Summary: Ms X complained about delays and poor communication after the Council assessed her vehicle as abandoned and removed it from the highway. She said this led to increased costs and she has been unable to collect her belongings. The Council was not at fault for how it assessed her vehicle as abandoned and it told her how she could collect her belongings. The Council was at fault for poor communication, but this did not cause Ms X an injustice. The Council has already reviewed its procedures to ensure it responds to emails more promptly. It will also review its abandoned vehicles policy to ensure it is in line with the charging regulations.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about delays and poor communication after the Council assessed her vehicle as abandoned and removed it from the highway. She says the errors meant she was unable to collect her belongings, led to increased costs and caused her distress. She wants the Council to return her vehicle and belongings to her and cancel the accrued removal and storage costs.

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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 an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with a council’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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How I considered this complaint

4. I read Ms X’s complaint and spoke with her about it on the phone.
5. I made enquiries of the Council and considered information it sent me. I also considered information provided by Ms X.
6. Ms X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on the draft decision. I considered their comments before making my final decision.

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What I found

Legal and administrative background

7. Councils have a duty to remove abandoned vehicles from land or roads in their area.
8. The council must decide if a vehicle is abandoned. Government guidance says this is likely if one or more of the following criteria applies:
• It has no keeper on the DVLA’s database and is untaxed;
• It is stationary for a significant amount of time;
• It is significantly damaged, run down or unroadworthy;
• It is burnt out;
• A number plate is missing.
9. If the council decides a vehicle has been abandoned, the council can dispose of it immediately if either:
• It is only fit to be destroyed;
• It has no number plates or tax disc.

In all other cases, the council must try to find the owner.

10. If a council proposes to remove a vehicle, it must fix a notice to the vehicle saying the council intends to remove the vehicle after the stated time period ends.
11. If the owner fails to comply with the notice to collect the vehicle, the council can remove the vehicle.
12. The Removal, Storage and Disposal of Vehicles (prescribed sums and charges) Regulations 2008 set out how much a council or council contractor should charge for the removal, storage and disposal of abandoned vehicles. The amount varies depending on the type and weight of the vehicle.

London Borough of Richmond’s policy on abandoned vehicles

13. The Council’s policy sets out its procedure when it receives a report of an abandoned vehicle.
14. An officer will inspect the vehicle and record evidence of the vehicle’s condition. If they are satisfied the vehicle is abandoned, they will record their evidence and take photographs to support this view. They will check if the vehicle is taxed.
15. If the officer decides the vehicle is abandoned and the vehicle is untaxed, they will fix a 24-hour notice to the vehicle and photograph it to include the notice.
16. After 24 hours, the Council completes a second inspection. If nobody has collected the vehicle and the Council still considers it abandoned, it will pass the vehicle details to its vehicle removal contractor with an instruction to remove the vehicle for storage within 24 hours.
17. The Council will then obtain the registered keeper’s details from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). It will write and tell them the vehicle’s location and the removal and storage costs they will need to pay to claim the vehicle.
18. The policy says the removal charge is £200 and the storage fee as £40 per day, charged until the day of collection.

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What happened

19. In January 2019, the Council received a report of an abandoned vehicle. A Council officer visited to complete an inspection. It considered the vehicle’s condition and decided it met the criteria to be classed as abandoned. A check on the DVLA website showed the vehicle was untaxed. The officer fixed a 24-hour notice to the vehicle advising if it was not collected within 24 hours the Council would remove it for storage.
20. Two days later, a Council officer completed a second inspection. The vehicle was still there, and the officer still considered the vehicle abandoned. The Council instructed its vehicle removal contractor to remove it for storage within 24 hours.
21. The next day, the contractor removed the vehicle to a storage facility.
22. The Council identified Ms X as the vehicle’s registered keeper and wrote to her. It said it had considered her vehicle to be abandoned and its contractor had removed it to storage. It told the address where it was being stored and how to claim her vehicle. The Council did not receive a response and wrote to her again two week later. Both letters were returned to the Council marked “return to sender”. Ms X says she did not receive the letters as they were sent to a previous address.
23. In February 2019, Ms X contacted the Council. The Council did not respond.
24. A few days later, Ms X contacted the vehicle removal contractor. The contractor told her the costs incurred to date and asked her to contact them to arrange to collect the vehicle. The calculated costs for removal and storage were in line with the regulations based on the type and weight of her vehicle but were less than the amounts set out in the Council’s policy.
25. Ms X contacted the Council again, but it did not respond.
26. Two weeks after her first email, the Council contacted Ms X. It said it considered the officer was right to classify her vehicle as abandoned. It advised her to contact the removal contractors who would tell her the charges she would need to pay and how to reclaim her vehicle.
27. The Council sent her copies of the letters it sent in January telling her the vehicle had been removed and stored.
28. Ms X was dissatisfied with this response and complained to the Council. She complained about the decision to remove her vehicle and said the Council’s delay in responding to her emails in February had led to increased charges.
29. In March 2019, the Council responded to her complaint at stage 1 of its complaints process.
30. The Council said it was right to classify the vehicle as abandoned because:
• It appeared to have been stationary for a significant period;
• There was a build up of detritus around the vehicle;
• The brakes were rusty;
• All tyres were low on pressure;
• The vehicle contained what appeared to be waste.

It said its checks showed the vehicle was untaxed. It had sent two letters to her advising that it considered her vehicle abandoned and it had been removed to storage, but both letters were marked return to sender.

31. It said it was Ms X’s responsibility to ensure the DVLA had her correct details and did not accept responsibility for her not receiving the letters. It accepted there was two weeks delay in responding to her emails in February. It said it would review its procedures to ensure emails were responded to in a timely manner.
32. Ms X was unhappy with this response and escalated her complaint. She also said the Council had not told her how she could collect her belongings from the vehicle.
33. In May 2019, the Council responded at stage 2 of its complaints process.
34. It said the Council had followed the correct procedures and did not uphold her complaint. It said the contractor had told her in February how she could recover her belongings from the vehicle.
35. In June 2019, Ms X remained dissatisfied and brought her complaint to us.
36. The Council told Ms X that because she had brought her complaint to the Ombudsman, it would arrange to move her vehicle to a Council owned depot. It said it would let her know when this was going to happen.
37. Three weeks later, the Council contacted her to say it could not move her vehicle and it would remain at the contractors. It told Ms X the charges she would need to pay to release the vehicle. It said a Council officer could accompany Ms X to the contractor’s depot to collect her belongings, if she wanted this.
38. In August 2019, the Council again told Ms that her vehicle was at the contractor’s. It said she needed to contact them directly to collect her belongings. The Council restated its offer that an officer could accompany Ms X to the depot to collect her belongings, if she wanted this. Ms X declined this offer.
39. It gave her the full address, phone number and opening times of the depot. It advised her to contact the contractor directly and to pay the accrued costs if she wanted to claim her vehicle.

Analysis

40. When the Council first inspected Ms X’s vehicle, it followed government guidance and its own procedure when making its decision to classify her vehicle as abandoned. It correctly fixed a 24-hour notice to the vehicle and returned the next day to review the situation.
41. It reviewed the evidence and decided it still considered her vehicle was abandoned. It contacted the vehicle removal contractor and asked it to remove the vehicle for storage. It acted in line with its policy in making this decision and this was not fault.
42. After removing the vehicle, it followed the correct procedure and tried to contact her. The address held for her by the DVLA was incorrect, and Ms X did not receive the letters. However, as registered keeper, it was Ms X’s responsibility to ensure the DVLA held her correct address. The fact she did not receive these letters is not the Council’s fault.
43. When, in February 2019, Ms X first contacted the Council, there was a two-week delay in responding to her emails. In its complaint response, the Council upheld this was an unacceptable delay. It said it would review its procedures to ensure emails were responded to more promptly. However, during this time, the contractor told Ms X the accrued costs and how to arrange collection of her vehicle. Despite the Council’s delay in responding to her emails, Ms X was told how she could claim her vehicle. The delay did not cause Ms X a personal injustice.
44. After Ms X complained to the Ombudsman, the Council told her it would arrange for her vehicle to be moved to its own depot. There was a three-week gap before it then contacted her again to say it could not move the vehicle and it would remain at the contractors. This is not significant enough delay to amount to fault. In any case, the Council had already told Ms X how to claim her vehicle and collect her belongings. She could have contacted the contractor to arrange this at any time.
45. During the investigation, I found the Council’s policy is not in line with the charging regulations. The statutory charges set out in the regulations vary depending on the type and size of the vehicle. The Council’s policy states set amounts. This is fault. However, in this case, the Council’s contractor told Ms X the correct charges in line with the regulations, so this did not cause Ms X an injustice.

Agreed action

46. Within one month of the final decision, the Council has agreed to provide evidence to the Ombudsman of the action taken to improve its procedures to ensure emails are responded to more promptly, as referred to in the stage 1 complaint response.
47. Within three months of the final decision, the Council has agreed to review its policy on abandoned vehicles to ensure it is in line with the charging regulations.

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Final decision

48. I have completed my investigation. I have found fault, but this did not cause Ms X an injustice. The Council has agreed action to improve its services.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman