23 May 2025
File Ref: IRC-8372
M Belvin
[FYI request #30839 email]
Tēnā koe M Belvin,
Thank you for your email dated 27 April 2025 to Te Kaunihera o Pōneke | Wellington City Council (the
Council) requesting the following information:
1. What companies does WCC use to tow vehicles?
2. What locations has WCC designated as appropriate locations for the company/ companies in
question 1 to tow vehicles to?
a) 11 Hutchison road is noted to be one of these tow locations. How far from this exact
address is deemed appropriate by WCC for a car to be left?
b) If a vehicle is broken into or stolen from the location it was towed to does WCC accept
any responsibility for this? Does WCC believe that they or the towing companies they
use have any responsibility for preventing damage or theft of vehicles once they have
been towed?
c) Of the locations in "2." how many of these vehicles have crime prevention measures
nearby, for example: surveil ance cameras which could be accessed by police if
necessary?
3. Has WCC received any reports of damage to vehicles which they have organised to be
towed within the last 6 years?
a) Has WCC received any reports of vehicles being stolen (or attempted to be stolen)
after they were towed by WCC within the last 6 years?
b) How many reports of damage or thefts (or attempted thefts) were there?
c) What actions, if any, did WCC take to address the concerns of the vehicle owner?
Your request has been considered under the Local Government Of icial Information and Meetings Act
1987 (LGOIMA). Please find below our response.
Question 1 –
What companies does WCC use to tow vehicles?
The Council’s Parking Services team use the fol owing companies when authorising a vehicle for
towing:
• Jamieson’s Tow Service
• McGinty’s Tow & Salvage Truck and Car Towing and Recovery Service
• Parks Towing Wellington
Question 2 –
What locations has WCC designated as appropriate locations for the company/
companies in question 1 to tow vehicles to?
The fol owing locations are used when vehicles are towed. Dependent on availability, vehicles are
towed to the nearest location to the vehicle’s original location:
• 11 Hutchison Rd (between Wallace Street to Turf gate)
• Barnett St (outside Te Papa)
• 40-80 Brooklyn Road (near Tennis Centre)
• Tirangi Rd (near 100-130), Rongotai
When towing vehicles, tow providers are reminded that to keep in mind that once moved, vehicles
must be parked legal y and not on broken yellow lines, bus stops, mobility spaces, residents parking,
etc.
Question 2a –
11 Hutchison road is noted to be one of these tow locations. How far from this exact
address is deemed appropriate by WCC for a car to be left?
We have interpreted this question to be the section of Hutchison Road that towed vehicles can be
moved to. Below is an image highlighting where towed vehicles are to be placed on Hutchison Road:
Please note, this is an approximation and dependent on the availability of parking spaces at the time
of the vehicles towing.
Question 2b –
If a vehicle is broken into or stolen from the location it was towed to does WCC accept
any responsibility for this? Does WCC believe that they or the towing companies they use have any
responsibility for preventing damage or theft of vehicles once they have been towed?
Council’s power to tow a vehicle can be found under section 128E(1)(d) of
the Land Transport Act
1998 which states that:
Wel ington City Council | 2 of 4
A parking warden in uniform or in possession of a warrant or other evidence of authority as a
parking warden may, if the parking warden believes on reasonable grounds that a vehicle on
a road causes an obstruction in the road or to any vehicle entrance to any property or that the
removal of the vehicle is desirable in the interests of road safety or for the convenience or in
the interests of the public move, or authorise another person to move, the vehicle to any place
where it does not constitute a traffic hazard
The Land Transport Act 1998 sets out in two places the standard of care when vehicles are moved
under such powers.
Section 117(1)(b) applies and requires the mover must
do everything reasonably necessary to ensure
that the vehicle and personal property in or on the vehicle are not damaged.
Similarly section 128E(4) requires the vehicle to be moved to a place where:
it does not constitute a traffic hazard...., but must do everything reasonably necessary to
ensure that the vehicle is not damaged while doing so.
If a car was damaged whilst being towed, this would, in the first instance, be a matter between the
vehicle owner/their insurer and the tow company/their insurer, subject to the provisions set out above.
In respect of theft, or damage to a vehicle outside the towing process, this is not general y a matter
that Council is responsible for or can investigate. Any theft of a vehicle needs to be reported to the
Police and the person’s insurer (if they have one).
Question 2c –
Of the locations in "2." how many of these vehicles have crime prevention measures
nearby, for example: surveil ance cameras which could be accessed by police if necessary?
Information is publicly available via the Council’s
website which details the locations of our closed-
circuit television (CCTV) network.
It’s important to note these locations are Council-managed CCTV and does not include any cameras
that may be private or managed by another entity.
Question 3 to 3c –
Has WCC received any reports of damage to vehicles which they have organised
to be towed within the last 6 years?
Has WCC received any reports of vehicles being stolen (or attempted to be stolen) after they were
towed by WCC within the last 6 years?
How many reports of damage or thefts (or attempted thefts) were there?
The Council’s Parking Services team do not record this information to the level of detail you are
seeking. There are a number of ways a vehicle owner can get in contact with us to report if their
vehicle as being damaged or stolen after a tow was authorised, which can include:
• The Council’s Contact Centre
o Which can be via telephone call, email or our
website. The Contact Centre wil raise a
ticket within the Council’s ticketing system which is al ocated to Parking Services for
response. However, it’s important to note the ticketing system does not specifical y
confirm if the matter is regarding a damaged or stolen vehicle after an authorised tow.
• Directly to the Parking Services team via email or telephone call.
To confirm the information that you have requested would require substantial collation through records
over the past six years. As mentioned above, a ticket assigned to Parking Services for response does
not detail if it’s in relation to a damaged or stolen vehicle after an authorised tow. Each ticket logged to
Parking Services would need to be manually checked to confirm if it is in scope of your request.
With the above in mind, the Council is refusing this part of your request under section 17(f) of the act
due to substantial manual collation involved.
Wel ington City Council | 3 of 4
However, we can provide you with some information that is readily available. Since July 2019, the
Parking Services team track high level escalations, complaints and requests for information within
their Parking Communications register. This register has been searched using ‘keywords’ in order to
try and confirm the number of reports logged that relate to damaged or stolen vehicles after an
authorised tow.
Using the following keywords ‘tow, damage, theft, stolen, stole, steal, ding, dent, break in and broken
in’ a total of 2 incidents were found.
One was found using the keyword of ‘damage’ and one was found using the keywords ‘stole/stolen’.
Question 3c –
What actions, if any, did WCC take to address the concerns of the vehicle owner?
Please refer to our above decision. With respect to the incident found under the keywords of
‘stole/stolen’, the vehicle in question was towed for obstructing a driveway, on retrieval the driver
could not find their car and reported it as stolen, at which time they reached out to the Council
regarding this, requesting compensation.
Parking Services responded to the vehicle owner, providing them with background information as to
why their vehicle was towed, confirming the Council’s power to tow a vehicle under the Land
Transport Act (as described in response to question 2b above). We also confirmed that the Council
could not be held liable for the theft of the vehicle after it was towed to another on-street Council
controlled area and we encouraged the driver to discuss this matter further with their insurance
provider.
The Council also responded to the Of ice of the Ombudsman, who the vehicle owner subsequently
escalated their complaint to, who formed the formed the final opinion that the Council had not acted
unreasonably.
The second incident found under the keyword of ‘damage’ is regarding correspondence received via
an insurance provider who were seeking information as part of a claim. A driver’s vehicle was towed
for obstructing a driveway, when the driver returned to the vehicle, they had noticed the vehicle had
been damaged.
As the insurance provider provided the necessary Privacy Authority form with photo ID, the Parking
Services team provided the insurance company with all the information they had asked for to help
progress with their claim investigation, which included details surrounding the towing of the vehicle
(when was it towed, where to, why etc).
You have the right, by way of complaint under section 28(1) of the LGOIMA, to request an
investigation and review of the Council’s decision to withhold information by the Ombudsman.
Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
freephone 0800 802 602.
If you require further information, please contact
[email address].
Nāku noa, nā
Ol ie Marchant
Senior Advisor
Of icial Information & Privacy
Wellington City Council
Wel ington City Council | 4 of 4
