Summary: Mr F complained the Council had not taken action about a vehicle that was abandoned near to his house over two years ago. It referred him to the police and Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. But when he contacted those organisations, they referred him back to the Council. We uphold the complaint as the Council has duties around abandoned vehicles and it has delayed taking action. This delay has led to avoidable frustration for Mr F. The Council has agreed to our recommendations for it to take action to remove the vehicle, apologise to Mr F and introduce a written policy as a service improvement.

The complaint

1. The complainant (Mr F) complains the Council has not taken action about a vehicle that has been abandoned near to his house for over two years. It has referred him to the police and Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). But when he has contacted these organisations, they have referred him back to the Council. Mr F wants the Council to remove the vehicle.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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What I have and have not investigated

5. For the reasons set out in paragraph 3, I have only investigated events in the 12 months before Mr F’s complaint to the Ombudsman. In 2023 the Council twice signposted Mr F to the Ombudsman. It was reasonable for him to have come to us then, so I have not investigated the earlier period.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered evidence provided by Mr F and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
7. I sent my draft decision to Mr F and the Council and considered their responses.

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What I found

Legal and administrative background

8. The Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978 and the Removal and Disposal of Vehicle (England) Regulations 1986 (as amended) give councils the statutory power to remove abandoned vehicles on a public highway.
9. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs publishes guidance: “Abandoned vehicles: local authority responsibilities”. This sets out a process authorities should follow for dealing with an abandoned vehicle, before disposing of it.
10. The Council’s website says, when a resident reports an abandoned vehicle:
• it would investigate and inspect the vehicle;
• if it believed the vehicle was abandoned, it would place a notice on it, to advise that the Council would remove it. If it received no contact, then it would remove the vehicle.
11. In response to my enquiries, the Council advised it did not have an adopted policy regarding abandoned vehicles. But its procedure for dealing with abandoned vehicles was that:
• its contractor would investigate and notify the owner, or place a notice on the vehicle;
• if the vehicle was not removed, the contractor would send the case to the Council’s Highways Enforcement Officer;
• the Officer would then place a formal enforcement notice on the vehicle;
• if the vehicle was not removed after the specified time, the Officer would instruct the contractor to remove it from the highway.

What happened

Background

12. Mr F says there has been a fast food trailer left on the road where he lives since 2022. He complained to the Council about it in early 2023. He spent the rest of the year chasing a response, including a complaint. In December 2023 the Council responded to Mr F’s compliant advising it would take further action. It signposted Mr F to the Ombudsman if he wanted to complain further.

The 2024 complaint

13. In August 2024 Mr F wrote to the Council to lodge a formal complaint about the trailer. He noted it had been on the road for over two years without any action.
14. The Council’s response advised that only the DVLA had the power to remove vehicles. It signposted Mr F to the Ombudsman.
15. In September Mr F complained to the Ombudsman. The Council advised us that it had attached two notices to the trailer requiring removal. It would reinspect and if still there it would refer to enforcement for action.
16. At the end of 2024 the Council’s contractors made a referral to its Highways Enforcement Team.
17. At the start of 2025, we wrote to the Council asking it for further information. Its response advised:
• it was unsure if there had been earlier referrals made, as there were no records and the officer who had been dealing with it had left the Council’s employment;
• it accepted the trailer was abandoned;
• due to staffing issues, its Highways Enforcement Team was in transition and its responsibilities were being merged with another team to better deal with issues in the city;
• from 1 April, City Operations had created an Enforcement Hub where many of its enforcement functions could be handled by one team. It said both of the changes should help the Council in dealing with Highways Enforcement issues.
18. Mr F reports the trailer remains on the road.

Analysis

19. The evidence suggests a prolonged delay in the Council taking action regarding the vehicle Mr F has reported to it. The Council has told both Mr F and the Ombudsman it would take action, but appears to have not done so. That was fault.
20. The fault I have identified will have led to some avoidable frustration for Mr F.

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Agreed action

21. I recommended that, within one month of my final decision, the Council take the following actions.
• The Council should now follow its stated enforcement procedure (see paragraph 10). Given the repeated failures to take action, this action should be monitored and overseen by a senior officer;
• Apologise to Mr F. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.
• Make Mr F a symbolic payment of £100 as a recognition of the avoidable frustration likely caused by the delays.
22. I also recommended that, within three months of my final decision, the Council introduce a written policy and/or procedure for how it and its contractors deal with abandoned vehicles.
23. The Council has agreed to my recommendations. It should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

24. My decision is I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed to my recommendations, so I have completed my investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman