An Edmonton contractor is shocked that he had to shell out more than $1,000 to retrieve his stolen trailer from a police lot.
Robbie Burpee, 38, learned his cabinet delivery trailer had been stolen and recovered last month.
Burpee said police told him the vehicle had been parked illegally on a street in south Edmonton, near 23rd Avenue — at least 10 kilometres south of his business, Summit Cabinets. A towing company took the trailer to Edmonton Police’s seized vehicle section lot at 12230 124th Avenue.
Because he’s often away from the office visiting sites and collecting quotes, Burpee said he didn’t realize the trailer had been stolen until police called.
Following that phone conversation, Burpee thought towing and storage fees would be waived if he reported the theft and showed lot staff the report number.
That wasn’t the case, he found out, after visiting the lot and receiving an invoice for $1,193.90 in fees.
“I was shocked and pretty upset,” he told CBC News on Tuesday.
“Why are we responsible for those fees?”
The costs didn’t end there.
When he retrieved the trailer, he discovered its jack was destroyed — an estimated $600 fix.
He also paid to rent U-Hauls to transport cabinets while his trailer was out of commission.
In all, the episode could end up costing him several thousand dollars, he said, adding that it’s a “substantial” expense that has followed a slow spring for his business and a previous theft of $25,000 in tools from a different trailer.
“The owner does have to pay these fees, and this is always the case,” EPS spokesperson Cheryl Voordenhout wrote in an email to CBC News on Tuesday.
Theft insurance typically covers the fees, she added.
Burpee said he has minimum insurance on the trailer because it’s not worth enough to justify paying for a comprehensive plan.
As for the damaged jack, Voordenhout said owners can submit complaints to EPS’s seized vehicle section if towing companies, which EPS contracts, cause any damage.
She also said owners may ask to speak with the manager of the seized vehicle section to discuss their files.