Has your vehicle been towed away?
- If you don’t pay your parking charges, your vehicle may get clamped and towed away. This may happen when a person has three or more unpaid Penalty Charge Notices (PCN). These are PCNs that haven't been paid, represented, or appealed on time.
You can check if we have towed your vehicle by calling the London-wide TRACE service. They can be reached on 0300 077 0100. All vehicles removed by us are taken to NSL Car Pound. They are located at 10 Lumen Road, East Lane Business Park, Wembley, HA9 7RE.
The NSL Car Pound opening times are:
- Monday to Sunday: 9am - 8pm (including event days and bank holidays).
- Christmas Day and New Year’s Day: closed.
The cost to recover your vehicle
Once your vehicle has been towed you can no longer pay your PCNs on our website. To get your vehicle back from the car pound costs £280, plus any penalty charges. If a vehicle is left in the pound for over 24 hours, there is a storage charge of £55 per day.
What you will need to bring
When you pick up your vehicle, please bring three forms of ID with you:
- Driving licence or Passport.
- Vehicle registration document, insurance policy, or rental agreement.
- Utility bill, Council Tax or bank statement.
Why and when vehicles are towed
The London Borough of Harrow may remove vehicles if:
- asked by the police
- a vehicle is in contravention (breaching parking and traffic rules) of the parking controls, including parking in suspended bays.
The Council is required to follow the rules set out in The General Regulations for Clamping and the Removal and Disposal of Vehicles (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2007.
Vehicles removed immediately
Vehicles that are not parked in a parking place (a designated area where vehicles can be parked), including those observed on yellow lines, those misusing blue badges or those parked in dedicated spaces, without complying with the restrictions (such as but not limited to a disabled bay or suspended bay) could be removed immediately after the issue of a PCN.
Vehicles removed after 15 minutes
Vehicles that have been identified as persistent evaders that are parked in a parking place (a designated area where vehicles can be parked) must not be removed until more than 15 minutes have elapsed from the end of any period of paid parking. The Traffic Management Act 2004 defines persistent evaders as having 3 or more outstanding PCNs which have not been paid, represented or appealed against within the 28-day statutory time limits; or their representations and appeals have been rejected but the penalty charge notices remain unpaid.
Vehicles removed after 30 minutes
Vehicles not identified as persistent evaders that are parked in a parking place (a designated area where vehicles can be parked) are not removed until 30 minutes have elapsed from the end of any period of paid parking or 30 minutes after the issuing of the PCN where a vehicle has not paid for parking at all or does not have a valid permit or parking device e.g. blue badge.