Fraudulant use of Motability car?

sarahswan1

We've just got a Motability car, fitted with a wheelchair hoist, it's a huge help. It's also our only car, and my husband (who is the Motability client) is no longer able to drive. Before we got it, I was very careful to ring Motability to check that there was no problem with me using the car to go to work. They were quite happy, as I am the only wage earner so my income directly benefits him. They were also happy to insure the car for business use, and have a list of occupations they accept ( I work in the public sector). I don't consider I'm defrauding anyone, as I have full permission to use the car in the way I do. I also resent any suggestion that I just want a nice new car, as there is no way I would have been able to afford a car big enough for the hoist, or be able to afford the hoist without Motability

System

What Motability are happy with and say you can do does not necessarily agree with what the law says you can and cannot do.

It is about time that Motability got their ducks in a row and gave advice based on the law and not their thoughts. If they believe that the law needs changing then they need to petition to get the law changed

Richie-from-the-Boro

sarahswan1 wrote: »

We've just got a Motability car, fitted with a wheelchair hoist, it's a huge help. It's also our only car, and my husband (who is the Motability client) is no longer able to drive. Before we got it, I was very careful to ring Motability to check that there was no problem with me using the car to go to work. They were quite happy, as I am the only wage earner so my income directly benefits him. They were also happy to insure the car for business use, and have a list of occupations they accept ( I work in the public sector). I don't consider I'm defrauding anyone, as I have full permission to use the car in the way I do. I also resent any suggestion that I just want a nice new car, as there is no way I would have been able to afford a car big enough for the hoist, or be able to afford the hoist without Motability

I agree that you are morally and legally correct in everything you say. You did everything right and Motability were as is the usual, happy to support their clients needs. Congratulations.

[Deleted User]

sdfdsfsadas wrote: »

Well yes, but as I'm sure you can gather from my posts here, we are a pair of worriers in this household!

Like I say though, it does put us in rather a difficult position. My spouse would much rather I was earning and does not need use of the car while I am at work.

Like I say, I am more than happy to avoid breaking any sort of law/rules, but having an additional vehicle in our household will currently cost us well over £1000 by the time you take into account the cost of a new (2nd hand) vehicle, insurance, MOT, and tax. That is well over a month's income for us and a cost we can scarcely afford. It also seems mad to do this when I will be using our non-motability car while the motability one is simply sat in the driveway. So if there is any legal/non-lease-voiding way around this, I'm obviously very keen to take it.

But while I am hoping that there is a way around this,it seems that if I phone Motability and I hint that I might be doing something that breeches their terms, they'll cancel the lease. As I've also explained, Motability isn't even the main worry here - they might be find with it, but the DVLA/police might not be if I'm caught driving with a disabled tax exempt car without a disabled person in it.

And yes, I did use Google. I found the 5-year-old argument thread on here that I mentioned in my original post (As a new user, I can't post a link to it). Most people on there said it wouldn't be a problem, but it was full of conflicting and anecdotal advice. Good job I'm not in work tomorrow as it's now 3am and I can't sleep through worrying about this.

Your other half will be losing around £75 a week in dla, over 3 years that amounts to £11,000 more than enough to buy a decent 2nd hand car insure it and run it, so why not forget the notability car and just buy one?

merlin68

High rate motability is £56 a week not £75.
I rang them today and asked what would happen if oh got a job and they answered that as an income coming into the house would benefit me it would be fine, providing the car was available if i had an appointment to go to.

Richie-from-the-Boro

In 2011 the GOV were ""concerned that there are minimal checks on who receives the cars amid claims that they are simply given to other people to use"" that they forced Motability to rewrite the rules of their contract and stop people like 'sdfdsfsadas' and others in this thread. In that same year an investigation found car dealers promoting the scheme to claimants' relatives by assuring them that they could keep the car at a separate address.

Changes to the Motabilty contract were made to crack down on fraud the most striking 5 of which were - (1) Top-of-the-range vehicles were no longer allowed into the scheme. (2) Only nominated drivers who live within five miles of the customer in order to minimise the risk of the car being used other than for the benefit of the disabled person were allowed into the scheme. (3) Enforcement action was taken in 2,139 cases, including 829 customers who had had their agreements terminated and their cars withdrawn. (4) The number of car models offered in the charity's price guide was slashed by more than half, and of course the £35,000 BMW X3 and the £37,000 Toyota Land Cruiser, so bragged about by MSE'rs on this site were withdrawn. (5) People under 21 were be excluded, unless they live with the disabled person.

It was much posted right here in this sub-forum at the time, how quickly people with a self interest forget and insist these things never happened and no rules have been changed.

Confuseddot

sarahswan1 wrote: »

We've just got a Motability car, fitted with a wheelchair hoist, it's a huge help. It's also our only car, and my husband (who is the Motability client) is no longer able to drive. Before we got it, I was very careful to ring Motability to check that there was no problem with me using the car to go to work. They were quite happy, as I am the only wage earner so my income directly benefits him. They were also happy to insure the car for business use, and have a list of occupations they accept ( I work in the public sector). I don't consider I'm defrauding anyone, as I have full permission to use the car in the way I do. I also resent any suggestion that I just want a nice new car, as there is no way I would have been able to afford a car big enough for the hoist, or be able to afford the hoist without Motability

Did you check with DVLA re the tax issue as it was them who told my friend she couldn't use it for commuting regardless of what Motability said. Her DLA was for her son who is 10 so couldn't drive.

System

merlin68 wrote: »

High rate motability is £56 a week not £75.
I rang them today and asked what would happen if oh got a job and they answered that as an income coming into the house would benefit me it would be fine, providing the car was available if i had an appointment to go to.

Did you ring DVLA as well and get their advice on the legislation rather than what Motability are happy with?

Approval from Motability is only as good as 'my mate in the pub says its OK' when it is up against the legislation and its application

GlasweJen

We've never applied for the free tax disc as OH uses his car to go to work so it's not available to me when I need it. The DVLA advised us that if they caught him commuting regularly without me in the car they would prosecute.

sarahswan1

Confuseddot wrote: »

Did you check with DVLA re the tax issue as it was them who told my friend she couldn't use it for commuting regardless of what Motability said. Her DLA was for her son who is 10 so couldn't drive.

No, because to be perfectly honest it didn't even occur to me I needed to. I've been so concerned about the suggestions here that I might be breaking the law, I lost a lot of sleep
last night, even though I was so careful to check with Motability that it would be OK to use the car to go to work. I rang them again this morning, they checked directly with DWP as well and put a note on our record saying that they had assured me that as I am the only named driver and the breadwinner, my husband is no longer able to drive, work or leave the house without his wheelchair, the car is being used for his benefit to pay our bills. They said a number of people on the scheme had similar arrangements and they were unaware of any prosecutions based on the rules about the tax discs. They did say it was a grey area, but since it is impossible to actually pay for a tax disc on a Motability car, we wouldn't have been able to afford the car or more importantly the wheelchair hoist without the scheme I don't think I can do anymore. I really don't think I am doing anything wrong morally, and I don't think prosecution in a case like this would be feasible. Hopefully I'll sleep better tonight!!