Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council

• What is an abandoned Vehicle?
• How can I report an abandoned vehicle?
• What can the Council do?

What is an abandoned Vehicle?

The Council must be satisfied that a vehicle is abandoned before it can be dealt with. Normally you can tell if a vehicle has been abandoned by looking for the following signs:

• 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.                         

Any or all of these signs may apply to abandoned vehicles. The more that apply, the more likely it is that the vehicle is abandoned.

How can I report an abandoned vehicle?

If you wish to report an abandoned vehicle you can do so either by phoning on (01302)736050, or by using our Online Report Form.

It will help us if you are able to provide the following information:

• The location (the exact place in the street, and the nearest house, shop or other landmark)
• The vehicle make and colour
• The vehicle registration number
• The condition of the vehicle (is it vandalised or burnt out, does it have flat tyres etc)
• The date the tax disc expired (or that there is no tax disc displayed)            

We prefer not to act on anonymous complaints, so we would also like to know:

1. Your name
2. Your daytime telephone number
3. Your address            

(We will keep these details strictly confidential, but it helps us if we need to contact you for more information to speed up our enquires).

When we receive a report of an abandoned vehicle we aim to investigate the report within 2 working days.

If the inspector thinks the vehicle is abandoned or dangerous it is removed as soon as possible (normally within 24 hours), provided it is on public open land or the highway.

If the inspector thinks the vehicle is abandoned but not dangerous a notice is fixed to the car giving the owner 7 days to remove the vehicle if it is on the highway or public land. If the vehicle is not dangerous, but is on private land a 15-day notice is affixed where the vehicle.

At the same time we make checks to:

• Identify the owner
• See if the vehicle is of interest to the police                     

After the vehicle is removed it is stored and the last registered keeper is given a chance to reclaim it on payment of a fee. This is unless the vehicle is of no apparent value in which case it is destroyed.

What can the Council do?

The council works in partnership with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to combat abandoned/untaxed vehicles.

When we receive a report of an abandoned vehicle we aim to investigate it within 2 working days.

If we are satisfied that a car is abandoned/untaxed it can be dealt with in a variety of ways:

• Untaxed car on a highway - The car is immediately removed and impounded when approval granted by DVLA. If the car is not reclaimed it is destroyed. DVLA approval will not be granted where;
  
• • The car has been untaxed for less than 28 days
  • A registered disabled person owns the car
  • The car is a historic vehicle
    
• Untaxed car on public (non highway) 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.
  
  
• Untaxed car on private land - 15-day notice affixed to car 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 and destroyed.
  
  
• Car torched/heavily vandalised - car removed and destroyed immediately as hazardous waste using powers under the Environmental Protection Act.   

In all 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.