Summary: Mr X complained about the Council removing his car after it received a report to say it was abandoned. We found no fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council removing his car after it received a report to say it was abandoned. Mr X says he incurred avoidable costs and inconvenience in recovering his car.

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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 consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), 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(1), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Background and legislation

7. The Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978 (the Act) says where it appears to a local authority that a motor vehicle in their area is abandoned it shall be the duty of the authority, subject to various provisions, to remove the vehicle.
8. The Council’s website sets out that abandoning a vehicle is a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to £2,500 and three months in prison. It also explains what constitutes an abandoned vehicle and how to report one. The Council provides the following list as signs a vehicle has been abandoned:

• it may not have moved for a long time (weeks or months)
• it is not taxed
• it may have been vandalised (broken windows, flat tyres or other parts missing)
• it may be neglected and in poor condition generally
• it may be burnt out or have had a crash
• it may be lacking one or more of its number plates
• it may contain waste

9. The Council’s website says on receiving a report of an abandoned vehicle it will aim to start investigating within 5 working days and if it is satisfied the car is abandoned it could be dealt with in a variety of ways:

• Car on public land - The car is immediately removed and impounded using powers under the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act. If the car is not reclaimed it is destroyed.
• Abandoned car on private land - A 15-day notice can be served on the occupier(s) of the land prior to removal as required by the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act. If the car is still present, on expiry of the notice it will be removed.
• Burnt out vehicle/heavily vandalised - car removed and destroyed immediately as required by the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act.
• In some cases where a car is impounded, the owner is able to reclaim the car, but will be required to pay a release fee and storage charges. In some cases where the vehicle is only fit for destruction then it may be destroyed immediately.

10. The Council's Standard Operating Procedure (the Council’s procedure) says if a vehicle is suspected of being abandoned it will:

• investigate within 4 days if danger (with examples)
• if no immediate health and safety risk check tax and MOT
• contact complainant to determine location and reason why believe abandoned
• attend car location
• complete check sheet
• conduct local enquiries to determine ownership of vehicle or other intelligence
• take comprehensive photos of vehicle
• if on private land make contact with landowner to complete a waiver and arrange removal, if contact cannot be made with landowner issue 15 day notice
• conduct DVLA check and write to registered keeper issuing 7 day notice giving opportunity to claim vehicle before it is destroyed
• inform police of location/circumstances
• update record and attach relevant evidence ie photos
• if confirmed abandoned arrange removal
• inform DVLA
• write to registered keeper to inform of circumstances of removal

What happened

11. Mr X’s car was parked on a small area of rough ground to the side of an unadopted highway. The car was taxed but the MOT had expired in September 2024 and so it had no valid insurance. Mr X had not moved the car since September 2024.
12. The Council received a report of an abandoned vehicle at the location on 3 January 2025. This was Mr X’s car. The information the Council received was that the vehicle had been abandoned for two months and the owner was unknown.
13. A Council officer visited the site on 7 January and completed an abandoned vehicle checklist. This noted the car was taxed but the MOT had expired in September 2024 and there was heavy rust on the brake discs. The checklist also recorded that the officer knocked at a local property to make enquiries and was informed the car had been left at the location for more than two months.
14. The Council has completed a Land Registry check to confirm the car was not parked on private land.
15. The Council arranged for the removal of the vehicle on 13 January. The car was stored while the Council wrote to Mr X at the address held by the DVLA for the registered keeper.
16. The letter the Council sent to Mr X told him he needed to contact the Council within seven days. The Council received no contact in response to this letter.
17. Mr X says he was working away from home between 2 and 25 January and was not aware his car had been removed until 28 January. Mr X reported the car as stolen but was advised by the police that it had been removed by the Council.
18. Mr X reclaimed his car after paying recovery and storage costs totalling £582.

Analysis

19. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether you disagree with the decision the organisation made.
20. Mr X says the Council was at fault for removing his vehicle when it was not abandoned. Mr X says the Council acted on the advice of a third party whose information was incorrect and that it made insufficient attempts to locate him.

21. I appreciate Mr X believes the information the Council received about the vehicle was incorrect. Mr X says the vehicle was not abandoned and instead it was awaiting repair and he had been working away. I understand Mr X’s concerns in those circumstances. However, I have seen nothing in the documentary records to suggest the Council had any reason not to rely on the information provided by the person that made the report.
22. The Council did not contact the person who reported the abandoned vehicle. However, I have noted the information provided gave details of the location and the length of time the car had been at this location and that the owner was unknown. In these circumstances, contact with the reporter would not have provided any additional information. The Council has provided a contemporaneous record of the contact made during the visit with a local resident. I see no fault here.
23. I have set out above the procedure the Council has to follow when deciding whether a vehicle has been abandoned. In this case the Council was satisfied the vehicle had been abandoned on public land as it had been stationary for a significant period of time and the brake discs were rusted. As the Council followed the right process before deciding to treat the vehicle as abandoned I have no grounds to criticise it for removing the vehicle.
24. I am also satisfied that the Council followed the right process after removing the car. This is because the Council identified the registered keeper’s address and wrote to Mr X at that address to give him seven days to make contact. I cannot say that Mr X did not receive this notification through some fault by the Council thereby incurring avoidable storage costs. Mr X has accepted he had not updated the DVLA with his new address. The Council followed its procedure here and is therefore not at fault.
25. In reaching that view I recognise Mr X was not living at the address recorded by the DVLA. However, the Council’s procedure is clear that if a vehicle has a registration mark it will check with the DVLA to identify the registered keeper’s details. That is what the Council did in this case. Given there is a legal requirement for vehicle owners to update the DVLA with a new address, I do not criticise the Council for relying on this information about the address for Mr X. As the Council issued the seven-day notice to the address held by the DVLA and as Mr X made no contact with the Council within seven days of that notice I cannot criticise the Council for the costs Mr X has incurred. I am satisfied neither the removal nor storage of the vehicle were affected by fault on the Council’s part.

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Decision

26. I find no fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman