Changes to the Motability scheme – update
Friday, December 16th, 2011Last month Diabled Motoring UK was contacted by numerous disabled people worried about the changes to the Motability scheme. The main areas of complaint were the fact that vehicles are now restricted to an Advance Payment of £2,000 and the nominated driver has to live within five miles.
However, I’m pleased to say that Motability has clarified their policy change and I believe that most people will still be able to get the car they need and the nominated driver rules are not are harsh as we were originally led to believe.
Motability now say that if your disability need is such that you need an automatic, estate, coupe or diesel version of a core vehicle then that is fine and other individual requests will be considered on a case by case basis.
The biggest change to the nominated driver rule is that your nominated driver can live further away than 5 miles if they are only temporary (up to 30 days), a paid carer, a separated parent or if you are a resident in a care home. WAVs are also excluded from this five mile rule.
Motability are still looking at their policy changes so if you have any further comments on the scheme changes please do let us know.
Related posts:
- Q & A – Changes to the Motability scheme
- Press Release – Changes to the Motability scheme
- June 12 Update
- Blue Badge Scheme
Have just found your w/s, like all the other postings, the changes are going to affect me, will no longer be able to have my son-in-law as second driver because the daughter and he live over 60 miles away, it’s going to affect our holidays together. Also the 5 mile rule rules out the other son-in-law because even though he lives in the same town the mileage is over 5 miles
Still not sure what they are saying. Are they saying that if you need, say an automatic estate, you can have one, but it has to be base specification?
If so, then the discrimination of automatic drivers will still continue, as manual gearbox drivers will still be able to get a better speced acr than automatics.
We have been on the scheme since I suffered a serious accident in 2008, Due to the size of our family and the need to carry the wheel chair we elected for a Ford S-max, and so that it came with Auto lights and Wipers (I have no use of right side of body) And it was to be Automatic we had to choose a Titanium, we had to pay £3750.00 deposit. The car has been a godsend but we are coming to end of the contract but now they no longer offer this car only the Zetec which does not have auto lights or wipers! This means i myself cannot drive unless the lights and wipers are adapted which means a diabled drivers computerat the cost of £2900, together with the £1999.00 deposit it means I have to pay £4899 for a car with less options!! Is this fair?? When I contacted Motability i was told that I had their ‘sympathies but there was no way round it! I was also told I would have to pay to have the Computer removed and the car put back to stock at the end of the contract!! So we are having to leave the Motability scheme and buy a car which means back to old bangers! Thanks Motability!!!!!!
I currently have an extemded Mercedes Vito on the Motability scheme for which I applied for and received a grant from Motability. It is in the first year of an extended 2 year lease. I chose this rather than a new lease as a means of cost cutting because the cost of adapting was, I think, way above what I would expect. The Motability grant enabled me to purchase a vehicle as near suitable as possible to my requirements.
My problem is will I be able to pursue the same course of action at the end of my current extended lease? Or is that part of the Motability scheme, ie grants, remaining? Many thanks, Ron Thomas, Tavistock.
enabled
WAVs are exempt from all of the changes to the Motability Scheme. With regards to extending your lease again, you would have to contact Motability as it is at their discretion.
I was told yesterday by Motability that the 5 mile rule for nominated drivers does apply to WAVs. None of my son’s carers including his sister live within 5 miles (we live in a rural area). We were due to sign a new lease any day and will now have to look at alternatives to the Motability scheme. I am angry that they seem to be causing problems for those people who by the nature of their disability need to rely on the Motability scheme the most.
Hi Lynn, It’s the £2000 AP limit that WAVs are exempt from not the 5 mile rule I’m afraid. However, please do speak to Motability before leaving the scheme as they say allowances can be made and from speaking to other members I’m told that as long as you can prove the carers are employed staff then they are allowed on. I am meeting Motability next week so I will seek confirmation on that then. I’m also told that anyone can be put on the insurance for up to 30 days. Unfortunately the details of these policy changes were not explained so they have caused additional stress and upset to many disabled people often unnecessarily.
Hopefully you have seen the update which says you can put someone on who lives more than 5 miles away for up to 30 days. I hope this means you can continue to enjoy your holidays.
I too am leaving the motability scheme because of the changes. At the time I made the decision, they had not yet revised them so that automatics would be included even if it exceeded the £2000 limit if the manual version was in the list. Too late for me I had already started the ball rolling and applied for a car loan. Now I learn that over 20 years of no-claims has disappeared up the swanny. Motability don’t put that in their brochure! And insurance companies are having a field-day charging me silly prices. I’m 51 and have not claimed for over 20 years and have a squeaky clean license, but some insurance companies refuse to offer any cover at all because of zero no-claims. RSA’s attitude to this is appalling.
You can request a record of your insurance history, it isn’t the same as having a no claims bonus, but some insurance companies may take this into account when giving you a price.
I found a great solution to my insurance woes (see my previous post of 26/01/2012). That solution comes in the form of Fish Insurance limited (www.fishinsurance.co.uk).
They are friendly and helpful and very professional. They have found me a great insurance deal and they do recognise RSA’s “no-claims”.
Price comparison websites are useless for disabled people because they deal only with mainstream insurers and those insurers base their systems on the average able-bodied person – not the average disabled person (if such a person exists
).
Fish Insurance on the other hand are specialists. I awoke today to an insurance nightmare and will sleep soundly tonight with it all solved. Fish are brilliant! Give them a try!
@Mike Carroll
I don’t know which insurers you have tried but Chartwell Insurance advertise their friendliness to those who have recently left Motability:
//www.chartwellinsurance.co.uk/motability-no-claims-insurance.php
When we looked into the insurance we rang RSA who told us that they sold insurance to ex-Motability customers. It doesn’t look quite like that now – it seems as though MoreThan (a division of the RSA group!) may be able to help.