a cost of just £65; I bet she would. Had she known about this charge prior to the police arriving would she have arranged for this without informing them - perhaps though I'm sure the police would then charge with disturbing the scene of a crime.

Of course "Under force policy she should have been informed beforehand about her obligations in respect of the statutory fees for removal of the vehicle and storage" Obligations? Obligations! Sure I can understand if the police found it, contacted her, told her it had been found and advised her to arrange removal or they'd do it and charge her for it. But it was the police who told her they wanted the vehicle was she allowed to refuse?

So if you ever suffer a burglary and the police investigate should we now expect them to present a bill for time and materials as they leave?