Cars Towed for Repair Held Hostage: Owners Demand Action

In January, a Bidfood delivery truck backed into my car right outside my home. Bidfood engaged a vehicle management service, VMS, to oversee the repairs and provide a replacement vehicle. Since the incident, VMS has not given me any substantial updates. Whenever I attempt to contact the manager responsible for my case, I find them unavailable, and the follow-up calls I was promised never happen. Additionally, I have received five penalty charge notices for unpaid Ulez (ultra-low emission zone) fees, which suggests my car has been used without my permission.
BN, Brighton

This marks the start of one of the most baffling cases I have ever looked into. Shortly after tackling this issue, I encountered a very similar complaint from NC in Hertfordshire. Her vehicle was also hit by a Bidfood truck in June.

VMS, contracted by Bidfood to log such incidents and manage subsequent repairs, towed her car and provided a substitute vehicle. Like BN, she has received no information about when she might get her car back and continues to make payments on it, despite not having access to the car. “It’s been complete silence from VMS,” she reported.

The situation then took a darker turn. I found out that both vehicles were taken to a Kent-based repair shop, Cobra Coachworks, a facility contracted by VMS. The necessary repairs were completed and paid for.

However, the cars have been held there indefinitely, along with roughly 23 other vehicles, due to a commercial disagreement between Cobra and VMS that is unrelated to these vehicles.

How do I know? Both VMS and Cobra openly admitted this to me.

Greg Ebeling, the managing director of Cobra, stated that he is withholding the vehicles due to a sum he claims VMS owes under different contracts. He also mentioned holding onto 23 other vehicles brought in by VMS for various clients, including the supermarket chain Iceland.

VMS acknowledged this number but didn’t specify how many of these vehicles belong to private individuals. Iceland has refused to comment.

VMS revealed that Cobra is demanding payment of £189,000 in arrears, which allegedly has nothing to do with the vehicles, yet Cobra has not provided any proof of this debt.

VMS, which earns rental fees from Bidfood for providing replacement vehicles, has taken a surprisingly lackadaisical approach to the situation.

They hired a lawyer to demand the return of BN and NC’s vehicles only a day after I got involved last month, suggesting a more serious action might finally be considered. The lawyer stated: “We have indicated that our client may need to pursue an injunction for the release of the vehicles, and that any separate financial disputes should be resolved through standard court procedures, not by using the vehicles as bargaining chips.”

Remarkably, Bidfood mentioned that they were not informed of NC’s situation until August, a month after her car had been repaired and settled financially, and only became aware of BN’s issue when I brought it to their attention in September.

“The delays and retention of vehicles following disputes with the repair shops hired by VMS Global were unacceptable. These issues were not escalated as they should have been. Given the unsatisfactory service received by both the public and Bidfood, we have terminated our relationship with VMS Global,” they stated.

They added that they would still work with VMS to try and secure the release of the two cars, and advised the owners to report them as stolen to the police, which the police later classified as a civil matter.

Regarding the PCNs issued to BN for unpaid Ulez charges while his car was under Cobra’s control?

Ebeling, assuring me that all vehicles were securely stored, explained that a Ulez camera is located right outside the entrance to the facility, which triggers a fine each time they move vehicles for parking reasons after business hours.

However, the notices show BN’s car being used in different parts of London, including Tooting, North Finchley, and a residential area. Ebeling, who has settled the fines, offered no further explanation.

Ebeling had promised VMS and me that the vehicles would be returned two weeks ago, but that did not happen.

BN finally retrieved his car a week ago, nine months after the ordeal began, with an additional 46 miles on the odometer.

NC was told she would get her car back this week, but on the delivery day, Cobra informed her that they had lost the keys. Her car was returned the next afternoon.

Both vehicle owners believe that without media intervention, their cars would still be held.