When shall i ask for extension of my DLA?

wazza

I have a mobility car whose lease is to expire in September this year. My DLA award is due to expire February next year. If i wish to take out another mobility car i need to have at least a year left on my DLA award. In September i will have 5 months left. Talking to the DLA office today they said it takes up to 15 weeks for the decision to be made. Let us say 4 months for the decision. So in effect i have to apply for an extension 4 months before September, that will be May. Then do i have to take into consideration about delivery time of the car? If it takes 2 months for delivery does that mean i have to apply for extension in March?


Just don't know how to go about this.


Will appreciate any advice i can get.


Thanks

kingfisherblue

I'm sorry that I don't know the answer to your question, but I can see the confusion. I didn't want your post to drop off the first page without somebody more knowledgeable than me coming along.

The only thing that I can suggest is contacting Motability for advice.

Good luck x

nickyt

Hi,
I can only go by what they told me when I rang them about my son. His award did not have a year left so he was unable to get a car. They told me that they can not look at an award for just a time extension, they only way it could be looked at again was if his condition had changed. Also they did say that this could mean his award could be lowered, stay the same or increaded, it depened on his form. I do have to say though when he was due for his renewal it was done very quick. I had to get my son a car and insure it until his renewal come through. This is prob not what you wanted to hear but they said they do not take into account that he needed a extension for him to get a car.

justlikethat_2

I had a similar situation with my daughters DLA award and had to reapply early last year. It didn't take 15 weeks then more like eight or so but I don't know what the situation is at the present. I would do the application right away just in case they get back and ask for more information and it delays things further. If you explain to them why you are applying early there is no reason it should have any effect on your claim.

Fantabulous

wazza wrote: »

I have a mobility car whose lease is to expire in September this year. My DLA award is due to expire February next year. If i wish to take out another mobility car i need to have at least a year left on my DLA award. In September i will have 5 months left. Talking to the DLA office today they said it takes up to 15 weeks for the decision to be made. Let us say 4 months for the decision. So in effect i have to apply for an extension 4 months before September, that will be May. Then do i have to take into consideration about delivery time of the car? If it takes 2 months for delivery does that mean i have to apply for extension in March?


Just don't know how to go about this.


Will appreciate any advice i can get.


Thanks

Have just been through this myself so know exactly what you are going through.

My DLA has been given for 2 years at a time.

My DLA expired in September 2010. My car was 3 years old in December 2009. Motability will only extend your contract for a maximum of 6 months.

I phoned the DLA in August 2009 and asked what I do about it. They asked me to complete the form online and submit. I put in full explanation of why I was requesting the extension (entirely due to their rules for having to have a minimum of 12 months left on any award to order a Motability vehicle)

Three months later they refused to extend my DLA and said that I would be sent the forms in July 2010 to apply as usual for the September change.

I have a medical condition which will get worse not better, so no change for the better would be expected.

Phoned DLA again. Was told to go for 'reconsideration' and to get my GP to write a letter on my behalf and also for myself to send in a letter of explanation - had already done this with the form!!

They then wrote to my orthopaedic surgeon.

Two months after the reconsideration was started they gave me DLA for 2 years - from January 2010 to January 2012.

Have ordered my car which is on an 8 week waiting list.

The request therefore took 5 months.

I now wait 2 months for the car.

Not sure on what to suggest re when to apply for the extension since it could be done within a couple of months. If you have the extension too early and they do what they did with mine (ie bring it forward by 8 months) then you will go through all of this again a lot sooner.

Motability will let you have the car for a maximum of 6 months extra on the contract but no more. I was told in no uncertain terms that my car would be taken back on June 13th whether or not my DLA was sorted or not. They extended my car insurance and RFT but refused to do the 3 year servicing. It was due at the beginning of December and has still not been done.

wazza

Fantabulous wrote: »

.............


Motability will let you have the car for a maximum of 6 months extra on the contract but no more. I was told in no uncertain terms that my car would be taken back on June 13th whether or not my DLA was sorted or not. They extended my car insurance and RFT but refused to do the 3 year servicing. It was due at the beginning of December and has still not been done.

It is comforting to know that they will let you keep the car for a further 6 months. Sad they will not service the car on the 3rd year but hope they will have it MOT'd and pay for any work that needs to be done.

Fantabulous

wazza wrote: »

It is comforting to know that they will let you keep the car for a further 6 months. Sad they will not service the car on the 3rd year but hope they will have it MOT'd and pay for any work that needs to be done.

Mine was MOT'd at the end of October! No problem there. Four new tyres, plus brakes, etc, all done no problem.

wazza

The time has come for me to make a decision. Rang up DLA who say they will normally send me a renewal form end of this year. Been to enquire about the new car and have been told the delivery time is around 4 months and that i need a year left on my award in September. Knowing that the mobility people will only allow me to keep the car for a maximum of 6 months after the 3 year period is up it looks like i have two choices:-

1. leave things as it is and be prepared to be without a car for a few months when waiting for the new car, or

2. get the form for change of circumstances as suggested by the DLA and apply for an extension.

Not that keen on option 2 but have no choice. When i enquired about my situation last February they sent me few forms which i did not complete because I thought it was too early and was put of that the fact that they can reduce my award. In the package there was a one page form and two lengthy multi page forms.

According to the DLA person i just need to say i need an extension to apply for a new car on the single page form. Is there any need to complete the other forms?

Look forward to any advice given. Thanks

kingfisherblue

Can you choose a car that does not have a four month delivery time? When I was looking for a mobility car for my son, I was told by most dealers that twelve weeks is the average wait for a car that does not need adaptations. I didn't want to wait that long, as I was handing my old car back to the finance company (it was a Rover and everything had started to go wrong - head gasket, thermostat, wondscreen wipe motor - it was just too expensive to keep, as well as being unreliable).

Then I went into Nissan and explained the situation. I chose a Nissan Note Tekna in blue. the mobility specialist said that he would try to get me the one I wanted, but could he have another couple of colours as alternatives, just in case. He arranged delivery for the following Wednesday, exactly one week later. I was due to hand my old car back on the Friday after delivery of the Note. The mobility specialist told me that because we were working to a tight, but not impossible, time frame, if my Note did not arrive in time, I would be able to use a courtesy car until it did arrive. I didn't need the courtesy car as my Note was delivered one week after ordering, as arranged.

So although most Motability cars have to be ordered well in advance, it is worth discussing your personal circumstances with the specialists within the dealerships. If you are prepared to take a car from their stock, it can be organised quickly for you (assuming no adaptations are needed).

Good luck x

Sarsie

Ring the DLA see if you're allowed to renew yet, they should be able to help, they must get asked this all the time.

wazza

Sarsie wrote: »

Ring the DLA see if you're allowed to renew yet, they should be able to help, they must get asked this all the time.

Rang them yesterday. They will not extend the DLA simply for a car. They will have to look at the whole claim, my motability and care needs. The award can be extended, increased, decreased or worse stopped. Have decided to wait till October since i can have a lease extension of 6months on the current car.

However will try to see if i can get some advive from CAB and see what they say.