THE British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association wants urgent action by police to radically alter a stolen vehicle recovery process which hits member firms with hundreds of pounds in fees.

Fleets already face paying informers' charges of up to £500 for providing information on the location of stolen vehicles, but BVRLA members claim there are additional charges running into hundreds of pounds to add to the cost of lost rentals.

Fleets have the choice of paying a £105 recovery fee, to ensure a vehicle is removed from the street 'safe and sound', which rental and leasing firms accept is probably necessary to protect them from damage.

However, cars are then kept in private car parks where daily charges apply, even though the fleet may not be allowed to remove the vehicle until it has been checked for fingerprints, which can take several days.

The BVRLA comments came after a meeting of the association's security committee, at which major insurers raised concerns at the costs.