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Not quite true Motability does not fit a black box tracker unless you have done something wrong this was known about for many years, there of course things like your mobile phone and some cars like Mini have a GPS sos button in case you break down.
Joe and others good job DPAC is trying in this contact to Andrew Miller belo
We are appalled at some of the planned restrictions on Motability leases and have written to Andrew Miller the CEO of Motability Operations to ask for clarification.
Dear Mr. Miller,
I am writing to you on behalf of the steering group of Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) to seek clarification around some issues and to raise concerns about many of the proposed changes to Motability leases in the future. DPAC is also a member of the Motability Coalition group headed by Transport for All.
Currently we are being inundated with concerns from members and supporters and the levels of fear disabled people are experiencing concerning their loss of independence and ability to get to life saving medical appointments due to the proposed changes is extremely high. I also completely fail to see how some of the Drive Smart red points could work safely in practice.
Many people are rightly concerned that a limit on mileage to 10,000 a year which is 27 miles a day would mean they could not get to medical appointments, keep in touch with family and friends and lead any sort of social life. Particularly for those living in rural locations with no public transport an independent transport lifeline is vital. People with specific disabilities often have to travel to hospitals far away for their treatments and they can’t get the necessary treatments locally.
For those who are able to work, the impact is equally severe. Many disabled people depend on their vehicle to commute, often over longer distances due to limited accessible employment opportunities or transport options. This reduction could force individuals to choose between maintaining employment and staying within mileage limits, effectively pushing some out of work altogether.The proposed excess mileage charge of 25p per mile further compounds the issue. For those who exceed the reduced limit—which will be unavoidable for many—this could quickly amount to hundreds or even thousands of pounds over the course of a lease. Such costs are simply unaffordable for many disabled people and effectively act as a penalty for living a full and necessary life. It places a price on independence, discouraging people from travelling for work, healthcare, or social connections. Isolation is already a significant issue for many disabled people, and these changes risk deepening that isolation by limiting opportunities to engage with the world beyond the home.
The other issue that has been flagged up about this arbitrary limit is disabled people working in various roles who due to the equipment they need to take with them eg hoist, shower chairs, oxygen, which is unmanageable by air or train, and who have to drive in Europe to get to their work will be prevented from working.
Drive Smart technology is of particular concern to many people too and we really don’t see how many of the things listed as causing red flags would work. Use of a phone when driving – disabled people like non -disabled people use google maps to navigate and also use google to ask questions pertinent to their journeys. Surely this promotes safety not work against it? How would you envisage not allowing that?
Driving after 10pm would also cause a red flag – Some jobs especially in industries like Television/sports often require people to work at late times. As you ask that people work over 12 hours a week outside the home how could you justify penalising them for doing that if they have to work past 10pm (obviously starting later in the day)?
Further how can any disabled person have a social life, go to the theatre, or cinema if their vehicle can’t be driven after 10pm?Similarly it appears no-one can drive for over an hour without stopping but realistically if you are e.g. in a traffic jam on the M25 or elsewhere you can’t just suddenly pull over and stop safely. So how could that work in practice?
Driving more than 6 journeys in a day is also it appears not allowed although there must be times people need to do so.
An article in Disability News Service states that if you’ve decided one PA shouldn’t drive the disabled person can ‘simply’ have another PA drive for them which totally ignores the difficulty disabled people have recruiting and retaining PAs or the fact that as the employer you may not simply be able to sack someone and employ another person. It suggests a complete lack of understanding about employing care staff.
Added to all of these issues never knowing whether or not you’re going to have your vehicle repossessed by Motability or have your insurance cancelled by them will be enormously and continually stressful for disabled people and likely to exacerbate any existing Mental and Physical Health issues.
w.
@joe You did what you did in good faith, and you have nothing to be sorry for. Do not take the discussion to heart, or think you did something wrong. You certainly did not. If you post something and it generates a lot of replies, good or bad, its because we are all different, nothing more, nothing less. But withdrawing from social media is a good thing. I pulled back from that nonsense years ago and do not regret it. This forum is fine in that there is a lot of good info, and discussions, and again we are all different. Keep your head up, but. Check in niw and again for the useful stuff.
Thanks for your kind words. It just feels disheartening when some people try to actually take action and do something about what is an injustive, in my opinion, and all they receive is a load of negativity. Maybe the case that company is taking on is a lost cause, but at least they are trying something. As far as the policies, personally I can live with them as I tend to do less than 10k per year anyway and I could live with a used car as I did before I was with Motabillity. But to me, it isn’t just about me, I went to a school for children with disabilities when I was a child and I saw the struggles they go through and how they are humans just as much as anyone else. But all this writing letters and enguaging is taking its toll on me both physically and mentally as focusing for periods of time is one of the things that can adversly affect the physical condition I experience and stress can lead to severe deteriations in my health. I’m not looking for sympathy or pity as we all have our conditions and struggles and I have learned to accept that I experience what I experience and need to get on with it. On the other hand I also need to look after my own physical and mental health, despite wanting to help, as causing myself a massive relapse doesn’t help anyone. This isn’t a dig at this forum in particular, just what I am observing in the disabled community and general society. I read people say they will just leave the scheme then. I feel pleased for them, but what about the people who have no other choice? And maybe the links I shared are a con, but I haven’t seen any alternatives or possiblities being offered. But again this isn’t a specific dig at the disabled community or this forum in general, it seems to be the overall consensus in this country now where people sit there behind their keyboards and moan and critise and attack each other, yet few actually offer any solutions or put their heads together and see if there is something that can be done. And I don’t see much coming from the disabled charities. Why aren’t they doing more to fight this? Or are they more concerned about losing their funding? I would try asking them but I assume all I would receive is more cut and paste patronising replies. What happened to the British spirit of coming together to stand up to injustices? To me, this has become no more than a government platitude used to justify yet another measure that punishes the less fortunate for the mistakes of those at the top of society and allows those at the top to continue living the decedent lifestyle, and people just roll over and let it happen and those who offer possible solutions just get shot down. Again this isn’t a dig at this forum, just what I seem to be obeserving in this country in general.
You are giving us valuable information and what some say on here are wrong as I won against Motability under reasonable adjustment in having order my car from home and having it delivered they are also breaching equality act in this black box as it now comes to pass you are not able to drive more than an hour at a time which If you have an ev that’s fine as you need to charge there is a breach of EQ with the black box if you have done nothing wrong to warrant it being fitted and it is all about choice disabled are allowed choice it is only helpful it if you can get together and get legal case to take them on.
@on the spectrum “Not being rude but how the hell did you get finance without a credit check finding out you was bankrupt so soon as most people with bad credit history or retired find it very hard to get any finance and Experian credit ref agency I was told for a lease car you need well over 800 points and most people where I live only score in the 500-700 score so quite amazed you got this but good luck to you.” I said my bankruptcy fell off last month. It has been on my credit reports for the last 6 years but is now gone. I’ve helped my credit by taking out a credit card 3 years ago and building the limit up from 1k to the current 7k. I use the card regularly but always pay the balance off in full, usually well before the due date. I have a couple of mobile phone contracts and the usual utility suppliers and have ensured everything is golden there so my rating is very good now the bankruptcy is gone. Retired – the garage couldn’t have cared less nor was there any interest in me proving income. I think that, especially with the loan being tied to a vehicle, they were more concerned with knowing where to find me in case they needed to repossess the car. As @swwchris says, it was probably easier to get the loan with the car being the property of the finance company until the final payment is made. I just ensured that I had done everything possible to maximise my chances before applying. A soft credit check via Tesco Bank for a personal unsecured loan of 17k said I had a 95% chance of acceptance so I thought I was pretty much guaranteed to be accepted via Suzuki Finance. It’s like anything – plan ahead and get your ducks in a row and you can make things happen. By the way, my bankruptcy was due to issues relating to my ex-wife and the mortgage our ex family home and my refusal to carry the can leaving me with bankruptcy as the only option. Hey ho.
Hi many thanks Chris sorry I did not expect you to go into personal reasons of your bankruptcy only the way it is hard for many to get finance in this tough times but appreciated.
I managed to get an early termination. Looking at all of the upcoming changes, I’m not willing to put up with them. I’m very lucky in that my credit is now pretty good after my bankruptcy fell off last month. With this in mind, I thought that it would be daft to keep paying £80 a week for a car I will never own. After a lot of number crunching I’ve made the decision to buy a brand new Suzuki Swift on hire purchase over 4 years. I think I could have done 5 years if I’d wanted to. I chose the Suzuki as they’re offering 0% finance with nothing down. I believe it was easier to get a loan from their finance as it’s tied to the car – they own it until the last payment is made. I had options for a personal unsecured loan but the best rate was 6% and I thought there was probably a lower chance of acceptance. The salesman said that the finance company are more concerned with knowing where you live than income. I am retired and wasn’t asked to provide any evidence of income. Fill the form in and accepted minutes later. Obviously I wouldn’t have gone this route unless I felt able to pay. Actual figures (car £19,999 plus £750 paint = £20,749 minus VED at £365 and £600 discount via Carwow so a true cost of £19,784) are: Car payment monthly £412.16, deduct monthly mobility £346.66 so actual extra monthly cost is £65.50. Car tax (VED) is free so had that taken off the new car invoice. Car service plan monthly for 4 years (excluding MOT costs) is £23.61 Car Insurance around £300 so monthly is £25 Overall total additional cost to eventually own the car works out to a monthly figure of £114.11. I will do approx 34k in 4 years so will probably need some tyres but even if I put an additional £5 a month away for this I should be fine. I live in a housing association 1 bed bungalow so my outgoings aren’t massive so I can afford this. It’s nice thinking that after 4 years I will own an asset that should be worth upwards of £10k. I looked at second hand, demo’s and pre-reg but the 0% was on new cars and others were around 8.9% so it didn’t really make sense to follow that path. I’m content with my choice. The process was simple. If I had been unsuccessful with my finance application I would have reverted to Plan B, getting a much older and cheaper car for cash. Just thought this was worth putting out there in case it’s helpful for anyone else considering leaving.
Not being rude but how the hell did you get finance without a credit check finding out you was bankrupt so soon as most people with bad credit history or retired find it very hard to get any finance and Experian credit ref agency I was told for a lease car you need well over 800 points and most people where I live only score in the 500-700 score so quite amazed you got this but good luck to you.
Problem is you may need to pay over £3000 grand upfront and add maintenance as well works out a lot depending on mileage for some top end cars.
Failure to comply sounds a bit like Nazi germany about what Motability want to inflict on a paying customer? While it is physically possible to block or tamper with a Drive Smart black box device, doing so is highly discouraged and likely to result in severe penalties, including the termination of your lease agreement. Reddit +2
Here is what you need to know about blocking or tampering with these devices, particularly in the context of the Motability Drive Smart scheme:
Consequences of Blocking: If the telematics device does not receive a signal for 14 continuous days, Motability reserves the right to remove you from the insurance, which means you can no longer drive the vehicle and your lease agreement may be terminated.
Tampering is Fraudulent: Any attempt to manipulate the Drive Score—such as covering the box, disconnecting it, or blocking its signal—is considered a breach of the agreement and could be viewed as fraudulent.
Mandatory Requirements: For those under 30 or new customers, installing the device within 10 days of receipt and keeping it active is mandatory.
No Signal Penalty: If the device cannot communicate with the Drive Smart app, the system flags this as a failure to comply.
What the Box Tracks: The device monitors speed, braking, acceleration, and cornering, which are used to generate a weekly score. It does not interfere with the car’s electronics. Reddit +7
If you are experiencing issues with the app or device, it is recommended to contact the scheme directly rather than attempting to block it, as consistent “red” scores or device failures will lead to being removed from the scheme.There was a time when the MG TF was on Motability the stepspeed cvt and also the automatic Mazda RF was as well, which I think Mazda has dropped the auto MX5. But as we know the Abarth evs been taken off scheme and any coupes which there is not many anyway seems strange to me saying to disabled in a supposedly free society not allowed due to no choice seems anti disabled in a way.
The Motability Hire Purchase scheme allowed you to buy a new or used car up to 5 years old and under 60000 miles I used this on a Daihatsu YRV automatic that was 2005 reg and you could have up to 5 years to have loan over. Now this would be good time for this scheme to come back.
The only problem with personal lease is to get lower monthly payments and affordable maintenance, you have to put down a large amount depending on car of course and still have to pay your own insurance on top. Also depending on lease company they may not be so obliging on minor damage on paintwork due to wheelchair scratching.
You guys need to be careful after 3 cars you will be banned for 12 months or even two years. Under Motability termination rules which by the way they do not have a policy on this in writing as I asked for it under data access. Funny enough even tel conversations they will often not put anything in writing which is not good as any Lawyer and CAB tell you to get everything in writing they outright refuse when I asked them.
I am not surprised that a blue citroen Ami is what reform Lee Anderson wants all disabled to have just like the old plastic pig.
Whilst our current government has undoubtedly done more harm to the Motability scheme than any before it, I fear that it could get even worse in the future. Only this morning, Robert Jenrick (who would be chancellor under a Reform U.K. government) was on Sky News and said that “working people don’t understand how people living on benefits can have posh cars through Motability”. I can’t remember the stats, but I recall that a high proportion of Motability customers do actually work and pay taxes!
I am retired and still pay tax as well?
Companies my arse they are out to make a profit not to help you I remember years ago getting finance on all my new cars was so easy no experian and the others cause many people stress. As said many years ago if you do not pay they take it away there are many elderly and disabled that could leave motability and have a great car perhaps even cheaper that are stuck with Motability which is not really right.It is the FCA that has put the boot in on many companies as I have a lease on a mobility scooter no credit check due to me being a good customer for many years and very happy I am.
When Gov meddle in the scheme like they have done it is a downward slope, and why is a coupe not allowed why is a polo GTI removed as it was £3999 and the Polo R 1 ltr the same price looks to me like a rip off some may have wanted a bigger ice and not a stupid week 1 ltr it was up to choice although the polo GTI is going soon due to the polo id.
I thought Motability was so supposed to be piece of mind but when there are problems it is hard to sort out but it’s down to Motability to sort as that is where the contract is with.
To be fair it is a Motability problem as well as the dealer and the Adaptation company as if it is not fit for purpose and could be a breach of contract and if under 30 days could cancel the car which I know is a big deal. It does seem since my local Adaptation company Brig Ayed sold the company and then closed the engineering factory where as many know made the products for many years they really knew there stuff and would have liaised with you during fitting but alas they have gone. Funny enough I would not buy a car from the Marshall group as I contacted the Skoda Letchworth and before even ordering my cars ask if as the previous progress Skoda where I had a fabia estate and they picked up my car for service and if there was any problems would do but Marshall told me they do not do this and had sacked all there drivers holy moly. Also Glyn Hopkin another one that previously used to have this service also got rid of their drivers now the local Toyota dealer told me they still do this pick up and deliver for Motability customers. But anyway I have digressed to different subject but it is all about service or no help. Motability will say that before you sign the contract with pin check that everything is working to your spec and if not make sure it is rectified before signing.
Is it not strange that BMW that have Renault engines and Audi are classed as Luxury cars and I think they are not anymore only Rolls Royce and Bentley are Luxury cars. And why the Mini Cooper 2ltr is on the scheme but VW Polo is not seems it is as strange as Tango Strange Soda.
I would think a very early Toyota starlet would be very reliable or a very early Corolla ?
Mike to the opposite I see the totally reliable even more than Toyota Yaris hybrid which is built in france by the way is the Toyota Yaris GR which can be had in 8 speed automatic Rank
Make and model
Rating
1
Toyota GR Yaris (2020-present)
100.0% reliable according to what car alas we will never as disabled allowed to have such a car which would cost Motability no costs in unhappy with their cars reliability. Funny enough this yaris is I think made in Japan and looks like to very high standards, what is strange is that disabled that have some wealth are allowed to have whatever they want but alas us under Gov control a sign saying NOT ALLOWED! mind you there are disabled with opposite end that have Porsches and no gov or public can say anything what it would be like to be free to have choice and stick fingers up to Gov and public that would be so life enhancing and knowing you are free to some extent we dream do we not.My disabled friend has a Vauxhall well over 10 years old and paid £500 for it and although it’s a diesel and done well over 100,000 miles its a 1.9 turbo ad its still going strong now he goes to see his son quite regularly which is over 250 miles there and back. He told me he had 9 cars years ago on motability and now saves so much money he was fed up with the jealous neighbours where he used to live but now lives in sheltered accommodation bungalow but got used to not being ripped off.
I initially clean my screen and blades with methylated spirits to remove the grease, even so my driver blade is on it way out, I will just replace both when the weather picks up, it’s initially my responsibility to keep the car in a safe roadworthy condition.
I remember my dad used to use the old meth cleaning the blades many moons ago and it does the job and that water dispersal stuff helps as well I think it is rain X but there are other makes as well.
Might need legal action as could be MOT failure and cause an accident if you cannot see clearly it is so stupid you pay over £77 a week to have a safe car to drive and anything that needs replacing with dealer saying it then done straight away.There is a case when safety is involved of not fit for purpose.
