Motability death question

stu22

I have searched the forum and cannot find the answer Im needing.

My dad has been awarded DLA a the higher rate and was entitle to a motability car, He has renewed the agreement in October 2013, sadly my dad passed away yesterday, I was the only insured person on the car as my dad was not well enough to drive, Question is where does this leave me in terms of this car, can I pay for the car out my own pocket (the £54 per week as motability took) or would they require a one off payment for the value of the car?

Any help appreciated

schpdoinkle

Sorry for your loss.

When my friends son passed a few months ago (he was the DLA and hence Motability client) the Department of Work and Pensions stopped the DLA payments a few weeks after (can't recall just how many weeks sorry).

Motability allowed my friends mother (the driver of the car like you) 3 weeks use of the Motability car to put the affairs in order. Once the three weeks were up Motability gave the family the options of returning the car to one of their dealerships or have the car collected.

Motability explained very sympathetically that the car was leased to the son and it was not possible for mum to take over the lease payments.

Give Motability a call and they'll explain the options available to you. They really are very understanding people.

Again, sorry for your loss.

deeplyblue

stu22 wrote: »

My dad has been awarded DLA a the higher rate and was entitle to a motability car, ... Question is where does this leave me in terms of this car, can I pay for the car out my own pocket (the £54 per week as motability took) or would they require a one off payment for the value of the car?

Any help appreciated

Stu, this is basically repeating what schpdoinkle has already said.

When you lose a parent, you already have a lot to deal with - not just emotionally, but in terms of practicalities. So, I will tell you that you have my sympathy, from my own memory of my father's death. Then I am going to put things rather brutally, because you need to have things spelt out for you, especially now when there are so many other things to deal with.

schpdoinkle is correct that Motability will probably let you keep the car for a short period whilst you get your father's funeral over with.

After that they will not let you keep the car, under any circumstances.

This is because it was never your car at all. In fact if you tell Motability that you have been using the car for your own personal use, they will have to tell you that you never had the right to do that - even if you were the only registered driver. This rule was especially aimed at making sure that the registered driver didn't take over the car for getting to work. (I know of one case where a daughter-in-law had said to the person with DLA, "You can't drive the car, so I'll take it and we'll arrange to ferry you around when you need it," and then taken the car 20 miles away to be "her" car.) Most people are much more responsible than this, but abuses of the scheme do occur.

To have a Motability car, you have to be in receipt of DLA. You haven't said that YOU get DLA, so you can't have a Motability car.

They do sometimes allow people to buy their own Motability car at the end of the lease, but I have never heard of them letting someone else buy the car directly from Motability. You could ask them - but do NOT say that you "need" the car - because they could ask awkward questions about how you used it when it was your father's car.

If you need, or even just want, a car of your own, you will almost certainly have to get one through the usual channels - raise the money and buy one. There are some dealers who run a package deal whereby you can lease the car from them, but I haven't seen any reviews of those schemes.

I have some more bad news for you, which we found out when we looked at getting a non-Motability car. If you have had no other car except your father's, then you may find that getting insurance is really expensive. This is because some driving only a Motability car has not built up any formal No Claims Discount.

There are a couple of firms who deal with people who have just left the Motability. You would have to make enquiries, but I think that RSA (who do Motability's own insurance for them) might be one of those companies who will take the record of the registered driver into account. [Edit: I see that MoreThan do this:

As the car is owned by Motability Operations, RSA Motability do not offer a "no claims discount" bonus. However, they may be able to issue a "claims history letter" in some cases. If this is required, please contact RSA Motability to discuss further. RSA Motability also have an arrangement for scheme members with MORE TH]N, who have agreed to honour scheme drivers with claim-free driving records, with the equivalent number of years no claims discount. This offer is subject to MORE TH]N's standard acceptance criteria. For further details of this offer, please contact RSA Motability.

Pasted from <http://www.motability.co.uk/utilities/faqs/> ]

In the meanwhile, unless Motability have given formal permission for you to drive the car, you are probably no longer insured to drive it - which would mean that it wouldn't be legal and if you had an accident, or were even caught doing 35 mph in a 30-mph area - you could be in serious trouble.

So get on to Motability as soon as possible and get their permission to drive it for another few weeks. They will be helpful - so long as they don't think you've been misusing the terms on which your father was given the car. So rehearse what you are going to say before you pick up the phone. They will also want the car nuber plate and - for preference - your father's Motability customer number.

They will certainly be able to tell you what your insurance position is and who to contact.

Oh yes, make sure that whoever is doing probate on your father's estate (i.e. dealing with the will etc) does NOT include the car amongst its assets - the car still belongs to Motability. A solicitor should know about that, but some might not think to check the point.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, just when you don't need any more, but not being clear about where you stand is not going to be a help just now.

Again, my sympathy.

db