Stressed OR call and not good outcome

Sunshine2114

So had the OR call today and went through everything , she was unhappy with some of our outgoings and our cars so we stand to loose them :-(

so this is what she was unhappy with any info or support would be appreciated

1 ) Travel to and from Work - £600 for the both of us, this is £45.00 a week petrol each over 4.33 weeks and then £114 car parking a month for me and £98 a month parking for my partner - PLEASE NO REMARKS ABOUT NOT WORKING - but this is what we spend in petrol and use of picking kids up from school and nursery and day care ...

2) cars, we both have a car, cant travel toghether as we work separat locations and start at 9 am each, i take one child to nursery he takes the other to school and i pick up both after work - our cars are 8 years with 100K on clock and 7 years with 80k on clock worth £1700 -£2000 each - not good state of repaire and just failed MOTS wich we have had to fork out £500 for ( borrowed from parents ) and the OR said that we will have to look to get a 3rd party to buy these back from us to keep them - we dont have anyone to buy these back we cant afford it and need them to get to work i work 20 miles from home and hubby 35 miles from home and to get a bus is immpossible as we have the school runs and nursery ( 1 child is step child and stay 3 days a week and goes to school where he lives and the baby goes to my parents ) so a bus is out of the question ... so if they take the cars from us what do we do ??

tigerfeet2006

Are you absolutely, positively, really, really sure on the valuation of the cars? Where did you get the value from?

iquit

Your situation seems really difficult. Sorry stupid question I know but is the OR aware that without the cars you and your husband would be unable to work?

Is there anyway you could car pool with a colleague and you husband do the same on different days so you could go down to one vehicle in the household?

Is there anywhere else you or your partner could park? The costs are quite high, I've heard of people renting out their drives in homes near stations and city centres.

These are just questions to help you come up with a solution, I can't advice on your next course of action in this case, sorry. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will be along shortly.

lilybankrupt

Is this the same OR who was really difficult about the timing of the meeting / call? :mad:

Is she saying that you can't have cars / a car at all, or is she saying that the value of the cars is too high but you can keep one or both if they are £1,000 or less in value?

If she's saying you can't have a car at all, I just don't get it - that will effectively be putting you out of work.

Could you work out how much it would cost to get the kiddies to school and get to work including taxis when there is no public transport available to demonstrate that keeping the cars is the only viable option?

I really feel for you - i'll be declaring BR in a few months and am terrified of the OR - it seems a lot of them are lovely and reasonable as far as the rules allow, but some are very harsh

Angry_Bear

Given what you say about MOT costs, the age of the cars and their value - maybe you could trade them in for something smaller, and more economical - this could work out cheaper on tax and insurance too?

Can you change/reduce parking - season ticket? park further away and walk? Car-share with colleagues? Cut down on non-essential driving? Take public transport occasionally, or part of the way?

Personally, I drive 5 miles to a train station then get a season ticket on the train. It's a pain in the behind, but it probably works out a little cheaper than petrol would and I don't have to pay for parking.

You might have already thought about each of these, but £600 a month is very high for transport costs, and this doesn't look to include MOT, repairs, insurance, tax ....

watcher27

This seems very harsh and unreasonable to me

We were in a similar situation. We live in a semi rural location that has a poor bus service. I work 35 miles from home which cost's me £26 a week in fuel (Smart CDi, 80mpg). My wife works different hours and like yourself had to drop my son off at nursery etc.

Our OR was very understanding and allowed us to keep both car's, no questions asked. He wasn't interested in them at all and simply asked what they were used for, I said "work & nursery", he said "fine" and moved on!

The car's were/are a 02 Ford Focus TDCI 120K valued at around £2K, and a 2000 Smart CDi LHD 160K.

I'd draw up a detailed chart/plan of how you use your cars etc along with a similar plan of what would happen should you loose one or both. Also check your local bus/train times and put those down as proof that you cant use public transport etc.

fermi

If you think the examiner is being unreasonable, then ask for the matter to be referred to an assistant OR. With a formal complaint if necessary.

adpod

Can't really add anything to your problem but I can say that my OR interview was terrible too and made me feel worse than ever however each day that passes from now is getting you closer to your AD......just keep counting the days and fight them all the way.

Lou67

I do feel for you as I know this is a stressful time, but this is a phenomenal amount for 'car costs;' so that's probably why the OR questioned it. Still, it's annoying isn't it? Because you are being honest and you do need both cars. Can someone buy the car off you, like a parent? And give you a couple of hundred to pacify the OR? And then let you use it as yours? And then you can eventually buy the car back?

Don't these people 'get' that many people work funny shift patterns these days, and don't work 5 minutes walk from home, and many people have kids at school up to 10 miles away sometimes, and often kids at different schools, so 2 cars is essential for some!

kepar

Did she say you would lose the cars or that she would not allow all the expenses for them. Because as well as the £600 you would have insurance, tax and maintenance to consider.

I don't know your situation but even if the OR agreed the allowances could you actually survive on your remaining income. I know we would struggle to pay out that sort of money for cars the childcare before looking at general living conditions.
To me if you both want to work and I know it would mean the children moving schools but wouldn't be easier to move to where one of you works.

Sunshine2114

tigerfeet2006 wrote: »

Are you absolutely, positively, really, really sure on the valuation of the cars? Where did you get the value from?

Yes she run the through a HPI system , then said £1700 for mine less the £150 for the work n fail MOT was £1500 same with husband ...