Motability car - end lease early?

Chris_Preston

Hi All. My 89-year-old mother has had Motability cars for many years. Just before the Covid crisis, we had reached the stage where the family mostly thought she was no longer safe to drive but she wanted to keep her independence and refused to give the car up. She is now shielded as a vulnerable person and has conceded that even when the lockdown is lifted, she will not be driving again and so wants to end her lease mid-term. This would normally be acceptable to Motability. We've rung them and they say there's nothing they can do and she must continue to give up her 'Higher Rate Mobility Allowance', currently £62.50 per week to pay for the car. The lease is due to end in 18 months time and so this could cost her around £4500 more for a car she cannot use and apparently leases ending at the moment are just being automatically extended ad infinitum. I accept that these are uniquely exceptional circumstances but it doesn't seem fair that an old lady of limited financial means should not be able to end the lease and pass responsibility back to the lessor. Any advice will be gratefully received. Thanks.

AdrianC

https://www.motability.co.uk/contact/faqs/can-i-cancel-my-car-lease-agreement

"When you lease a vehicle on the Motability Scheme the lease agreements are typically for a period of three or five years. Customers do not have an automatic right to end the agreement early. If however, you have a valid reason to end your agreement early, you will need to call us to discuss this further."

I'd imagine that there's quite a lot of people trying to give cars back at the moment, so they're probably a bit swamped...

Leases ending now are going to be extended, simply because there's nobody to collect the cars - not just Motability, but the entire car finance industry. That'll also play a part in their decision to restrict goodwill terminations, I'm sure.

molerat

The problem is that she has no contractual right to end the lease early and it is purely down to the discretion of Motability.  Obviously in normal times they would be more amenable to an early exit but in the current climate they are less so.  Maybe try again in a couple of months when we will hopefully be over the worst of the current crisis.

JamesMotaClarity

I think that as soon as dealerships reopen and Motability have a way for vehicles to be returned safely you'll be able to end the lease early. I agree that you have a valid reason to return the vehicle. There's more information here. Hope this helps. https://www.motaclarity.co.uk/news/can-you-cancel-a-motability-car-lease