my car got scrapped illegally

what should I do lmao

I can't find any information anywhere
basically, my car was reported as abandoned in jan (im a uni student - I don't take my car with me)
I got the letter of it being reported (in June) from my council
I clarified with the council that it isn't abandoned, and that its parked in an appropriate place and has been taxed. they closed the case.

fast forward to yday, I got a notice through the post about a road tax refund from the dvla
I went to check on my car - and its gone. I'm assuming that its been towed and scrapped

if this is the case, its unlawful. my car was valued at £1000 and it had all my possessions inside

what are my next steps

what should I do lmao

I can't find any information anywhere
basically, my car was reported as abandoned in jan (im a uni student - I don't take my car with me)
I got the letter of it being reported (in June) from my council
I clarified with the council that it isn't abandoned, and that its parked in an appropriate place and has been taxed. they closed the case.

fast forward to yday, I got a notice through the post about a road tax refund from the dvla
I went to check on my car - and its gone. I'm assuming that its been towed and scrapped

if this is the case, its unlawful. my car was valued at £1000 and it had all my possessions inside

what are my next steps

Report as stolen to the Police?

(Am I the only person that would have moved the car the second I was aware people had been complaining? )

reported

they've got back to me saying the council defo took it

the council are denying it at the moment - I just want my money

It might not be easy if you're lets say hundred miles away.
Also, many people don't use their cars for months, sometimes years, especially if those are classic cars, and especially when there's shortage of spare parts for it.

I'm personally surprised that one of the home-countries of liberalism is so disrespectful towards someone's possesion. As long as the car is parked correctly and taxed, they should have had no right to even touch it.

Besides, complaining for what? It was his car, and he had just the same right to park it as others.

If I got a letter from the council saying people were complaining i'd make every effort to move my car, or have someone do it for me. .

Well, if the car was parked properly, I don't see any reason for moving it away. I'm used to different standards in this matter, where they don't steal properly parked properties of someone. Even if they tow them away, they wait for weeks, sometimes months, waiting for the owner to be found and there isn't any problems with any wrecks on the streets or car parks, although some cars look like wrecks.

I know a guy who found a car that was wainting on a police car park, it was standing there for a long time, it was an obvious wreck that didn't present any value to anyone who didn't know the infamous car, within few weeks it would have been scrapped.
He managed to get a decision that scrapping would be postponed, the car was considered not having an owner, so he could legally buy it from the police.

Why did he do that? Because it was a unique model, one of only 17 units ever built. The police had no idea how the unique it was, but now it has been restored and with special license plate is protected by law as monument. Among other things, if it gets destroyed in an accident, it still can't be scrapped unless the state restorer considers rebuilt impossible, and if someone deliberately damaged it, the one would have to face years of impronment.

Great Britain has a particularly rich history in terms of car manufacturers and special models. I wonder how many uniqe historical cars were destroyed by the British authorities.

See i'm not disputing cars have value and that the council likely shouldn't have been touching it. I'm literally just saying it didn't help OP, while logically, having the vehicle moved would have. As said, it's exactly the sort of uncaring screwup I'd expect from them, likely followed by months/years of frustrating back and forth before a misery settlement and a non apology.

Car scrapping scams have been on the rise in the UK and victims have found themselves on the receiving end of fines of as much as £5000. These car scrapping scams can see innocent owner’s vehicles used for crimes or being sold to other drivers. Vehicles that were intended for scrap have been turned into ‘cut and shut’ vehicles without the knowledge of the previous owner. Scams such as these have been occurring when owners sell their cars to unlicensed scrap merchants. This kind of scam can have serious consequences not only for the original owner but for the buyers of these cut and shut death trap vehicles.

You need to change the law.

Me? Why not you? you care more? Why not OP? Surely they care double?

You need to change the law.



There's no doubt the country still has many surprises for me.
While I admire the strenght of the rule of law in the UK, and the level of public debate (not ideal, though sky-high to what you can see elswhere), some things, like this one, look like the wild West from Western movies to me.
People stealing catalityc converters from cars parked at the street. Police arresting people for carrying knives or swords. Extreme knife-crime rates. My friends in Birmingham, repeateadly insulted and attacked by random people of all colors.
And now you say even city councils steal people's cars.

(Am I the only person that would have moved the car the second I was aware people had been complaining? )