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I really cant thank you guys enough for all your help and support but it now has me thinking?
How many members are on this forum? Could we not all get together and write something,sign something and make sure it gets to the highest echelons of Motorbility Opperations?
I often hear said that theres so much wrong with the scheme there are problems with the scheme but as I have found some of the issues are with the couldnt care less attitude of the so called “Accredited” dealerships!
We are told of how its not easy to become accredited the training they are required to do etc etc so why are such a large number of these accredited dealers such a monumental cock up?
My recent tribulation with my X1 there were so many failings 🙁
But the one common denominator I find is the fault is squarly with a dealer not following correct protocol but its the sick,disabled customer that have to go cap in hand to motability to sort out the shortcomings of dealership who are not following the protocols they signed up to 🙁
In one sense the lady I spoke to yesterday was very caring simpathetic and wanted to sort this out for my best wellbeing but at the end of it all I felt I was scaulded like a naughty child and told if I do this again im off the scheme 🙁
For what exactly? For putting my trust and faith in a supposedly trained sales person who is supposed to provide the exact car I am leasing for an extended test drive who then takes me out for 20 minutes breathing down my neck in a year old used outgoing model car thats the wrong spec,wrong seats,wheel tyre combination then lets me sign on the dotted line and even at the point of handover fails to tell me that I have the right to check what im signing for and reject it if im not happy?
So that becomes my fault and not theirs?
I should not have any strike against me for something that has been a cock up at dealer level who chose to not inform me of my rights 🙁
I have terminated early before and I will list reasons and maybe others could advise if these were my fault or just circumstance of a ever changing disability or sometimes the fault of dealerships,motability or other external issues other than myself?
Nissan Micra I had it 2 years was great around town but once I moved and had to make long motorway journeys the car became frieghtning i was blown across several motoway lanes in cross winds as it had the weight of a paper bag 🙁
Micra long test drive A+ to dealer
I simply asked Motability advice they suggested I changed I never asked but still received a strike for it 🙁
I then had a Golf full term loved it to bits had a proper test drive in the correct model that paid off 🙂
Then got a Scirocco,I knew my health was detoriating fast and the Scirocco was like a last fling/bit of fun! I loved it would of gone full term with it but for a tyre yes a tyre i go a unrepairable puncture they sent me to quick fit i got a really bad mismatch tyre which made it handle like a pig even the dealership recognised Motability’s penny pinching had completely changed the dynamics of the handling 🙁
I pleaded with Motability to simply change that tyre their solution early termination,you couldnt make it up!
The Scirocco had it not been for the tyre would of gone full term but didnt on their suggestion!
Incidentally I haver received any test drive of the Scirocco being informed it would be exactly the same as a Golf!
It turned out fine (apart from that tyre) but motability should of come down on them like a ton of bricks really for no test drive whatsoever
Then followed several appauling quarterly lists and somehow I ended up in a Mini to be fair it was a decent little car but in the time i had it the roads got worse and mini suspension is fine on we kept roads but you can guess the rest………………………
The Mini was a Cooper D Automatic Hatch my test drive was in a Petrol Clubman Estate Automatic Oh dear!
Change the car “They Said!” So Golf Number 2 🙂
Two years happy motoring until a prang!
Was sat at lights a silly lady using her mobile not hands free run into the back of me 🙁
She got out screaming its my fault,my fault in front of many witnesses her insurance paid out but the car was repaired badly at Motability’s in house repairers they took it back three times and couldnt get it right so just told me to get another car I was gutted I loved that car but motability insisted they could repair it right so get another car!
It was replaced by my last Golf I had that for 4 and a half years!
So I only car I ever asked to terminate was the Mini really due to my health changing beyond my control.
Others it seemed to be motability’s way of simplifying shortcommings with the sytem? Possibly the Micra was my fault as i asked there advice and they suggested changing it I guess i didnt have to but chose to?
But the Rocco and The Pranged Golf thats down to them really
The BMW? If the protocol had been followed I would of been in the right car from the start but im being punished in a way for BMW being underhanded…………………………
BMW test drive in a 18 plate X1 SE Different seats,different wheels and though i can never prove it I suspect it had the suspension mode options as the ride was soft my supplied car is not 🙁
I know this post is getting long so I will cut it short now but a quick summery of other Motability Accredited Dealers blunders
No courtesy cars
Their Cars/MOT’s New Unregistered cars often parked in Disabled spaces 🙁
Incorrect Models/Nothing available for test drive
Too short test drives
Use their own bodyshops who cant always get repairs done correctly(Re My old Golf)
Kwick Fit its a Monopoly some branches are good with disabled customers others are appauling!
Kwick fit pushing whatever garbage tyre they can get away with (Re Scirocco)Nothing is perfect I know but theres so much going on under motability’s nose and its always us the hirer who gets landed in it because they dont inforce their own rules/guidlines/protocol with Accredited Dealers/Kwick Fit etc
When its good im very happy with the scheme,when its not I often feel we are being blamed for the scheme’s shortcommings of not sorting out the third parties involved like dealerships etc as we are the easy target to blame 🙂
Maybe just maybe its time we did the biggest survey ever that favours our views as the end user instead of Motabilty.the dealers at other third partys who are not providing what is promised to us?
Thoughts guys?
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Thoughts guys?
Yes,
Any chance you could edit and precis your post?
I gave up the will to live by halfway through it.
Thanks
Dave
Hi SpinaB,
It’s certainly an interesting thought. Although I’m disabled since birth, I’m new to Motability and my initial thought is that I am so grateful for having them here for me/us.
My second thought is that, yes, as with any scheme, there are areas for improvement. Do you know what, the first thing that springs to mind for me is that it would help enormously if the dealer sales persons were actually disabled themselves. Even with my short time here I’ve noticed that the ‘trained’ sales persons are usually quite young and so won’t have a clue about the needs of us. I’m sure there are some excellent ones out there but I’ve not met one…..yet.
If your suggestion was to be carried out, I would suggest a panel being set-up and discussion on what to put to Motability as suggestions based on our, the clients, experiences. Along with this I would also suggest that we also applaud Motability, as without them we would not have the freedom that the scheme offers us.This could be interesting.
? I will be remembered for nothing but had great fun doing it ?
Sorry Dave
No offense meant just a lot to write down couldnt really say it in any less but taking my personal experiences apart Im asking if others could suggest things that are being overlooked that are causing us to sometimes end up in a pickle because of the way Accredited dealers and other third party companies we are required to use on the system and not being monitored properly and its us as the end user that often gets the blame for their shortcomings 🙁
Thats it condensed maybe if we all got together Motability may start to monitor those who they have put their trust in to follow their protocols and see that often they are clearly not doing things the way they have agreed to when they received accreditation?
I agree Wayne I do applaud Motability I think the issue may be that they have rules that are very black and white and if the dealers played along in black and white then the blame could be squarly laid at the hirer but when a dealer doesnt follow protocol and get a customer placing an order under false pretences maybe the strike should be against the dealer not the hirer?
It appears even if its their fault its ours 🙁
I suspect my dealer dont care now as motability will sort it out,they have their sales figures and I as a person no longer matter to them?
I was wrote off as a customer of the dealership after 72 hours because I asked for help 🙁
Sorry Dave No offense meant just a lot to write down couldnt really say it in any less but taking my personal experiences apart Im asking if others could suggest things that are being overlooked that are causing us to sometimes end up in a pickle because of the way Accredited dealers and other third party companies we are required to use on the system and not being monitored properly and its us as the end user that often gets the blame for their shortcomings. Thats it condensed maybe if we all got together Motability may start to monitor those who they have put their trust in to follow their protocols and see that often they are clearly not doing things the way they have agreed to when they received accreditation?
Thanks Spinab,
Likewise no offence meant, just the old attention span gets shorter as the meds kick in etc
The above is much easier to read and understand.
Thanks
Dave
When I ordered our new car the young Mobility Advisor was very nice and helpful but he got a number of things wrong, things that I knew were wrong from reading this forum.
I think you need to take a bit of responsibility for the order. Your disability is known to yourself better than any dealer however good or bad they are.
You state you have had problems with ride comfort before, so surely you would have been extra vigilant test driving suitable cars.
If you were not happy with the test drive length, you shouldn’t have ordered but researched more.
3 years is a long time if not comfy, perhaps changing cars is too easy a option instead of selecting the right car in the first place.
Having said that I hope you find a solution, good luck.
I understand where you are coming from, and it sucks that some dealers don’t seem to follow the guidelines or have appropriate test drive stock. But in the UK, crappy dealerships seem to exist everywhere, treating paying customers like crap, never mind the Motability ones. As long as the UK public rolls over and allows these cess pits of substandard service to thrive, then they will never go away.
With dealers I follow a simple enough rule, not helpful staff/no knowledge of the scheme or their own product/no decent test drive in the car I will lease via Motability? Then I go elsewhere. There are hundreds of them, really, they are like cockroaches…lol. I don’t expect the exact same spec of car for a test drive, it is unreasonable to expect a dealer to stock every trim/engine combo for every car in the range, but the engine, gearbox and seats should be the same – basically a class up or down from what I am looking at.
I am willing to travel up to 60 miles from my house, so that puts me in 3 cities and lots of towns, so its easy to try different dealers and cars well before the 3 month date, choose what I want and who I want to order it from. The good dealers really put the bad ones to shame, but all the more reason to use them. Why reward bad service? I went to over 25 dealers, only 3 were poor, only one was extremely poor.
You are also suffering a bit from the “computer says no” syndrome at Motability, lots of changes over your time with them, so their system flags that as unusual – which it is. Sadly, what it doesn’t do, without more digging, is look at why.
In life, it's not who you know that's important, it's how your wife found out.
I do accept some of the responsibility cb2011 but my point here is theres a large can of worms that I think Motability should be aware of.
Yes maybe i should of asked for a longer test drive but should that of not been offered without me asking? afterall these sales staff are supposidly trained to do so?
Then I still would of been test driving the wrong model set up differently to the one I could order.
Yes I was advised that the model delivered was to be a new model but the salesman assured it it would be the same as the one I test drove it was just an appearance update but its soo different to that I test drove 🙁
Even a whole weekend test drive i may of still loved that old model but that would never of been the vehicle I was getting.
Maybe when theres a new model coming out they should not be allowed to order that model if no test drive is available?
So yes I have to live with what I have done but also the dealer who told me it would be the same didnt inform me it was my right to inspect the vehicle before taking it also has a part in the wrong decision being made here?
Its a life lesson for sure I will never just take a salesmans word and will research more in the future.
This post isnt about my car so much I have covered that in the other thread its more about resposibilies that accredited dealers train and sign up for but dont follow through and Motability not making sure they are and us as a collective maybe approaching motability and get them to recognise something needs to be done? More training? Motability checking they are doing things by the book etc thats my point.
I will be £1000 out of pocket when this is resolved dont worry I wont make the mistake again.
The Motability scheme is not perfect I doubt any such scheme can be perfect, however, the majority of the time the Motability scheme is excellent.
My first Motability car Ford Focus I test drove a silver 1.8 Diesel we liked it especially with the AP of £400 so much we ordered, they promised us a full tank of fuel, I also ordered a factory fitted towbar.
When to pick up the car they informed me they could not get a silver one and the 1.8 has been dropped by Ford, but they have a Black 2.0 diesel with next spec up for the same AP, we were dead pleased and put the pin in.
Jumped in the car no fuel, never mind I thought, from there on things went downhill, the aircon never worked, took it back several times, they could not fix it, every time it rained the boot filled with water, kept taking it back, in the end they had to replace the jack as it had gone rusty. Eventually they pulled the roof bar off and sealed them up with mastic, what a mess.
Went to attach the caravan to the towbar, the towball was loose and electric wired up wrong, I gave them some grief, they admitted the local centre had fitted the towbar, I paid for a factory fitted.
Beside the above teething problem it was a good reliable car, but we still think the dealer pulled a fast one and supplied us with a Friday car. At the end of the lease due the dealers poor servicing we left the scheme and brought privately 6 – 12 month old cars.
In 2017 we decided to give the Motability scheme another go, this time we used Furrow Ford, they we excellent, the young salesman was a bit green and could have done with some more experience regarding the Motability scheme, but our current Ford Kuga has proved to be an excellent car and yes in May 2020 we will use the Motability scheme for our next car.
Unfortunately I have suffered a brain injury and occasionally I get confused and often say the wrong thing.
My word SpinaB you have certainly been through the wars with this. What I find lacking with Mobility is there really is no input from it’s users.
I would really like to see a national mobility user group, set up and funded by Mobility. This could be done on a regional basis with representatives drawn from the scheme users.
This would give us a voice and hopefully help out line users feed back to mobility.
Joss
Current car: BMW X2 sDrive 20i M Sport 5dr Step Auto In metallic Portimão Blue. 04:10:2025
Previous car:Peugeot 308 GT Premium 1.2 Pure tech Petrol.What I find is when visiting or phoning a dealer one has to wait for a Motability specialist to become available to discuss one’s needs.
Within a short space of time it becomes apparent that they are far from being a specialist in this area and you spend most of your time informing them and hearing them repeat “oh, I didn’t know that”.
If you have a hidden disability you can almost sense the Daily Mail attitude in their tone. I had one “specialist” when I pointed out the high AP he said “yes but you must remember you get the car fr…” he just about managed to stop himself from saying “free”.
When in the dealers looking around, and to pass the time waiting for a “specialist”, I earwig the conversations they have with “ordinary” customers and realise just how gullible some of those “ordinary” customers are.
The dealers are just an added obstacle disability customers have to face and get around. Although they are a necessary evil and they put more obstacles in the way at least you know the good people on here will help navigate a way around, thank goodness. Cheers everyone.
There is much that is good about Motability, but I find problems with the sales staff trying to push tiny town cars on me, or simply ignoring me. The latest problem is being told by two Hyundai dealership sales staff at different dealerships that my interest in a Ioniq electric wasn’t sensible because the AP on Motability was over £5k (this was this month, where the AP starts at £1750 and goes up to £2250).
With the last car the extra throttle pedal hadn’t been fitted when I went to collect the car as the dealership had forgotten to put it through & get the job done.
Perhaps it’s time for a competitor to Motability to emerge as Motability appear to have little interest in sorting out these problems for their clients.
When I go to look at a car I’m interested in precise measurements for the wheelchair, seat comfort, and how the driving position can work for me. I’m not interested in rude & useless sales staff telling me what I need when I simply don’t.
Another problem is with BMW making the proper heating system on the i3 an optional extra for £530…. that’s hillarious.
I certainly think that a user-group would be a good idea as would an easy way of ‘reporting’ unhelpful or slapdash dealers as well as giving praise where it is due.
Certainly I now realise that we have been lucky in the past and found dealers who were helpful and very customer focused not just for the sale but throughout the whole of the lease. Our recent (ongoing) problems have made us realise how much the dealer can contribute to the positive experience of getting and using a Mobility vehicle.
I have been generally very happy with any contacts I’ve had with Motability Operations and do appreciate the all-encompassing nature of the scheme. The tyre cover alone can be a saving! It is also reassuring that if my PIP were to be reduced we wouldn’t be tied into paying for the car. The two assistance schemes – both for those losing enhanced mobility during the DLA to Pip transfer and for those who lose enhanced PIP during a review – are also very welcome.
However, I’m sure that having an official route to make suggestions for improvements from their users would be a positive step.
An ISO9000 feedback system would be good to see and Motability could see at a glance where problems lay and who’s not doing their job properly.
It’s seem to me like Motability think everything is rosy if looking at the Life Styles mag is anything to go by in how wonderful customers have been treated by said dealer but you have to look between the lines unfortunately and ask how many letters do you see referring to such problems as the OP has had and the answer to that is a big fat zero.
Motability works for me overall but I do have reservations too in how some parts of it work with test drives and incorrect deliveries of specified cars and like I said an ISO9000 system would do wonders to Motability if they really wanted to make thing better for their customers.
I can’t see a competitor big enough to take on the risk.
The government would need to step in and subsidies would be needed. So more fat cats and no guarantees anything would be better.Its far from perfect which is why we have this forum. But overall I’m happy with the scheme.
Before I joined the scheme I read loads of posts on here.
Read all the rules of what’s covered what’s not, looked into buying on finance and nothing came close when you look behind the headlines or dealers direct offers.in 2 years time I’ll decide again on what else is available and how my disability has changed.
I am surprised that having had your past experiences that you were not more “aware” of possible problems with a purchase. I am not trying to be offensive but we are told that the deal is not valid until the PIN number is entered. Perhaps what will sort out this problem is, if we refuse to accept faulty, incorrect or miss described cars and throw the problem back to Motability to sort out the dealers.
I am surprised that having had your past experiences that you were not more “aware” of possible problems with a purchase. I am not trying to be offensive but we are told that the deal is not valid until the PIN number is entered
To be fair I have never been told that 🙁
All the paperwork I signed on order day was getting me to commit and sign to say I was happy with the car for my needs?
Problem is I was signing off on an old model had i of known my rights I would of rejected on the day.
That said I was made to pay for the options on the day of order not when I collected I guess its their insurance policy?
Expensive mistake and lesson learned the Good condition bonus on my old gold has nearly covered the options I cannot get refunded so I guess its just going back to zero again i will be no better off neither will I be worse off…………….
But yeh this thread is really to see if we could collectively gain some sort of contact with motability because they either dont know whats going on or who knows they are choosing to ignore it?
The lady I spoke to on the phone I have no complaints she was very supportive and my best intersts were her concern its the dealership can of worms that needs to be opened.
Just wanted this thread to be others points of view on bad service they have had at dealerships,Testdrives,Service,Courtesy Cars,Parking etc etc?????
In my experience dealerships are very much a lottery. We need to arm ourselves with information, do diligent research and be prepared to walk away if not happy.
Not ideal I know but then this is the real world not utopia.
That said I also support the very good idea (SpinaB) of a user group that would provide feedback to Motability and hopefully influence their thinking/policies.
This forum probably helps to impose a sort of standard on dealerships, the shared knowledge and experiences educates all of us in what we should and shouldn’t accept. It’s also good exchanges views with people who are going through a similar process.
This forum probably helps to impose a sort of standard on dealerships, the shared knowledge and experiences educates all of us in what we should and shouldn’t accept. It’s also good exchanges views with people who are going through a similar process.
I will give you a good example the local Mitsubishi Motability dealer totally ignorant and the then the local Toyota dealer totally different could not be more helpful, Mitsubishi PHEV definitely off my short list.
Unfortunately I have suffered a brain injury and occasionally I get confused and often say the wrong thing.
A suggestion.
can we make up a sticky for the forum outlining your rights and responsibilities when ordering a car. Asking for discounts and especially rights to reject, deposits (and if they are refundable and under what circumstances) whether the dealer has a right to ask for accessories to be paid up front (again regarding refund of same)
I think that this would be a great help and put everyone’s mind at rest when going through the ordering process
A Forum Sticky to be accurate would only contain the information as set out by Motability as all other information is Opinions and experiences, and All Statements and procedures are found on the New And Improved Customer Website. (Yes that is sarcasm) https://www.motability.co.uk/
with reference to voicing things to Motability, I’ve always been of the opinion that 1000 individual voices are better than 1 umbrella voice, motability isn’t a one size fits all and a lot of things are on an individual bases, motability already have people in place that Do mystery shop, reviews, articals,questions and answers,reports etc, details of which and contact numbers can be found in the Motabilty LifeStyles magazine. They also have a Have Your Say Section. I would suggest this established recognised route would be the best port of call. http://motabilitylifestyle.co.uk/
A Forum Sticky to be accurate would only contain the information as set out by Motability as all other information is Opinions and experiences, and All Statements and procedures are found on the New And Improved Customer Website. (Yes that is sarcasm) https://www.motability.co.uk/ with reference to voicing things to Motability, I’ve always been of the opinion that 1000 individual voices are better than 1 umbrella voice, motability isn’t a one size fits all and a lot of things are on an individual bases, motability already have people in place that Do mystery shop, reviews, articals,questions and answers,reports etc, details of which and contact numbers can be found in the Motabilty LifeStyles magazine. They also have a Have Your Say Section. I would suggest this established recognised route would be the best port of call. http://motabilitylifestyle.co.uk/
JS,
I totally concur that ‘big business’ indeed does take more notice of a number of well constructed individual complaints as opposed to a ‘collective’ complaint which often can seem somewhat ‘engineered’ to prove a point.
A well constructed and evidenced individual complaint, sent by formal letter as opposed to e-mail or telephone seems to always receive attention.
One person who I have found to be very responsive is actually Lord Sterling (Chair of the Motability charity) as formal letters sent to him at the House of Lords are generally passed to very senior execs at Motability Operations (such as Mike Betts (the former CEO) and Declan O’Mahoney). Lord Sterling also follows up on the complaints should they not be resolved ot the customer’s satisfaction.
Sadly just speaking with the general Customer Service agents at Motability rarely bears any fruit.
As regards to the ‘Have your say’ in the Highlife Magazine, I am aware of a number of Motabiity customers who have sent in genuine but ‘adverse to Motability’ items which never see the light of day in the Highlife magazine. It seems to only publish ‘positive’ items as opposed to anything critical of Motability.
Dave
I agree with spinab there’s also the problem with test drive’s at dealerships not having cars with adaptions fitted and also not having an automatic even in the car you want to try, as said when you order a car its great service but when things go wrong then it can be hit and miss did you know the new rules that came in a few years ago that you can only have 3 terminations in a seven year period and that you can be banned for a length of time in years until you can rejoin the scheme even when you have evidence in your favour to problems. Then there is the new complaints procedure that came in also a few years ago where you can no longer go higher with your complaint then a senior advisor in the past you could go higher than that and it got sorted and then they tell you to go to the uk ombudsman which then they tell you we cannot deal with your complaint due to you not being in the scheme anymore i have now rejoined the scheme with help from the grants team also i was verbally abused which i had proof of as my friend heard the call but guess what you cannot get free legal aid anymore for cases like motability due to the cuts in gov funding i was told by numerous solicitors so you cannot win.
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