Motability Wheelchair van - nothing but problems

m-holland

Not sure if consumer rights is the best board or not. Mods move if need be please.

I'll try to keep this short.

I'm a carer and the person I care for has a wheelchair van through the motability scheme.

Van has been in for repair 7 times this year.

Ramp rattles and squeaks, ramp moves while being driven and pushes the bumper out of place, which breaks the clips holding the bumper on.

The bumper has fell off in traffic before.

Every time it is sent back the convertor, all they do is minimal "repairs" and do not seem to do any testing of the work they do.

The most recent fix lasted less than two miles before it started rattling and squeaking again.

How do I get this fixed properly? The convertor, who according to Motability rules are the only people allowed to work on it, seemingly are unable to fix the problem. Written complaints dont get it fixed. Getting motability's specialised support team doesnt get it fixed.

Also been told by Motability that we cannot reject the vehicle, as this ongoing problem is not a "valid reason to cancel the agreement"

In Scotland, cannot think of any other relevant info 

neilmcl

WAV ramps will always rattle and make noise to some point. I've yet to be in one that didn't. It shouldn't be breaking the bumper though.

That said, the Consumer Rights Act applies so they are only allowed a single attempt at repair if the vehicle is faulty before you can reject it 

What make of WAV is it?

m-holland

Ive been in several different wavs as well, and none were as bad as this. Its a ford tourneo

Two recordings of it, recorded from my phone. its the higher pitched noise that the ramp is making

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5X6BoWNwaE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SmmqFETc0E

neilmcl

How long have you had the van?

If you really think this is a fault then the advice would be to send an LBA (Letter Before Action) to Motability quoting the following from the Consumer Rights Act 2015:

"(5)

A consumer who has the right to a price reduction and the final right to reject may only exercise one (not both), and may only do so in one of these situations—

(a)after one repair or one replacement, the goods do not conform to the contract;

(b)because of section 23(3) the consumer can require neither repair nor replacement of the goods; or

(c)the consumer has required the trader to repair or replace the goods, but the trader is in breach of the requirement of section 23(2)(a) to do so within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to the consumer.

"

If you get no joy with that then you could try complaining to the Financial Ombudsman or the BVRLA, if they cover Motability leases.

m-holland

neilmcl said:

How long have you had the van?

If you really think this is a fault then the advice would be to send an LBA (Letter Before Action) to Motability quoting the following from the Consumer Rights Act 2015:

"(5)

A consumer who has the right to a price reduction and the final right to reject may only exercise one (not both), and may only do so in one of these situations—

(a)after one repair or one replacement, the goods do not conform to the contract;

(b)because of section 23(3) the consumer can require neither repair nor replacement of the goods; or

(c)the consumer has required the trader to repair or replace the goods, but the trader is in breach of the requirement of section 23(2)(a) to do so within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to the consumer.

"

If you get no joy with that then you could try complaining to the Financial Ombudsman or the BVRLA, if they cover Motability leases.

Had the van for three and a bit years now

born_again

Please do not take this the wrong way.

So you have had the van for 3 + bit years, so has the issue has only started this year?

Has someone hit the rear of the van and pushed something out of line or has anything else happened that might cause the issue?

I can see why you have been told you can't reject if you have had it for 3 + bit years.

m-holland

Its been an ongoing issue for a while now. First noticed the problem with the bumper clips during the first lockdown. 

Not been involved in any crashes or anything. The problem is that the bumper and ramp come into contact with each other when the ramp is up and tailgate closed. When driving they obviously move and constantly hitting off each other and breaking the bumper clips and pushing the ramp out of place

Edit: Image of the indentations the bumper is causing on the ramp

Alderbank

Independently from the van itself, your ramp and other conversion elements are checked and serviced every year by your WAV supplier to ensure they are working correctly. You must have had three service checks by now. What exactly did they say each time?

JJ_Egan

How long left on the Motability contract ??

m-holland

Alderbank said:

Independently from the van itself, your ramp and other conversion elements are checked and serviced every year by your WAV supplier to ensure they are working correctly. You must have had three service checks by now. What exactly did they say each time?

First check it wasnt a problem at the time.
Second check advised that it couldnt be fixed during the visit. Getting it in to get fixed was delayed due to covid lockdown.
third check wasnt done with me present as it was done at the same time as its first MOT

JJ_Egan said:

How long left on the Motability contract ??

a year and half roughly