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This Yahoo! news article says:

The 30-year-old’s 2000 Monte Carlo was stolen from in front of his mother’s house last summer. Finally, several months later, Williams was told that his car had been found and was available to him at Bobby’s Towing, which keeps impounded cars on their lot for the police. He paid up (which totally stinks, by the way. I’ll never understand why car theft victims have to pay to have their cars returned), and then had his car delivered to his home. It was missing its tires, but Mr. Williams planned on putting the wheels on when the weather warmed up. After it had been delivered, he went to go pick up his kids. But when he got back…the car was gone.

Williams was confused why his car was taken away, telling WJBK, “I don't know why they took my car. I paid $1,100 to get my car out again and then ya'll take my car away.”

Do car theft victims have to pay around 1,000 USD to have their cars returned in the US?

Franck Dernoncourt
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    The article is for a singular case and off hand I don't see anything to be skeptical of here. Are you referring to a more general case for all car thief victims? – rjzii Apr 15 '14 at 15:29
  • @rob Yes, I am referring to a more general case for all car thief victims, not just this particular instance, since the article claims "car theft victims have to pay to have their cars returned". – Franck Dernoncourt Apr 16 '14 at 22:07
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    you pay for storage costs and if there was theft involved then the thief should have been fined those costs as well – ratchet freak Apr 17 '14 at 12:03
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    I find this unremarkable. No - people don't have to pay to have cars returned. Yes owners have to pay storage fees etc if the city/council/etc removed an abandoned vehicle to a car pound. In the case of theft, owners should be able to recover costs from their insurers and if the car was improperly impounded or the authorities failed to promptly inform the owner I'd expect legal action would succeed in recovering the costs. – RedGrittyBrick Apr 17 '14 at 22:41

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