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Also from the Motability website latest Covid-19 Update:
I have a Motability Scheme car; how can I get help if I’m in temporary financial need owing to the COVID-19 situation?
Motability Scheme customers who are experiencing temporary and exceptional financial need in relation to COVID-19 are able to access an advance of the £600 Good Condition Bonus (GCB) usually paid at the end of a lease.
This GCB payment can be brought forward to provide support during the COVID-19 lockdown, ensuring that customers in need have access to money during a period when they may need it most. Please note that customers who choose to take this payment early would not therefore receive a further GCB at the end of contract – a point when some customers like to put this towards an Advance Payment on their new car.
As Motability Scheme lease instalments are made through direct payment from the Government, it is not possible to reschedule payments to be repaid later, so this arrangement offers an alternative route to flexibility for customers.
To enable us to deal with requests from customers needing exceptional help as quickly and efficiently as possible, call us on 0300 020 5050. But please bear with us, as we are currently experiencing a high volume of calls and you may have to wait longer than usual.
Customers who have already received a GCB for their current car clearly won’t be in a position to take advantage of this arrangement.
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This is great but are they not cutting them self in the pocket.
What happens if a car is returned in a mess?
Has anyone done this and if yes what was the procedure?
This is great but are they not cutting them self in the pocket. What happens if a car is returned in a mess? Has anyone done this and if yes what was the procedure?
As this was only announced very late yesterday, I doubt anyone has been through the process as yet.
Although I don’t know how they will assess ‘financial need in relation to Covid-19’, it might cover such as those who work and have been either laid off and are receiving 80% salary, or cannot claim the 80% salary payments due to not having worked for their employer long enough. Possibly also those who have been made redundant due to Covid-19 and thus have no immediate income.
For those who live entirely on benefits, there has been no income cut due to Covid-19 so it might not be applicable.
If that is the case, it may only apply to a very small minority of customers and Motability seem willing to accept the risk that an odd car or two may be returned damaged etc.
If any damage was that bad, it would lead to an insurance claim anyway.
Don’t get me wrong it’s a great idea I’m not in the slightest interest just thought it could be risky as i have heard from dealers the stait some cars where returned.my car is my baby so i look after it just can’t help the odd scratch or debt from irrasponsable trolley people.lucky not had a problem with it handing car back.
Being a pensioner, or should that be prisoner😁 , my income has not changed but it’s been said before within these threads that having the GCB taken off the AP would help a lot of folk, virus or no virus, so I hope there maybe a future spin-off from this when we get back to normal or as normal as one hopes to get.
I feel it is unfair to say people not working and on benefits have not found it financially hard while in lockdown. With no extra income and my husband looking after me it’s hard all the time for both of us.
I have had problems with getting shopping slots as well as food prices rising also being at home all the time heating water etc.
Not to mention the physical and mental side. I am waiting for much needed surgery and in constant pain.
An early bonus would go a long way to help.
It is Motability that are giving away the GCB bonus early to help the members in financial distress. If the car returned is a shed, they will just write the GCB off as a loss.
Motability are being very fair and helpful, these are hugely uncertain times and everyone is in a mess.
The tragedy that is COVID is profound and Motability are doing their best to make these times as stress free as possible.
great info Ade but its not that simple, They will not simply write it off. if your vehicle is returned in bad condition then you break the conditions of the lease and you may be barred from being part of the scheme, at present they are doing it as good will but you may be excluded from the scheme, they have done it to suit themselves the” sweet spot” as Mike Betts puts it (that should of left the company at the latest May 2020) is the 3 year period. they want you to order a new vehicle to maintain the status que the hardship payment is nothing but allowing people to take advantage of it and use it to order another vehichle and Stay on the Scheme
You cannot get the early payment if the GCB to use towards the AP of a new vehicle and they ask you why you are in hardship. So if you do need it for the AP do not mention this to them when requesting it or it’ll be rejected
So JS – The people who have used the Early advance payment because of COVID have been barred from the scheme?I thought there would be a post on here if indeed that was the case. The Early advance payment only started in late April.
It is no surprise that historically if people abuse the system and return a vehicle in a bad condition and are barred, then fair play.
If you were to hire a vehicle and trash it – you would have a hefty amount taken from your credit card for repair.
Hi everyone I applied for the early gcb 5 days ago. Its being given because even though benefits amount are not being reduced but our cost of living has increased. I had my car in nov and have only done 1210 miles as I’m shielding. This has meant my electric bills have increased I’m having to pay for delivery on my shopping. I was advised I would receive a cheque within 10 days (not working days either) it was a very simple procedure. The entire call took less than 5 minutes. I do however look after my car so have no worries when I hand the car back. If you don’t need the 600pd at end of contract to use towards another car and you could do with this money then I’d suggest applying for it
i think motability only did it because they had to be see to do something to help motability know that people will take advantage of it , if its offered and worry about the consequences later on car return , maybe instead of GCB Early advance payment motability or DWP could give a financial payment to vulnerable people struggling , with extra help with electricity ect . i think people on universal credit got a payment , and we get money back from rac insurance. its not as though they cant afford it.
Just an update to the early claiming of the GCB, it looks like this facility is ending on 31st October 2020. From the latest FAQ’s on the Motability website:
I have a Motability Scheme car; how can I get help if I’m in temporary financial need owing to the COVID-19 situation?
Until 31 October 2020, Motability Scheme customers who are experiencing temporary and exceptional financial need in relation to COVID-19 are able to access an advance of the £600 Good Condition Bonus (GCB) usually paid at the end of a lease.
So, if you want to avail yourself of the early GCB payment, apply before 31st October 2020.
Dave
I would have thought you could only get it as you were at the end of your lease period but seems that wasn’t the case. I enquired to get it early but to help of the AP and they refused which is fair enough. I’m not any worse off in fact better off as not paying petrol due to shielding. Food delivery was free on the shielding scheme, but cost of living increased a lot with food prices going up, more electric and more gas but we do have the warm home discount to come in the winter, so things are already in place to help the vunerable I just don’t think that it’s enough for those who struggled before all of this and those who struggle due to furlough/redundancy etc. I’m thankful for the £50 rebate from insurance and don’t expect much more, afterall it’ll all have to be paid back one way or another
I was going to apply for the GCB early, But seeing as I only have 3 weeks left of my car and you can apply on the Motability website a week earlier to have the funds paid by bank transfer I think I’ll just wait for that instead. It’ll take 5 days for a cheque to arrive and a further 5 days to clear.
I see that on their latest Covid update, Motability have now extended the time limit to claim the early Good Condition Bonus (GCB) on grounds of financial hardship to 31st January 2021:
FAQs from the Motability Scheme regarding COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
I got my GCB within 3 working days, after handover, paid in to bank account.
Had ours paid by bacs within 3 days of handover
My good condition bonus was sent to me when my lease should have finished i did not phone and did not ask for it i did put some of it toward the AP for my bmw though.
