Lochee man slams ‘fiasco’ after blunder sees his car uplifted

A motorist has racked up a hefty bill after his car was “illegally impounded” following a road traffic accident near Lochee.

Robert Laidlaw may face having to pay hundreds of pounds to get his vehicle back, after his car was involved in a smash with a lamp-post on Monday evening, at around 11pm.

The ground worker had hit an oil patch on the road before losing control of his Vauxhall Corsa CDTi during the incident.

Robert thanked other motorists who had stopped at the scene to help before Police Scotland were contacted.

The Lochee man said he helped remove the lamp-post, which had fallen over during the incident, before his car was safely removed from the road.

He added: “The police had said the crash was a result of adverse weather conditions.

“The car in front of mine had lost control for a second, and it appears I might have hit the same oil slick on the road, unfortunately losing control.

“Other motorists stopped to assist and gave statements to police to support the fact I was only going around 15mph before the incident.”

Robert, who suffered some minor injuries during the collision, said police contacted Ninewells Garage to get the car uplifted.

“I explained I couldn’t afford the uplift at the moment, as I’ve been off work due to ill health and would arrange for my own collection,” he said.

“One of the officers said that would be fine, that I didn’t need their contractor, and we must have left the scene roughly around midnight with that agreement in place.”

The father-of-six said he returned the following day at 5.45am.

He said: “I noticed the car was gone and knew straightaway the police contractor must have uplifted it.

“It’s essentially been stolen in my view, despite having an agreement in place with officers at the scene they’ve arranged for it to be removed anyway.

“I can’t believe Ninewells have just driven past and picked it up without instruction to do so.”

Robert went to Ninewells Garage where he found his vehicle and was advised that Police Scotland requested the uplift.

He added: “Ninewells are saying they can’t release the vehicle without the permission of Police Scotland.

“When I went around to Bell Street to complain about what had happened they advised me they had made no request to make any such uplift, which I’ve got in writing (above).

“The car’s now just sitting in limbo and I’m left racking up hundreds of pounds potentially in fees because neither of them are taking responsibility.

“Police Scotland contracts the work out to this company, I can’t see they would have just uplifted without a request – if they haven’t it’s surely theft?”

A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Officers attended a one-vehicle crash on Coupar Angus Road, Dundee on Monday October 12. The vehicle was not drivable and recovery was arranged by officers at the scene due to its position near the roadway.

“The owner was informed of this and advised of the process to uplift his vehicle, along with the associated cost. Should the owner have any queries regarding this then he is welcome to contact Police Scotland for further information.”