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Original poster

To want to scream that Motability cars are NOT FREE!!!!!

254 replies

Mamaz0n · 16/05/2011 19:48

Ihave just seen a programme on the BBC where they have yet again claimed someone recieved a "free car"

No they fucking didnt!

They have been given a lease hire vehicle under the motability scheme. It is not their car, they DO PAY for it and it is only for a certain period of time.

It pisses me off that people assume that being disabled is a sweet life with loads of freebies.
It isn't. far from it.

you would expect the BBC at least to get it right.

OP posts:
HRHShoesytwoesy · 16/05/2011 21:33

yanbu
but come on Mamazon it gives the haters another reason to hate us

LittleMissFlustered · 16/05/2011 21:34

Back to the Motability question, instead of the slagging of of benefit claimants:

My mum has had several Motability cars, in fact got her latest today. From what I know of the system, there are strict rules on use of the car and a ridiculously low miles-per-year allowance. Cars have to be kept in good condition and after the three years with the claimant are sold on by motability to further fund the scheme.

Luckily for my mum, her condition has begun to improve ever so slightly after years of various treatments, so she has been able to get a normal sized car instead of a people carrier (for the boot space) for the first time.

HRHShoesytwoesy · 16/05/2011 21:37

ignore the clown they are talking crap

cliveclown · 16/05/2011 21:39

These are hire vehicles, which need to be sourced at short notice and out of hours. They're not easy to find, particularly when some take 48 hours to be adapted.

Original poster
Mamaz0n · 16/05/2011 21:46

They are lease hire vehicles. You chose the vehicle you want, you then go to the dealership and order the car. you can chose certain aspects such as colour etc.

the car is ordered direct. it can take weeks to come.

OP posts:
HRHShoesytwoesy · 16/05/2011 21:51

48 hrs to be adapted!!! how are they adapted so quickly?

cliveclown · 16/05/2011 21:56

Just google motability breakdowns. If a person has a breakdown in a motability car on a sunday but desperately needs to get to hospital, someone has to call round the hire car companies and first find one that has an out of hours facility on a sunday, then one that has a hire vehicle that is suitable, then one that is a viable distance, then arrange to get that vehicle to the person in time for them to get where they're going.

Being a part of that chain is very frustrating and yes, you do get pissed off when it doesn't work out very fairly.

HRHShoesytwoesy · 16/05/2011 22:01

Weird, if our WAV breaks down we don't get offered another WAV we are just stuffed until it is fixed, never heard of getting a suitable hire car.

cliveclown · 16/05/2011 22:01

Lynx hand controls take 48 hours to be fitted. These are cars from a hire companies normal fleet that have to be adjusted as best they can to suit. Which means A LOT of people end up disappointed. And the cars ring fenced by a hire car company for disabled people get quickly 'eaten up' by those with size issues.

cliveclown · 16/05/2011 22:04

All on google

Original poster
Mamaz0n · 16/05/2011 22:09

Right, so you have googled this shite and believe it to be true?

sorry love but my dads had Motability cars for years. following someone smashing into the back of him he was without a car for 6 days. he had a hospital appointment and had to use hospital transport for that.

he was housebound for the rest of the time.

I have never heard of anyone i know getting a courtesy car, and certainly not one that is adapted for the purpose given it is only to be used for a limited period.

OP posts:
HRHShoesytwoesy · 16/05/2011 22:11

we used to get a courtesy car from the garage when the motorbility one was being serviced and stuff, it would be a tiny tiny tiny car, how they expected me to get dd and her wheelchair in it I have no idea.
the idea that you can get a like vehicle is just crap, it doesn't exist, except in the head of a clown.

EdwardorEricCantDecide · 16/05/2011 22:18

No I agree it's definitely not free!
I'm not disabled but my mum is she offered to let me have her mobility car and I pay the deposit and the difference to her monthly benefits.

It worked out considerably more expensive than me getting a loan and buying my own (used) car which I'll also still own when loans paid off.

If anything I think that they are profiteering from people with disabilities.

cliveclown · 16/05/2011 22:21

I dunno, I guess along with my shouting at children I also research and invent jobs and then plant the evidence on google. Of course, I mean who hasn't done that of a Monday evening!

HRHShoesytwoesy · 16/05/2011 22:22

sorry you have lost me, what has shouting at children got to do with anything?

thefirstMrsDeVere · 16/05/2011 22:23

OH has a motobiity car. Its bloody great. But it costs us £40 quid a week and the petrol isnt free.
If he didnt have MS he could get a tube to work.
We now have to have two cars because I have to have one for work (not to get there - to do the job).

If OH wasnt disabled we wouldnt have to have two cars. Its expensive being disabled.

We had to put down a huge deposit for it.

My friend has two severely disabled children and ONE mobility car. She has to pay BOTH of the children's allowances for one car. She had to get a loan to pay the deposit she needed and is still paying that off.
As her children have recently entered residential care they may well lose the allowance altogether. As she still has them both home at weekends I am not sure how this will work out. She has cared for those kids 24/7 for 20 years. Neither are able to self care at all.
I dont begrudge her a single penny of that DLA. I do not understand any twat one that does. But they do.

HecateQueenOfTheNight · 16/05/2011 22:24

Is that that saints and sinners programme?

the benefit cheat sinners and the people who don't claim what they're entitled to saints

no agenda there then Hmm

cliveclown · 16/05/2011 22:24

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by Mumsnet.

thefirstMrsDeVere · 16/05/2011 22:27

I used to work with parents with disabilities.

They would have their motorbility car. They would have their baby. They would not be able to put the car seat in the back due to mobility problems. They would not be allowed to get the front air bags turned off.
They would not be able to go out with their babies.

Its different now because you can turn the bags off yourself in many models. But it was a real problem then. They were stuck in a contract that lasted 3 years but couldnt use the car to take the baby out.

RobF · 16/05/2011 22:27

How is it not free if you get given the money to pay for it? What is the difference between that and just getting the car but no money?

thefirstMrsDeVere · 16/05/2011 22:28

That saints and sinners programme is toss. It used to be on in the mornings, how the hell did it get to prime time?

You are a 'saint' because you are a brave disabled person who claims DLA? WTF is that about?

Patronizing bollocks.

thefirstMrsDeVere · 16/05/2011 22:29

Many receipients of DLA pay taxes Rob.

Same as normal people Hmm

tribpot · 16/05/2011 22:31

RobF, as has been explained, the DLA covers generally only the most basic car. One big enough for, say, an electric scooter and wheelchair lift (as we have) requires a fairly substantial payment from us.

BoffinMum · 16/05/2011 22:32

Becky, some taxpayers diddle HMRC out of money they should rightfully be paying into the system, but that does not mean there is anything wrong with paying tax, or that most tax payers are crooked, or that the system has collapsed, or that we should abolish taxation. It means that overall the taxation system works surprisingly well, all things considered. Same with benefits.

HecateQueenOfTheNight · 16/05/2011 22:32

I had a mobility car for several years. Lease, not HP. ok, rob, fair enough, it is 'free' in the sense that DLA is a benefit and not a wage in exchange for work. It is something you are given because you are disabled, not something you have earned by the sweat of your brow doing 12 hour shifts down t'pit. It is not 'free' in the sense that you have the car instead of the mobility element of the DLA. You don't get it as well, you get it instead.

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