When you come home to find an abandoned car parked in your spot, the last thing you want to worry about is dealing with the removal process. But with the right knowledge and some patience, you can take care of the situation and get back to your normal routine. In this article, we are primarily addressing and providing those with tips who reside in strata and unit complexes with by-laws that govern the process of removing a dumped car.
What is an Abandoned Vehicle?
For those who take residence in strata and unit complexes – if you have an abandoned vehicle in your car spot, what can be done?
First, let’s start by defining what an abandoned vehicle is. This will help you to identify whether a vehicle has been dumped and determines what the next best course of action is. An abandoned vehicle comes under uncollected goods according to NSW Fair Trading and can be seen as either:
- When consumers leave goods with a business for repair or treatment and don’t return to collect them, such as a car left with a motor repairer.
- When a business can’t return the goods to their owner, for example, because they can’t communicate with or trace the owner.
- When goods are left behind by tenants, residents or anyone sharing with a tenant at the end of a tenancy or other occupancy.
- When an unknown person leaves goods on the common property, such as in a strata scheme parking or storage area, which is reasonably believed that have been abandoned.
What Should I Do After Discovering the Abandoned Vehicle?
Since determining that the vehicle in your car spot is abandoned, what should you do next?
1) Contact your local police station
Doing so will confirm whether or not the vehicle has been stolen. If you suspect a vehicle has been dumped or abandoned, the only way to remove it legally is to have proof that it is not stolen. You must obtain two key documents, which include:
– a certificate from the Commissioner of Police
– a written search result from the Personal Property Securities Register
Contact your local council for advice and adhere to Service NSW’s reporting an abandoned or dumped vehicleto learn how to receive these documents. You will be required to provide the following details regarding the vehicle:
- The exact location
- The make, model and colour of the vehicle
- The number plate (if available)
If it has been stolen, the car is evidence from a crime and should not be contaminated or touched by any third party. The police will provide you with further information and instructions on how the process will be handled.
2) Contact your strata
After confirming that it is not a stolen vehicle, any owner who believes there is an abandoned vehicle on common property should contact their strata manager or strata committee. The strata committee has the power to remove items that are abandoned. They will organise a form to put on the windscreen of the vehicle to give a 14 days’ notice that the car will be removed if it is not moved from the spot.
3) Take a photo of the 14-day notice
Taking a photo of the notice will provide you with some proof in the case that strata has not removed the vehicle after the 14-day period. If you are then needing to follow up on the dumped vehicle removal, this process will become quicker with photographic confirmation.
4) Organising Removal
A towing service must then be organised which will begin the process of removing the abandoned vehicle. Through NSW’s by-laws, strata will need to notify us that they authorise us to come onto their property and remove the vehicle. Upon contact, we can advise on the most efficient way to begin the towing process.
Finding a strange vehicle on your property or in your car spot can be stressful, but luckily, there are a few steps you can take that will remedy the situation. Here at Combined Towing, abandoned car removals are one of our specialties! As Sydney’s most trusted towing service, removing a car from where it has been dumped is no challenge for our experienced professionals. Contact us today on 02 9319 3434 or
Get a Quote for an accurate quote on the services you require, and we will be more than happy to assist you.
