A man in the UK returned home from a stay in hospital only to discover that his local council crushed his BMW 3-Series.
BBC News reports that the unnamed driver of the BMW, only referred to as Mr G, left hospital after a three-day stay following a surgery. Upon return to his flat in Flintshire, North Wales, his BMW was no longer in the car park.
As any car owner would do, Mr G contacted police, who informed him that the local Flintshire council had crushed the car thinking it was abandoned.
During investigations, a council officer claimed that the vehicle’s registered keeper could not be found following a search of the DVLA’s vehicle database. However, the ombudsman shot down assertions of such a search ever being made. The council also failed to provide evidence that it had issued a statutory notice to the landowner informing them of its intention to remove the vehicle.
The ombudsman concluded that the council must pay Mr G £2750 ($3600) for his car and the time taken to resolve the issue. The man purchased the BMW 323i for £14,000 ($18,330) in 2004 and claimed that there were £2000 ($2618) worth of tools in the trunk.
“I was utterly horrified and so confused because I couldn’t understand why they took away a vehicle that was registered to me at my address,” he said.
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales Nick Bennett said it was a classic case of “maladministration.”
Adding insult to injury, it was later revealed that Mr G’s BMW wasn’t actually crushed until two weeks after he informed the police of its disappearance.
