I thought my car was stolen from my parking space – but council towed it away & didn’t tell me… and demanded £4k
A WOMAN who thought her car had been stolen got a nasty surprise when the the council sent her a £4,400 bill a year later.
Madeleine Ruse, 22, thought her 15-year-old Citroen had been pinched when it vanished from its usual parking space in February 2023.
She reported the "theft" to South Yorkshire Police and her insurer, Hastings Direct, paid her £2,190.
But 12 months later, she got a letter from Sheffield City Council saying that her vehicle had in fact been towed away for supposedly contravening temporary parking restrictions.
Madeleine told : “I had left the car as usual on a street that usually has unrestricted parking and did not see any warning signs."
She was told that her vehicle would be destroyed if she did not collect it within two days and pay a £12-a-day storage fee, among other charges, which totalled almost £4,400.
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And to make matters worse, an insurance assessment found that the vehicle was so badly damaged it had to be written off.
Hastings Direct sent Madeleine an extra £2,280 bill, insisting she return her payout and the cost of setting up her policy.
Madeleine said: “An engineer’s report has concluded that it’s only worth scrap, which, if they’d known, would have invalidated my policy.
“It had only recently passed its MOT when it vanished, but Hastings has so far failed to send me the report and is threatening to send debt collectors.”
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South Yorkshire Police said that "human error" meant that an initial report from the council telling them about the car being towed was "processed incorrectly".
This meant that when she reported it as stolen, "it had not been marked as 'moved' on our system".
Madeleine complained about the year-long delay to Sheffield Parking Services, who then blamed staffing issues and "changes in processes".
The body has since agreed to waive the fine and all fees.
Chair of the council’s waste and street scene committee, Joe Otten, said: “This was an unacceptable failure of process and there will be a thorough investigation and review of our systems to prevent further incidents like this.
"We are in contact with Ms Ruse and will be paying her appropriate compensation.”
Hastings Direct said that the vehicle's engine would no longer start and damage was consistent with forced entry.
The insurer also withdrew its demand that Madeleine return the claim settlement, and apologised for the delay in sending her the engineer’s report.
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A spokesman said: "We will retain the car and continue to liaise with Sheffield city council to clarify the suggestion that vehicle damage occurred whilst the car was in storage."