not exercise discretion investigate this complaint about the Council allegedly destroying Mr X’s car instead of a different one in 2020. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.
The complaint
Mr X complained about the Council removing and destroying his car which was parked on council owned land in 2020. He says it should have taken another car of similar type and colour and that his car was tested and taxed and not abandoned. He says the Council should accept liability and pay him compensation.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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) The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X says the Council used a private car recycler to remove and destroy his car in 2020. He says there was a similar car nearby and that his car must have been taken in error. He complained to the Council but it told him that the correct vehicle was taken and that it has the certificate of destruction from the contractor which identifies the vehicle from its registration and VIN number which were forwarded to the DVLA as required.
Mr X did not complain to the Council or to us until 2022 which is outside the normal period for receiving complaints. He says he made claim on his but was dissatisfied with the payment. The Council’s legal representatives told him the correct vehicle was destroyed and he should have reported his car as stolen. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner. However, we cannot determine legal claims it is likely we would have advised him to make a claim had he complained earlier.
Final decision
We will not exercise discretion investigate this complaint about the Council allegedly destroying Mr X’s car instead of a different one in 2020. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman