London Borough of Lambeth (20 006 527)
Category : Transport and highways > Traffic management
Decision : Not upheld
Decision date : 08 Feb 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: Miss B complains the Council wrongly removed her car as an abandoned vehicle. We will not investigate this complaint because it is late.
The complaint
- Miss B complains the Council wrongly removed her car as an abandoned vehicle. She says this caused her financial difficulty.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered the information provided by the Council and Miss B with the relevant guidance.
- Miss B and the Council had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered all the comments I received.
What I found
What happened
- The Council removed Miss B’s vehicle in April 2019 because it thought it was abandoned. Miss B complained to the Council in May 2019. She was unhappy with the Council’s response and requested the complaint progress to stage two of the Council’s complaint process.
- In September 2019 the Council provided its final response and directed Miss B to the Ombudsman if she remained dissatisfied.
- Miss B contacted the Council again in October 2019. It referred back to its final response and signposted her to the Ombudsman again.
- She complained to the Ombudsman in October 2020.
My findings
- Miss B’s complaint is late. She was aware of the Council’s actions in May 2019. The Council referred her to us in its final response in September 2019. She did not bring her complaint to the Ombudsman until more than 12 months later. I have seen no good reasons to exercise the Ombudsman’s discretion to investigate Miss B’s complaint.
Final decision
- I have discontinued my investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman