Police pound recovery across London, including Charlton and Perivale
Since 22 July 2026 a seized vehicle has to be claimed within seven calendar days, weekends and bank holidays included. We tell you exactly what your pound needs, then collect the released vehicle on an insured flatbed from Charlton, Perivale or any London borough pound, from £80.
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If your vehicle is in a police pound, you have seven calendar days from the date on the seizure notice to claim it. Since 22 July 2026 that clock runs in calendar days, not working days, so a vehicle seized on a Friday can lawfully be disposed of the following Friday. The statutory removal charge for a car up to 3.5 tonnes is £192, plus £26 for every 24 hours of storage, and a part period counts as a whole one. Only the registered keeper or owner can satisfy the pound and pay those charges. We cannot obtain the release for you, but we will tell you exactly what your pound needs and collect the vehicle on an insured flatbed the moment it is authorised, from £80. Call 07960 200253.
The seven-day clock, and what changed on 22 July 2026
The Removal, Storage and Disposal of Motor Vehicles Timeframes (Amendment) Regulations 2026 came into force on 22 July 2026. They cut the retention period before a seized vehicle can be disposed of from fourteen days to seven, and they deleted the phrase "working days" from the release provisions entirely: regulation 4 of both the 2002 and the 2005 Regulations now reads seven days, and the definition of working days has been removed from the text. In practical terms a vehicle seized on a Friday evening can be lawfully disposed of on the following Friday. Weekends and bank holidays are counted. There is no grace period because the notice letter arrived late in the post.
The same instrument tightened the Police (Retention and Disposal of Vehicles) Regulations 1995, cutting twenty-one days to seven and three months to seven for vehicles seized under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. One saving provision matters: the 2026 Regulations do not apply to vehicles seized or removed before 22 July 2026, so an older seizure still runs on the previous fourteen-day and seven-working-day timetable. Almost every other page and forum thread on this subject still quotes the old figures. Work from the date printed on your form 3708 seizure notice, not the date you found out the vehicle had gone.
Had a non-fault accident? Your recovery is free.
If another driver was at fault, CityGrip arranges free recovery, secure storage, a like-for-like courtesy car and full claims management, with every cost recovered from the at-fault driver’s insurer. You pay nothing, and your no-claims bonus stays intact.
What the pound charges, and why £150 plus £20 a day is out of date
The statutory scale changed on 6 April 2023, when an average uplift of 28 per cent was applied across four separate instruments at once. For a car up to 3.5 tonnes maximum authorised mass, recovered from the road, upright and not substantially damaged, the removal charge is £192. If the vehicle was substantially damaged or not upright, the same removal on the road is £320. Off-road recoveries are £256 upright and undamaged, or £384 damaged or not upright. Storage is £26 for every 24 hours for a car, £13 for a two-wheeler, £32 for a vehicle over 3.5 and up to 7.5 tonnes, £38 up to 18 tonnes and £45 above that. The disposal charge, if it reaches that stage, is £96 for a car and £64 for a bike.
How the storage clock runs matters more than people expect. Each 24-hour period is calculated from noon on the first day after seizure on which the pound is open for claiming vehicles before noon, and any part of a period counts as a full one. A car seized on Monday evening and collected on Thursday afternoon carries the £192 removal charge plus three full days of storage at £78, because the Thursday block began at noon. Arriving at 11am instead of 1pm is a real £26 saved. Heavier vehicles are in a different league: an over-18-tonne vehicle recovered off road, damaged or not upright, attracts £5,763 unladen and £7,684 laden, and a 7.5 tonne van accrues £32 a day rather than £26.
You will still see £150 removal and £20 a day quoted almost everywhere, including on competing recovery sites and in insurance blogs. Those were the levels set with effect from 1 October 2008, which themselves replaced the £105 and £12 set when the regulations were first made in 2005. They have been wrong since April 2023. If your seizure is older, the amendment chain of 2005, October 2008 and April 2023 is where your own figures will be found.
Why the vehicle was taken: section 165A, section 59 and the other routes
Most London seizures are made under section 165A of the Road Traffic Act 1988, inserted by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 and in force since 1 July 2005. It allows a constable in uniform to seize and remove a motor vehicle where there are reasonable grounds to believe it is being driven without insurance contrary to section 143, or otherwise than in accordance with a licence contrary to section 87(1). The officer must first warn the driver that the vehicle will be seized unless a licence or evidence of insurance is produced immediately, unless the circumstances make a warning impracticable. If the driver fails to stop or makes off, the vehicle can still be seized within 24 hours of the condition first being satisfied, and the power extends to entering non-residential premises and using reasonable force.
Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002 is the anti-social use power. It covers vehicles used in a way that contravenes section 3 (careless and inconsiderate driving) or section 34 (off-road driving) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and is causing, or is likely to cause, alarm, distress or annoyance to the public. It changed on 29 June 2026, when section 8 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 removed subsections 59(4) and 59(5), the requirement to issue a warning before seizing. A vehicle used at a car meet, cruising, or ridden across a park can now be seized on the spot with no prior warning at all.
Other arrival routes end at the same gate: untaxed vehicles seized under DVLA devolved powers, vehicles prohibited by a DVSA PG9 notice, collision and crime-scene removals, stolen and recovered vehicles, obstruction, trespass on land, abandonment after a police incident and surrender under a dispersal order. For impounds that are not section 165A seizures, the Met also operates a self-service portal that lets you upload evidence, pay the statutory charges and book a collection appointment. The access details for it are on your notice letter.
The documents you will be asked for at the counter
Photo identification comes first, and it is where people are turned away most often. A passport, photocard driving licence, EU national identity card, immigration document, Freedom Pass, Citizencard, digital tachograph card, Driver CPC card or a recognisable and verifiable government agency identity card will be accepted. Student cards, employer-issued identity cards, cash and carry cards, club membership cards, and debit or credit cards will not be accepted, however official they look.
Then ownership, in one of three shapes. If you are the registered keeper, bring the full V5C logbook, verifiable photo identification and proof of address that matches the V5C. If you have recently bought the vehicle, bring the V5C/2 new keeper supplement together with a verifiable bill of sale or receipt, or the DVLA online change of keeper confirmation email, plus photo identification and two proofs of address. The awkward case is buying a vehicle after it was seized: you must attend the pound together with the person who was the registered keeper at the time of seizure. Buying a car that is already in a pound, on trust, is how people lose both the money and the vehicle.
If you intend to drive it out there is more again. A valid MOT, or documented evidence of a pre-booked MOT appointment from the garage. Current vehicle tax, because a vehicle released untaxed can simply be seized again the moment it touches a public road. Correct number plates, fitted before you leave. A provisional licence holder needs an accompanying driver aged 21 or over who is qualified to drive that type of vehicle, has held a full licence for at least three years and is not currently disqualified, plus L plates. A learner reclaiming a motorcycle must produce the original CBT certificate: photocopies and photographs on a phone are refused.
The insurance trap, and the one thing a flatbed does not fix
This is where most releases fail. The certificate of insurance has to permit the release of a vehicle impounded by a government authority, and it is required even if you have no intention of ever driving the vehicle on a public road again. A public liability policy will not do it. A vehicle listed on a home insurance policy will not do it. Short-term or temporary cover for a period of up to 30 days may not be valid for reclaiming a seized vehicle, so read the certificate wording or ring the insurer before you set off rather than at the counter. A motor trade policy cannot be used to release someone else's vehicle unless that vehicle was the trader's property and in their custody and control at the time of seizure. If the pound is not satisfied with what it sees, it can require written confirmation direct from the insurer.
Now the part that a great many recovery pages get wrong, including an earlier version of this one, which we have corrected. The legal requirement for the impounded vehicle to hold valid motor insurance before it leaves the pound applies in all cases, including where a recovery operator is collecting it on a flatbed on your behalf. A truck solves no MOT, no tax, a PG9 prohibition notice, collision damage and a vehicle that will not start. It does not solve no insurance. If the seizure was for driving uninsured, you need a policy in force on that vehicle before either of us travels to the pound. Getting that right first is the whole difference between a job that completes and a wasted trip that still costs you another day of storage.
Charlton and Perivale: addresses, access and opening hours
The Charlton pound is at Bramshot Avenue, Charlton, London SE7 7HY. Road access is only through Bramshot Avenue via Eastcombe Avenue, and there is a pedestrian underpass from Siebert Road. Driving, leave the A102 at the Woolwich Road exit. The nearest tube is North Greenwich on the Jubilee line, the nearest mainline stations are Westcombe Park and Charlton, and buses 53, 54, 108, 202, 286, 380, 386 and 422 serve the area.
The Perivale pound is at Walmgate Road, Perivale, Greenford UB6 7LR, reached only through Walmgate Road, which runs off Aintree Road. Leave the A40 at the Perivale exit near the Hoover Building. The nearest tube is Perivale on the Central line, the nearest mainline station is South Greenford, and buses 95 and 297 run nearby.
Both pounds open 11.30am to 7.30pm, seven days a week, including public holidays. The gates close to the public at 7.30pm sharp, but if you arrive before closing time you will be served. Midweek between 11.30am and 1pm, and after 5pm, are the crush periods, so aim for mid-afternoon if your timing is flexible. There is no public parking and there are no toilets at either site. Payment is in person only: no payment over the telephone, the cardholder must attend, no cheques and no American Express. Cash in British currency, Visa, MasterCard, Maestro and Solo are accepted. Copies of everything you produce, and any reason for a refusal to release, are retained on the pound's administration system, ELVIS.
Council removals in London: TRACE, and a different set of charges
If a London borough or TfL took the vehicle rather than the police, the language changes: the vehicle has been removed or towed away, not seized, and you find it through TRACE. TRACE is run by London Councils, it is free, and it covers every London borough. Search by registration at trace.london, available 24 hours a day and 365 days a year, or call 0300 077 0100 (textphone 0300 123 2050). It will tell you which pound holds the vehicle and the release procedure for that pound.
Borough charges are set under different powers from the police scale, so do not mix the two up. Across London boroughs, with effect from 7 April 2025, release from the car pound is £280, storage is £55 per day, the disposal fee is £100 and release from a wheel clamp is £100. Those levels had not moved since 2007, when they stood at £200, £40 and £70. Sitting on top of that is the penalty charge notice that caused the removal in the first place: Band A is £160 at the higher rate and £110 at the lower, Band B is £140 and £90, bus lane and moving traffic contraventions are £160, and TfL red route PCNs are £160 reduced to £80 if paid within fourteen days. Parking PCNs carry a 50 per cent discount for payment within fourteen days, or twenty-one days where the notice was issued from CCTV.
Outside London, local authority removals under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978 run on the Prescribed Sums and Charges Regulations 2008, which were among the four instruments uplifted on 6 April 2023. Confirm the current figure with the removing authority rather than relying on the 2008 numbers still published in many places. DVLA clamping of untaxed vehicles is a third route again, with its own release fee, daily storage charge and a refundable surety: the INF32 leaflet left on the vehicle explains the procedure, and DVLA should be your source for the current amounts.
When a truck is compulsory, and what an operator must produce at the gate
A flatbed stops being optional the moment the vehicle carries a PG9 prohibition notice, is not roadworthy, will not start, has no MOT, has no valid plates, or has collision damage. Nothing can be sorted out on site, because no repairs of any kind are permitted at the pound, not a tyre change and not a windscreen. Staff will attempt a jump start where they can, but only against a signed jump-starting indemnification form, and they cannot advise you on whether the vehicle is roadworthy. If it does not start on the day you are left arranging a recovery operator at your own expense, which is why booking one in advance is usually cheaper than losing another 24-hour block.
A recovery operator cannot simply turn up either. At a Met pound the driver has to produce a valid UK or EU photocard driving licence, a certificate of motor insurance covering recovery of a vehicle from the pound, and a certificate of public liability insurance covering recovery operations and loading and unloading inside the pound. Where the operator is instructed by you rather than by you attending in person, they also need a letter of authority from the owner or registered keeper plus a copy of your photo identification to verify it. Where the instruction comes from a finance or insurance company, the paperwork must trace the authority back to that company, even through a claims handler or a subcontract. The driver reads and signs the Recovery Operator Instructions and Declaration Form and works to the Loading and Unloading Guidelines.
Operators can also be spot-checked on health and safety at the gate: risk assessments, COSHH assessments, safe systems of work, employers' liability insurance, operator's licence, CPC qualification card, training records, TfL Direct Vision permit, daily vehicle and equipment inspection records, and LOLER and PUWER inspection records. It is worth asking whoever you book whether they can produce that list, because a truck turned away at the gate still leaves you paying for another day of storage.
What our side costs, and why the same day is worth money
Our job begins where the pound's ends. We cannot obtain the release for you, and nobody honestly can: only the registered keeper or the owner can satisfy the pound on identity, ownership, insurance and licence, and pay the statutory charges. What we do is read your notice with you, tell you exactly what your pound will want to see, and then collect the released vehicle on an insured flatbed the moment authorisation is given, running or not, taxed or not, PG9'd or not, to your home, garage, repairer or onward destination.
Car recovery and towing starts from £80 for local collection and delivery, with distance priced per mile. There is no call-out fee and the price is agreed on the phone before anyone sets off. If the vehicle was damaged in an accident that was not your fault, the recovery costs you nothing and our sister service at citygripclaims.co.uk runs the claim. We are based at 68 Ruckholt Road, Leyton, London E10 5NP and cover all London postcodes, the M25 and the wider motorway network, 24 hours a day. Call or WhatsApp 07960 200253.
Two reasons to move today rather than at the weekend. Every part-period at the pound costs a full 24 hours of storage, so a vehicle that sits there for one hour of a new block still costs £26, or £55 in a London borough pound. And if the vehicle is not ULEZ or Congestion Charge compliant, driving it out of Charlton or Perivale under its own power triggers the daily charge on top of everything else, whereas carrying it out on a flatbed does not. It is a small point that nobody else mentions, and it is real money.
Frequently asked questions
How much is it to get your car out of police impound in the UK?
For a car up to 3.5 tonnes seized from the road, upright and not substantially damaged, the statutory removal charge is £192, plus £26 for each 24-hour period of storage. Those figures took effect on 6 April 2023 and replaced the £150 and £20 a day that most websites still quote. A two-wheeler is £13 a day. If the vehicle was damaged, not upright, or recovered off road, the removal charge rises to between £256 and £384. On top of the pound's charges you may need insurance, an MOT and vehicle tax before it can leave, and a recovery truck if it cannot be driven.
How long can the police keep my car before disposing of it?
Since 22 July 2026 the disposal clock is seven calendar days from seizure, not fourteen days and not seven working days. The Removal, Storage and Disposal of Motor Vehicles Timeframes (Amendment) Regulations 2026 deleted the definition of working days from the regulations altogether, so weekends and bank holidays are counted. A vehicle seized on a Friday can lawfully be disposed of the following Friday. If your vehicle was seized or removed before 22 July 2026, the previous fourteen-day timetable still applies to it under a saving provision in the same instrument.
Do I need insurance to collect the car if it is going on a recovery truck?
Yes, and this is the single most common misunderstanding in the whole process. The legal requirement for the impounded vehicle to hold valid motor insurance before it leaves the pound applies in all cases, including where a recovery operator is loading it onto a flatbed on your behalf. A truck solves no MOT, no tax, a PG9 prohibition and a vehicle that will not start. It does not solve no insurance. Arrange a policy on that vehicle, and check the certificate permits release of a vehicle impounded by a government authority, before anyone travels to the pound.
Can someone else collect my car from the pound for me?
Normally the registered keeper or owner has to attend in person to prove ownership and pay the charges. That is waived only on evidence of being out of the country, in custody, in hospital, immobile through age, injury or disability, or compelling medical or compassionate circumstances. The third party then needs that evidence, a signed letter of authority and a copy of your passport or driving licence. Separately, if you can attend but cannot drive, you may nominate a driver. They need their own valid licence and insurance that allows them to reclaim a vehicle from a police pound, normally as a named driver on your own policy.
What documents do I need to take to the police pound?
Verifiable photo identification, proof of ownership, and if you plan to drive out, a licence, insurance, MOT and tax. Accepted identification includes a passport, photocard driving licence, EU national identity card, immigration document, Freedom Pass, Citizencard, digital tachograph card, Driver CPC card or a verifiable government agency card. Student cards, employer identity cards, cash and carry cards, club membership cards and bank cards are not accepted. Registered keepers bring the full V5C plus proof of address matching it. Recent buyers bring the V5C/2 with a verifiable bill of sale or the DVLA change of keeper email, plus two proofs of address.
Can I drive my car out of the pound?
Only if it is roadworthy, taxed, has a valid MOT or documented evidence of a pre-booked MOT appointment, carries correct number plates fitted before you leave, and you hold a licence and insurance covering it. No repairs of any kind are permitted at the pound, including tyre changes and windscreens. Staff will attempt a jump start where possible, but only against a signed indemnification form, and they cannot advise you on roadworthiness. If any of that fails, you need a recovery truck, which you arrange and pay for yourself. That is what we do, from £80 locally.
What if I bought the car after it was seized?
You will have to attend the pound together with the person who was the registered keeper at the time of seizure. A V5C/2 and a receipt on their own are not enough in that situation, because the pound has to establish who owned the vehicle when it was taken. If you bought the vehicle before the seizure but the V5C is not yet in your name, bring the V5C/2 new keeper supplement with a verifiable bill of sale or the DVLA online change of keeper confirmation email, photo identification and two proofs of address.
How do I find out which pound has my car?
If the police seized it, the form 3708 seizure notice or the notice letter posted to the registered keeper tells you which pound holds it. If a London borough or TfL removed it, use TRACE, the free service run by London Councils: search by registration at trace.london, available 24 hours a day and 365 days a year, or call 0300 077 0100, textphone 0300 123 2050. TRACE covers removals by every London borough and tells you the release procedure. For police pounds, use the contact details printed on your own notice.
Are the Charlton and Perivale pounds open on bank holidays?
Yes. Both Met pounds open 11.30am to 7.30pm, seven days a week, including public holidays. The gates close to the public at 7.30pm sharp, but anyone who arrives before closing time will be served. The busiest periods are midweek between 11.30am and 1pm and after 5pm, so mid-afternoon is easier. Neither site has public parking or toilets, so plan how you are getting there. Charlton is on Bramshot Avenue, SE7 7HY, reached via Eastcombe Avenue. Perivale is on Walmgate Road, UB6 7LR, off Aintree Road near the Hoover Building.
Can you collect a motorbike from the pound?
Yes, we recover motorcycles and scooters on a flatbed. Two things are specific to bikes. The statutory storage charge for a two-wheeled vehicle is £13 for every 24 hours rather than £26, and the disposal charge is £64 rather than £96. And if you are a learner reclaiming a motorcycle, you must produce the original CBT certificate at the counter. Photocopies and photographs on a phone are refused, which catches out a lot of riders who assume a digital copy is enough.
Do you cover council pounds and borough compounds as well as police pounds?
Yes. We collect from the Met pounds at Charlton and Perivale, from London borough car pounds and from compounds outside London, across every London postcode, the M25 and the wider motorway network. Borough charges are set under different powers from the police scale: from 7 April 2025, London boroughs charge £280 to release a vehicle from the car pound, £55 a day storage, £100 disposal and £100 to release a wheel clamp. The penalty charge notice that caused the removal is charged separately again.
What happens if I cannot afford to reclaim the vehicle?
If a vehicle is not worth reclaiming you can disclaim it. You do not need to take any action at all: the pound will dispose of it after seven calendar days, and there are no charges for you to pay if you simply leave it there. If you want written confirmation that you are no longer responsible for the vehicle, attend the pound with your identification and proof of ownership and sign a disclaimer form. Disclaiming does not affect any prosecution for the offence that led to the seizure, and you should take your own advice on that.
Can the fees be waived if I did not know the vehicle was being driven?
There is a statutory exemption. An owner is not liable for the seizure and retention charges if they did not know the vehicle was being driven and could not, by taking reasonable steps, have prevented it from being driven. In practice that helps where a vehicle was stolen or taken without consent, and it has to be evidenced rather than asserted. It does not help where you lent the vehicle to someone, or where a family member drove it with your knowledge. You will need to put your case to the pound, and this is general information, not legal advice.
What happens to the belongings inside my vehicle?
Property in the vehicle is released only to the owner, the registered keeper or the driver. If you are the registered keeper you need the same full proof of ownership you would need for the vehicle itself. If you were the driver named on the seizure notice, photo identification matching that notice is enough. A third party collecting property has to meet the same tests as a third party collecting the vehicle, which means evidence of why you cannot attend, a signed letter of authority and a copy of your passport or driving licence.
How can I pay the pound, and can I pay over the phone?
In person only. There is no payment by telephone, and where a card is used the cardholder must be physically present at the counter. Cheques and American Express are not accepted. Cash in British currency, Visa, MasterCard, Maestro and Solo are accepted. Allow for more than you calculated at home, because the storage charge can roll into another 24-hour block while you are queueing, particularly during the midday and post-5pm rush at Charlton and Perivale.
What does your recovery driver have to produce at the pound gate?
A valid UK or EU photocard driving licence, a certificate of motor insurance covering recovery of a vehicle from the pound, and a certificate of public liability insurance covering recovery operations and loading and unloading inside the pound. If you are not attending in person we also need a letter of authority from you plus a copy of your photo identification. The driver reads and signs the Recovery Operator Instructions and Declaration Form and complies with the Loading and Unloading Guidelines, and may be spot-checked on risk assessments, employers' liability insurance, operator's licence, CPC card, TfL Direct Vision permit and LOLER and PUWER records.
What are the penalties for driving without insurance?
Driving without insurance under section 143 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 is a strict liability offence, which means it does not matter whether you believed you were covered. A fixed penalty is £300 and six penalty points. On conviction the fine is unlimited, with six to eight points or a discretionary disqualification, and the IN10 endorsement remains on your licence for four years. Seizure of the vehicle under section 165A is separate from, and in addition to, that penalty. This is general context rather than legal advice, so take your own advice on your own case.
How much do you charge to collect from the pound, and how quickly can you come?
Car recovery and towing starts from £80 for local collection and delivery, with distance priced per mile. There is no call-out fee and the price is agreed on the phone before anyone sets off. We collect as soon as the vehicle is authorised for release, and same day genuinely matters in money, because every part-period at the pound costs a full 24 hours of storage. If the vehicle was damaged in an accident that was not your fault, the recovery costs you nothing. Call or WhatsApp 07960 200253, any hour.
Updated August 2026. Lines open 24 hours. Call 07960 200253.
Vehicle in the pound? You have seven calendar days.
Tell us which pound has it and what your seizure notice says. We will go through exactly what they will ask you for, then collect the released vehicle on an insured flatbed the moment it is authorised, from £80, no call-out fee, price agreed before we set off. Call or WhatsApp 07960 200253, 24 hours a day.