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I’m looking at getting another car on the scheme after about a 1-year break. I currently have use of an MG HS but need to be able to transport 2 folded electric wheelchairs at times which, for however decent the HS’s boot is, does not currently work without folding down the back seats, and this unfortunately is not a viable option.
Hence, I’ve been looking at a lot of 7 seat options as they often have the boot space but the car I’ve found to be pretty spot on – fold flat 3rd row, 800+ litres of boot space, large enough boot to fit equipment needed plus luggage/shopping, high enough off the ground that my knees and back don’t hurt getting in, spacious cabin (front and 2nd rows), electric tailgate, and, best of all, diesel (at least, not electric) – is the Skoda Kodiaq. Understandably Motability Foundation don’t want to fork out between 3.5 and 4k in an AP grant but none of the four options they’ve given me are at all suitable and I can’t find another car that is. The Citroën Berlingo 5 Seat Diesel would be an option (though not one given to me) if only the tailgate weren’t so heavy and/or were electric. I tested one out today and had to almost wrestle with it to get it down.
To my main point, I previously had an MG ZS EV which I did thoroughly love driving but charging wise was an absolute nightmare. I moved about a year after getting the car so even though I had a chargepoint at home I couldn’t have one at the new address which meant I resorted to 3-pin charging (not good long term, apparently) and chargepoints en route. Charging at home got me into a lot of debt as I couldn’t check what I was using or when and it was just harder for me to manage than a petrol or diesel car due to the way my disabilities affect me.
You can see, I hope, why I really don’t want to go back to having an electric car unless I absolutely have to (when motability inevitably decide that all they’ll offer is EVs, I imagine).
Am I fighting a losing battle? I know they seem keen to push EVs but there’s no way I could cope. I returned the ZS because I knew I couldn’t keep on top of it anymore and since I’ve had use of the MG HS I’ve been able to catch up a little bit and stay on top of my fuel costs and my budget in general.
For reference, I was offered the 7 Seat Citroën E-Berlingo, 7 Seat Vauxhall Combo Life, and Dacia Jogger Auto HEV Expression & Extreme options. The latter being unsuitable due to the height of the cabin, I cannot get in and out without being in pain nor can my, also disabled, passenger. This is all ignoring the fact that I have to find some way of storing the 3rd row of seats from all of these vehicles to be able to get the equipment into them.
Sorry if I’ve just given you a lot of waffle you don’t need, I think I’m just a little stressed and upset because while I know they really want me to compromise (and some would probably say I should) where do I find that compromise? What matters more? Not being in a ton more debt or not being in a lot of pain?
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Rightly or wrongly, the grants team will put you in the cheapest mode of transport, with what “they” think will suit your needs best from what you initially told them on the application form. Unfortunately, what “they” think will suit, is rarely the case these days!
Given you are rejoining the scheme after a short break, you will most likely be entitled to the £700 New Vehicle Payment (NVP) however, this does not work in your favour if your asking for a grant. It use to be the case where you could add 50% from your own funds to the grant award I.E if you were offered a grant of £1000, you could add £500 yourself. Sadly to do this now would result in the grant being reduced and the full NVP being used!
My advice would be to book extended test drive’s in the vehicles offered and if there is any pain or discomfort to the driver, driving or getting in or whether the vehicle access is too high or low and report back to your grants advisor saying none of the offered are remotely suitable (state reasons), which would only result in an early termination, which you wouldn’t want!
Are there any vehicles suitable within your grant award that your advisor hasn’t mentioned?
@kezo it’s validating to see it written out that way but the process is utterly frustrating when you’re already struggling with transport and just want to be able to get on with getting a car to suit. I do get why they’d go the cheapest route, it makes sense but this push for electric cars is one of the most frustrating things.
I have had test drives in each of the vehicles as well as having gone to look at them and ask plenty of questions several times as the decision to possibly get a new car has been months in the making (my PIP was very recently renewed) so I’ve really put some research into it. I have written out an email for the grants advisor, as I can’t communicate by phone (they originally talked to someone else on my behalf) outlining the reasons each car is unsuitable in some detail, however I’m aware, even if I sent that, it could still be a flat out no. I just wanted to gauge whether it was worth pushing back on with how final she seemed to make the decision.
I’ve scoured the motability site so many times just looking for a hidden gem but unfortunately there’s nothing with the boot space needed within that AP. They’re all either slightly smaller or comparable to the MG HS. I’ve been to look at so many cars lately too, I used to love just window shopping but now I’m starting to hate all of it.
@DumfriesDik I wouldn’t say it’s too late to consider a WAV but it’s not really necessary for our situation. Both me and my disabled passenger are ambulatory wheelchair users so neither of us needs to be in the vehicle while also in our wheelchairs. From my short research post-The Big Event, I imagine the AP for a WAV would be up there with the cost of a Skoda Kodiaq too. Though I suppose it’s understandably justified by the type of vehicle it is.@kezo it’s validating to see it written out that way but the process is utterly frustrating when you’re already struggling with transport and just want to be able to get on with getting a car to suit. I do get why they’d go the cheapest route, it makes sense but this push for electric cars is one of the most frustrating things. I have had test drives in each of the vehicles as well as having gone to look at them and ask plenty of questions several times as the decision to possibly get a new car has been months in the making (my PIP was very recently renewed) so I’ve really put some research into it. I have written out an email for the grants advisor, as I can’t communicate by phone (they originally talked to someone else on my behalf) outlining the reasons each car is unsuitable in some detail, however I’m aware, even if I sent that, it could still be a flat out no. I just wanted to gauge whether it was worth pushing back on with how final she seemed to make the decision. I’ve scoured the motability site so many times just looking for a hidden gem but unfortunately there’s nothing with the boot space needed within that AP. They’re all either slightly smaller or comparable to the MG HS. I’ve been to look at so many cars lately too, I used to love just window shopping but now I’m starting to hate all of it. @DumfriesDik I wouldn’t say it’s too late to consider a WAV but it’s not really necessary for our situation. Both me and my disabled passenger are ambulatory wheelchair users so neither of us needs to be in the vehicle while also in our wheelchairs. From my short research post-The Big Event, I imagine the AP for a WAV would be up there with the cost of a Skoda Kodiaq too. Though I suppose it’s understandably justified by the type of vehicle it is.
I believe you can choose a vehicle not on the list, as long, as its within or no more than 50% of the grant award. The MG HS for example is £899 or £1149 for the Trophy!
Prior to sending your email add something along the lines of “by accepting a vehicle know wouldn’t be suitable for the longterm, would only lead to an early termination and would serve as no benifit to my myself or the scheme in general”, then go on to finis by saying, I have taken extended test drives in XYZ and find them most suitable for my longterm needs (be realistic here).
@kezo Thank you for the helpful additions to the email! I’ll make a few alterations and add in a few extra points along these lines! I have currently left an opening for her to open a conversation with me about it but we’ll see what happens.
The MG HS is what I have use of now and unfortunately isn’t suitable as it’s just not big enough for two wheelchairs while leaving the back seats up. If the boot was bigger I wouldn’t even dream of looking for another car as it’s almost perfect otherwise. I believe it’s around 500 litres and everything I’ve found under £2000 has around the same or upto ~100l more which doesn’t always translate to longer/wider.
Genpeach that’s a good point and the reason why I always bring a tape measure with me and measure the boots. A good example as I’ve still loads of measurements stored in my phone.
Kona L 32″ W 41″
Octavia L 40″ W 40″
Tucson L 34″ W41
Who would have thought that the Kona boot is wider than an Octavia and as wide as a Tucson. These measurements are also from the least widest point. A thing I don’t like in the e3008 as it’s all boxed whereas the Konas boot was built around the wheel arches freeing up a bit more room.
Have a look at the Renault Rafale, its a tad expensive AP but the car is a full petrol/hybrid. The boot looks really large and no more worries about electric costs. I have a Renault Austral which is full petrol/hybrid, i have a folding electric wheelchair and i can manage to get it in and out ok, also both have electric tailgate.
I appreciate everyone’s input here, it’s been really helpful, thank you so much!
I’ve not gotten anywhere with the issue and I’ve basically been told that the need for power tailgate doesn’t matter because I’m expected to travel with other people that can load the wheelchairs and/or shut the boot, never mind the fact that 8/10 times there won’t be a need for a wheelchair, nor another (non-disabled) person, and I do in fact have to be an independent adult, even while having a long term health condition.
I apparently have to choose between “a family vehicle and one in which you can travel on your own”. There are several reasons why this wouldn’t work (I’m not able to drive alone – as of right now I usually go out with my disabled passenger who is able to take over driving when needed) but overall they would offer 749 towards one of these cars and they would all be electric. I’m already in debt, I’m not putting myself in that position again.
So I’m going to try to save £4000 or whatever the AP on the Kodiaq may be at that point and suffer without a mobility aid until that point, which also means rarely leaving the house.
The only other thing I’m going to do is make a complaint. Not necessarily about the decision, clearly there is no sense to be made there, but regarding her conduct and what seem to be data breaches.
The case manager, despite having my email address and having received my email from my email address specifically (as well as me requesting her to respond directly to me) has sent the email to the person who talks on my behalf. She also has a motability car and has not given any of her details in this process besides her name and telephone number to be used when contacting her regarding this application. The case manager also asked her what she was going to do with her car if I got one of my own, somehow already knowing exactly what car it was too. She hadn’t given permission for the case manager to access this information, nor was it relevant to my application at all, and I’m disgusted by the case managers conduct.
So that’s that, thanks again for your help, I wish there was a better outcome here but alas.
They CANNOT claim it’s OK because you’ll always go out with another adult that’s absolutely abhorrent. It’s like saying just ask someone walking by to close it for you.
The list they give you is examples you can spend the grant however you like as long as you don’t add more than 50% again.
I was offered £1000 initially and pointed at an Enyaq 60. I went thru their list and listed every reason why each one was unsuitable.
Combo, Berlingo etc very low ev range
Enyaq 60 no electric seats, heated steering wheel, no adaptive cruise control etc etc
I then countered and suggested the 85x Enyaq as 4wd for a rural area plus electric means I don’t get painful hands, electric boot.
I listed why I needed each item and why. I said if you can raise it to the point where I can add enough myself to pay the AP I’d be set. 24 hours later they agreed. They don’t pay any attention to the new car payment at all.
Don’t be afraid to fight your corner as long as you do so with facts. If you don’t get anywhere and get treated like garbage go to the CEO and complain.
The grants team seems to really be a crap shoot who you get my first attempt the lady would even let me apply she was so rude, 3 years later I tried again and was successful and now have an 85x Enyaq which has a cavernous boot btw
I’ve recently put in a complaint to the Grants team. Sounds like I got the same ‘award’ as you, £749. Had about 2 months now of dealing with them, not to mention some of the most horrid agents on the phone. Constant promises of callbacks, and letters that never arrived, it must be pure magic that as soon as I’d sent a complaint via email, I had a response on ‘behalf of the CEO’ saying they’d look into the matter and contact me within 30 days – within 3 hours of sending.
I was awarded for a ‘large 5 seater SUV’, yet the list of cars I was put forward by them, not one a large SUV. I went to view and test each car despite knowing they won’t be suitable, compiled an email listing the reasons why – to be quite literally told they don’t care as they think they are fine.
I’ve pointed out in my complaint that they’ve very specifically told me, my award is only to be used toward a Large SUV (They’ve said this on a few occasions). Other than the Skoda Enyaq 50, there isn’t a single Large SUV on the scheme with an AP lower than £1500, meaning my grant is essentially worthless. (Since the max AP I can use the grant with would be £1120)
Each response I’ve had from the grants team up to now has been utter made up garbage. I’d apparently asked for my grant to be increased to £3k for a specific car (I hadn’t, I was asked if I’d found any suitable cars, to which I said there are one or two so far, they picked one from that list, the AP for the car in question isn’t even that much either).
I’ve thankfully been able to extend my current cars lease for 2 years, giving me time now to save for something that suits my needs. Sadly I’ll likely miss out on being able to use the £750 NVP toward it though as this ends in Jan.
I hope your able to solve all this soon, I know for us it’s been one hell of a stress and continues to be so.
I hope the ceo will make something work for you. This is my experience with grants. The first time they were so dismissive and rude I thought i was speaking to the dwp.
Second attempt years later much better and they actually listened.
I really hope you get a result the grants teams need a good kick up the bum they seem to be a law unto themselves
My Wife is nearing the end of her second Motability lease at the end of November, her first was a Volvo V40cc in 2017 which we self funded, then the current car, a BMW X2 sDrive20i which the foundation funded. We were able to extend the lease in 2022 at Motability Operation’s suggestion as nothing on the scheme at the time seemed a better option, the seat height, heated seats and general ride comfort have been spot on.
Now we’re not able to extend the X2’s lease further (understandable) and reached out to the foundation again to see if they’d fund her next car (I’ve been her full time at-home carer since 2020 so only UC and PIP daily living as income).
She has been awarded the £749 grant and given a list of 10 EV’s to use it on. This was a week after we were notified the application was successful, but no award documentation was uploaded for nearly a week until we enquired about it, then within minutes of the call it was there. I assume they just forgot but they didn’t own it, just said “Oh well it should be there, we’ll look in to it and you should see it within the hour”.
The favourite (best of the situation, but I actually quite like it) on the list is the Skoda Enyaq 50 Edition and we’re test driving one tomorrow, but we’re left with (potentially) only the rest of the week to decide to order it in case the AP goes up too much next week and we then can’t cover it with the maximum 50% of the new car payment on top.
We could potentially ask if foundation will up the grant to allow us to use the NCP alongside it for the Enyaq 85 edition, better range and (maybe) better resale value, we live rurally and have to use a-roads for most of our journeys so that may be taken in to account?
Another option is to wait and if the AP’s do go up too much to use grant + NCP, forgo the grant and go in with the NCP and save up the remainder ourselves in the meantime. That’s assuming build times are as long as they have been or there aren’t any similar models in stock, but I know this isn’t the best plan and pretty much entirely relies on a long wait time.
Additonal info; I basically do the bulk of the driving, Wife’s neck can get so stiff she can’t turn it properly so she doesn’t like to drive much any more. I take care of getting the car serviced and the associated admin related to the car on her behalf. She has Hypermobile EDS, issues with the discs in her neck and doesn’t really like dealing with it all so leaves it to me to sort out where she can. She really doesn’t want us to have an EV, would be fine with a hybrid but it seems we have little choice now, foundation flat out told us they’re not prepared to fund a petrol or even a hybrid.
2019 BMW X2 sDrive20i
Sapphire BlackMy Wife is nearing the end of her second Motability lease at the end of November, her first was a Volvo V40cc in 2017 which we self funded, then the current car, a BMW X2 sDrive20i which the foundation funded. We were able to extend the lease in 2022 at Motability Operation’s suggestion as nothing on the scheme at the time seemed a better option, the seat height, heated seats and general ride comfort have been spot on. Now we’re not able to extend the X2’s lease further (understandable) and reached out to the foundation again to see if they’d fund her next car (I’ve been her full time at-home carer since 2020 so only UC and PIP daily living as income). She has been awarded the £749 grant and given a list of 10 EV’s to use it on. This was a week after we were notified the application was successful, but no award documentation was uploaded for nearly a week until we enquired about it, then within minutes of the call it was there. I assume they just forgot but they didn’t own it, just said “Oh well it should be there, we’ll look in to it and you should see it within the hour”. The favourite (best of the situation, but I actually quite like it) on the list is the Skoda Enyaq 50 Edition and we’re test driving one tomorrow, but we’re left with (potentially) only the rest of the week to decide to order it in case the AP goes up too much next week and we then can’t cover it with the maximum 50% of the new car payment on top. We could potentially ask if foundation will up the grant to allow us to use the NCP alongside it for the Enyaq 85 edition, better range and (maybe) better resale value, we live rurally and have to use a-roads for most of our journeys so that may be taken in to account? Another option is to wait and if the AP’s do go up too much to use grant + NCP, forgo the grant and go in with the NCP and save up the remainder ourselves in the meantime. That’s assuming build times are as long as they have been or there aren’t any similar models in stock, but I know this isn’t the best plan and pretty much entirely relies on a long wait time. Additonal info; I basically do the bulk of the driving, Wife’s neck can get so stiff she can’t turn it properly so she doesn’t like to drive much any more. I take care of getting the car serviced and the associated admin related to the car on her behalf. She has Hypermobile EDS, issues with the discs in her neck and doesn’t really like dealing with it all so leaves it to me to sort out where she can. She really doesn’t want us to have an EV, would be fine with a hybrid but it seems we have little choice now, foundation flat out told us they’re not prepared to fund a petrol or even a hybrid.
If you are able, rather than restricting yourself to the Motability Foundation charity, have you thought about approaching other charities you may have (or even have no) affinity with?
Such examples are ex-HM Forces charities if relevant, Trade Union Welfare/Charity, Charities related to one’s illness/disability, local Lions Club, Rotary Clubs, Freemasons, RAOB, Soroptimists etc. Even Housing Association’s charitable arms etc etc.
These often take a wider view than Motability Foundation’s now quite proscriptive policy on such as grant levels and EV’s etc.
As an example, I help voluntarily for an ex HM Forces charity on the welfare side. A disabled wife of a veteran was offered only £950 by the Motability Foundation against a list of 4 electric vehicles (none of which were suitable). Also they cannot have a home charger installed due to no driveway etc.
I assisted them with approaches to a couple of other ex-Forces charities and the local Freemasons Lodge. Then together with the local Rotarians, the couple’s housing association and the lady’s former trade union all combined in order to raise a total of £3,250 towards the advance payment of a suitable vehicle.
Together with the applicant’s £750 new vehicle payment, it gave the lady much more choice of vehicles and ultimately has enabled the lady to obtain a Nissan X-Trail hybrid auto which meets all of her needs.
So, do cast the net wider than just the Motability Foundation. Yes, it does take some legwork (no pun intended) and you may get rejected by one or two. However charities do generally speak and help each other in order to help the client.
I would make the argument if you genuinely can’t make an EV work. If you can’t have a home charger you could argue that you’d be too worried about charging because there are next to no or few disabled access charging places. For some disabled drivers public eV charging could be a real nightmare.
Thanks @BigDave
Didn’t even know there were such options, we don’t have any particular affinity to such organisations, especially any that would consider helping in such a way, I’ll definitely have to bear that route in mind, thanks for the info.
2019 BMW X2 sDrive20i
Sapphire BlackI would make the argument if you genuinely can’t make an EV work. If you can’t have a home charger you could argue that you’d be too worried about charging because there are next to no or few disabled access charging places. For some disabled drivers public eV charging could be a real nightmare.
Charging isn’t much of an issue tbh, we have a driveway and our home is housing association so I’m pretty sure they’d be fine with a charger being installed. We have a gridserve (£££) a few miles away and a couple of chargers at a BP (££££) a couple of miles the other way if we need them. I’m a bit more on board with the idea of the EV, even though petrol and diesel are way more convenient and i much prefer them, I need to save some money and if I can make any savings with charging over refuelling then that works out great, though I’m also wary of home charging being inadequate/not cost effective but I think OVO have some sort of tariff that would be suitable and not a total wallet drainer.
Wife is resistant to change in general (she is somewhat Autistic) whereas I’m a bit more open to change with the right information available (ADHD/possible Autism too).
So I don’t really mind so long as we’re not giving up her mobility PIP money on something she has little choice over but is somewhat forced to accept because of restrictive grant terms.
Being told by foundation when enquiring that her comfort was “more of a want” and “not something we really consider” was another line that’s stuck with me.
2019 BMW X2 sDrive20i
Sapphire BlackUpdate;
Spoke to a great Motability Accredited Sales Assistant at Vindis Cambridge to enquire about build times on the Enyaq and while doing, so he mentioned that Skoda themselves are currently offering £500 to Motability customers towards AP’S ordering Enyaqs (just the 85 edition iirc) before the end of September.
Foundation wouldn’t budge on upping the grant to accommodate more of the NCP and/or Skoda offer despite pleading about living rurally and the need for the greater range of the 85 edition over the 50 edition but they stuck firm and in fact said if we didn’t order a car from their list on the award letter using the grant, that the order would be immediately cancelled by them.
We dispensed with the grant and went ahead with our own order with the NCP plus the £500 from Skoda, so we now only have to come up with £250 before we pick up our 85 Edition which is currently looking to be on a ’25 plate in March.
Interestingly, our dealer (Group 1 Norwich) when we asked about their sales of Enyaqs said they hardly sell any to retail customers, they’re mostly sold as hire/fleet cars and to Motability customers.
2019 BMW X2 sDrive20i
Sapphire BlackThat’s really weird it’s not what they told me and in fact they upped the grant to £2000 so I could order an 85x. I was the same rural Norfolk mind you I had just written a car off and said it wouldn’t have happened if I’d had AWD so maybe that helped?
Group1 told me they hadn’t sold any Enyaqs to Motability clients until that big price drop around a year ago and then it was all Motability. Group1 along with MG Crayford and Abbs are both brilliant dealers. Crayford and Abbs sales guy was a Motability client himself which was interesting. Group1 were awesome with their all day test drive no arguments.
I’m sorry that you got one of the bad staff members at Motability it really is a gamble who you get lumbered with. My first time it was like talking to the dwp they were awful then this time they were really good.
Only diffence this time was I insisted in only dealing via emails, specifically so if they were rude and horrid again I’d have proof. Took a LOT of arguing I even had to threaten them with breaching the equality act before they backed down, shocking for a company specifically for disabled customers.
You’ll love the car
I’m in more or less the same situation mainly because I’m too large to fit comfortably in most cars, in fact half my issues probably stem from settling being cramped into far to small a car 😅.
Anyway on to the point of why I needed to join and make this post , today I spoke to my case manager about my grant, the same 750 lots of people seem to be getting. My case manager said the 750 is a generic pre calculated amount everyone gets for the specific level in my case for large suv, after detailed explanations she basically agreed I needed the 7 seater amout £2000 but nothing is suitable on scheme atm within the £2750 inc ncp so she needs to pass it up to her manager to increase further. I’m now waiting for Wednesday as apparently the generic amounts may very well increase with the ap change on Tuesday
I test drove a kodiaq on Monday dealer was convinced the ap should stay the same giving that its only just come back on . Literally the only car I can get/fit in comfortably with my back/hip issues and can fit my wheelchair and dog crate.
Motability wanted me to get the usual selection of electric cars or a jogger my head literally touches the roof liner and my shoulders and arms touching the doors/windows and knees on steering wheel in the jogger.
I literally explained to my case manager that the dealership strongly advised against the combo life erifter ect as with the added weight of equipment plus myself and partner would make the range so low 100 miles max , I’d be having to charge it extremely frequently with no option of charging from home . Put it in relative terms with my case manager like I dont really need to be waiting around charging a car for 30 minutes everytime I need to drive anywhere instant validation from case manager no more push towards electric vehicles from her at least.
What may have helped is they had to go to the big event car thing and my case manager had to try out multiple cars aids ect so had a better understanding of issues i had with vehicles as she had recent experience of the cars on offer . So finger’s crossed this was a mandatory thing for them to get exposure/experience from our points of view.
Brain dump complete hopefully this wall of text helps someone
It’s nice to see that some case managers are somewhat helpful!This hasn’t been the case for me so far but it is a little encouraging.
The concern about miles is a big one for me too and I don’t think I (nor the case manager) considered the weight of all passengers plus the equipment with this. I would have a similar issue with weight as it would be two 30kg wheelchairs plus four passengers equalling to around 400kg, plus any added weight for luggage/shopping and potentially a hoist and/or electric boot lift.
I’m at a point where I’m reluctantly compromising and bargaining for the Skoda Enyaq long range (4wd on the 85x would be helpful due to the rural driving I do regularly but I doubt they would go for it) as the wheelchairs do barely fit in the boot with no room for luggage or shopping, but does still allow for us to have the back seat up. I do not want an EV again, the level of debt I racked up with the MG ZS is something I’m still paying off (and will continue to do so for the next 2-3 years) is staggering, plus I cannot afford to pay for both home charging and chargepoints. However, I don’t feel like I’m going to get anywhere in regards to the car that is actually suitable.
My complaint went nowhere and they reiterated that they feel the grant award is suitable –
“Reviewing the grant decision which was reached, I am comfortable with the options provided to you. Namely, that if we were to consider a whole-family solution (i.e, a 7 seater vehicle grant that would accommodate both wheelchairs) we would not increase funding to accommodate a powered tailgate as we understand that there are two carers who would be needed to stow the wheelchairs and they would be expected to operate the boot. If we were looking exclusively at a solution which you would be able to drive independently (i.e. with a powered tailgate) we would not consider your passenger’s wheelchair dimensions when reviewing the boot space, so we would consider a £749 grant towards a 5 seater grant to be suitable. Additionally, I understand your concerns about Electric Vehicles, however as a charity we are only able to award towards the best value solution and at this moment in time the best value solutions within both the 5 and 7 seater categories would be electric.
It is also worth highlighting that you are able to order on the scheme at no cost a boot strap, which would ease the closing of the boot if you end up ordering one of the 7 seaters listed but it does not have a powered tailgate.”
Unfortunately there are several errors and issues here –
1- The carers that accompany me and my passenger are not full time, nor do they need to be. They are also not required in order to put the wheelchairs in the car. They are purely there for social/behavioural support and as backup drivers for longer journeys/outings (ie not for the weekly shop and/or quick visits to see friends) and should not be expected to lift anything when that is not their job. I already have a solution for this that means I can do so independently, although a hoist would make this significantly easier.
2 – A boot strap does not ease bringing the tailgate down at all. The Berlingo is already fitted with one, or at least the one I viewed was, and I still had to wrestle with it, as well as stop midway due to pain in my neck and shoulder, before effectively bodyslamming it shut. I would not be able to pull this down independently on most days due to weakness and pain so it is not a suitable solution
3 – A personal use car becomes useless when I can’t travel with a necessary person. Due to my condition I need to drive with at least one other person present to ensure I don’t get myself stranded when I need to rest. My disabled passenger can do this as they are able to drive. This would mean I would need to be able to get both wheelchairs into the car or at least a wheelchair and a rollator.
No matter how many times I explain these things it always falls on deaf ears.
I’m sorry to see that so many people are struggling with getting funding for a suitable car when the APs are as high as they are.
Have you taken all of this to the CEO yet? If not I strongly advise you to put a document bundle of all of this together and email it over. Tell them you’re being prejudiced against and that your case manager is making situations up to support their assertions and that you would be able to pay the AP if you weren’t up to your eyeballs in debt from your previous car. See what the CEO office says.
As for electricity debt i’m sorry you ended up like that we were spending £200 a month on diesel in 2020 so going from that to a ZS EV saved us a fortune but everyone uses cars differently so I can understand how you could end up spending more. Have you considered approaching the fund your energy provider has for those struggling? Octopus for example you fill in a few forms and create a budget and they then see what financial help they can offer too based on your budget. I’m sure others have the same, who are you with?
They do seem to like pulling out the computer says no cheapest option out alot. I mean I get it its a charity but when there is a massive disparity between who they acctuly serve and who they think they serve its a bit of a joke. I know if I had an electric car to charge publicity I’d likely forget i was charging it or avoid charging it altogether to the point it would be recovered frequently 😅 I’ve been well known in my able bodied days to drive places and then walk home only to realise the following day where I left my car 😂
I did get some resistance from my case manager when suggesting certain cars kodiak mainly i simply explained I’d basically test drove everything within and over my grant amount and the only vehicles that were anyway suitable were the kuga the xtrail the 5008 and listed why the kodiaq was better suited/perfect for my needs mainly the seats width and lumbar support ect I did mention other cars that would be acceptable if they gave me a roof box hoist for my chair and swiwal seats but when that costs a good few thousand to sort she soon understood 😉 it’s cheaper to give me what’s standard and suitable then modifying anything else to suite
All those models are 4k ish depending on extras like the kuga need 500 more for heated seats , I believe all have the power tailgate ? Not that i raised that as what i need although i would my partner is 5″2 she wont reach the boot in the skoda to pull it down 😅….the case manager basically agreed with me with what I was saying that it needs reviewing and even the increase to 7 seater wouldn’t get me to what was needed.
That’s why she booked me in to relook at the grant for review after Tuesdays ap change as they might be able to increase it as the grant minimums may increase themselves that in itself would stop the need to review it .
I may still need to go down the same route as you as apparently it’s still above case managers pay grade as that’s the process they can only give standard amounts now apparently. I would definitely go to the ceo. I believe you have a week from final decision to appeal it to the ceo. I wouldn’t even be surprised if they have quarterly budgets to stick to
Further to Rich44’s post above, certainly make a complaint to the CEO of the Motability Foundation (Nigel Fletcher):
e-mail: nigel.fletcher@motabilityfoundation.org.uk
Infact quote his own words from his Motability Fondation Executive Team webpage:
and enquire how the Foundation is living upto his expectation(s) in your case.
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