The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to remove the complainant’s car as abandoned in November 2022. This is because it is a late complaint.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I refer to as Ms X, complains about the Council’s response when she got in touch after it removed her car. Ms X wants a proper investigation and for the Council to return the car.
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 information provided by Ms X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code.
My assessment
People are not allowed to park cars on council housing estates if they do not have current tax, MOT and insurance.
Ms X parked her car on an estate. The MOT expired in February 2022 and the tax had expired; Ms X had registered it as SORN. Ms X says the car was very important for her job.
In November 2022 the Council put a notice on the car saying that in seven days it would remove and destroy the car as abandoned. Ms X says she called within the seven but did not get a satisfactory response.
The Council removed the car. Ms X complained in November 2022. In response the Council explained why it had removed the car and said she could collect it from the pound. Ms X complained to us in March 2024.
In response to my enquiries the Council said the car has been destroyed due to the length of time since it was removed.
I will not start an investigation because this is a late complaint. The Council removed the car in November 2022. Ms X has been aware of the removal, and her dissatisfaction with the Council’s response, since November 2022 but she did not complain to us until March 2024. I have not seen any good reason to accept a late complaint which concerns events that occurred in 2022.
Final decision
We will not start an investigation because this is a late complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman