Motorcycle stolen but woman cops towing fee and parking fine

A SOUTHPORT woman is fuming for having to pay a $394 fee and a $96 parking ticket after she reported her motorcycle as stolen.

Sarah Jones and her husband Arwel had their 1999 Honda CB250 motorcycle stolen from their front garden while they went to the movies on June 14.

“My husband forgot to put it on steering lock, so whoever pinched it while we were out has just wheeled it away,” Mrs Jones said.

The couple reported it as stolen to police after returning home.

A few days later, a towing company phoned to say the motorcycle had been found and towed.

Mrs Jones said police had not told them the bike had been found.

They paid $394 to have the bike released from the towing yard.

The couple later discovered the bike also received a $96 parking ticket while it was stolen.

“When I made the report, (police) ‘asked do you agree for it being towed if it’s in a dangerous spot?, so of course I said ‘yes’,” Mrs Jones said.

However, she said she got a surprise when she looked up the parking ticket online and saw photos of where the bike had been parked.

“It wasn’t in a dangerous spot at all,” she said.

“It was completely safe on the side of the road.

“The stupid thing is, it would have been towed almost past our house to get to the towing place.”

A police spokeswoman said their records indicated the victim had signed permission for the vehicle to be towed once located.

“There are rare occasions when – although a victim may not have given permission for a vehicle to be towed – police will still need to tow the vehicle,” she said. These included the vehicle being parked in a dangerous location, the owner being unable to be contacted to retrieve the vehicle and it adversely impacting businesses or residents.

But Mrs Jones said the tow was “completely unnecessary”.

She has since made a complaint to police for approving the tow and has appealed against the parking fine.

“We could have walked down the road and picked it up ourselves,” the Southport woman said. “I think the system needs to be better – why on earth did it even get a parking ticket when it’s reported stolen?”

A Gold Coast City Council spokeswoman said a parking fine can be withdrawn if a vehicle is reported stolen, with an attached copy of a police report.

“The city does not have the ability to view if a vehicle has been reported stolen prior to an infringement being issued,” she said.