To get a motability car ( and also what’s allowed ?! )

[Justnavigating]

Hi

My 18 year old is in receipt of enhanced mobility PIP. We can get a motability car with it.

I never considered it before as I already have a car. My husband did too , until recently . Now he needs my car ( he earns more and works longer hours , not possible with public transport ) . I take my child everywhere - social groups , days out , meeting friends etc . This has been impacted slightly but not massively with me not having the car all the time .

However , my husband has a new job . 6 days per week and longer hours. This means that the things I take my child to that they rely on are not going to be possible . Nor will the days out ( related to a specific hobby that means a lot to them ) . She also hates being in the house and when I had the car was always with me everywhere - shopping , drives out etc . Now that we can’t do that it is really having an affect and will be worse with the new job . Adding up what I spend on taxis for work, alongside the taxis now for social groups and any days out , I feel that getting a car through motability might be a good option.

However - I will be using it for work too . Is this allowed ? Obviously my work benefits my child and I only work when they are at college ( I do work less in the holidays and I guess would be happy to still get a taxi there if I wasn’t allowed to use the car as it’s not when she is in college ) but realistically me working and using it would be benefitting her due to income and it’s not like she would be getting the bus to places because I have the car and she can’t use it - she can’t drive !!

Am I allowed to use it for work ? It’s not a job that I need my car for ( as in I’m not using the car for a business like deliveries etc ) it’s just going to and from work .

What about if I have a day off for example - am I allowed to use it to take my other children to school ( I don’t do school runs as I work but just if I did happen to have a day off / I may be moving jobs to one where I work from home sometimes so if I was able to do school runs could I ? ) or if I was off and I wanted to get the shopping done or go to see someone could I if my child wasn’t with me ? ) - this really is hypothetical as at the moment I work every day my child is in college .

aside from work there is no other time I would really use it Without her - she’s with me all the time and if , for eg , me and my husband went away or went out for a date night we would have the other car so use that .

I just don’t want to get it and then be worrying and assessing every time I get in it as to whether this particular journey benefits them. Do they expect it to be used as the main car, so in that sense not every single journey is for the disabled child but on the whole it is ?

I know of someone in the same situation who uses it as their general car - but they don’t work so day to day they use it when their 19 year old disabled child is at work but they take them to work and collect them .

Work is for benefit of daughter as it keeps her
She is 18. She can claim benefits as an adult. She doesn't need her mother to work to financially support her.

It would be her car and should be used to benefit her only. For instance, she could agree for a friend of hers to be the one to drive her places.

I think it's ok for parents of children to use it for themselves and claim it fully benefits the child. It's a harder argument to make when the child is an adult.

It sounds you want it mainly to drive to your job.

Yes exactly if yhe Op.wanted to use the car to deliver pizza,s or be an uber,driver that wouldn't be allowed but my dh uses my sons mobility care to drive himself to and from his place of work which is perfectly acceptable.

That depends on the 18 year old my 14 year old is severely autistic and cognitively around 2or 3 years age ,that isn't going change significantly in 4 years time ,I don't know what disabilities the Op,s daughter has but you can't assume they will be able to drive the car themselves.

We decided against it as I wasn't sure on the insurance if we used it for things not directly related to the disabled person.

I realise lots of people DO use it that way but has anyone had an accident and actually been insured in this situation?

Yes, possibly. Good point. There are restrictions on what anyone, including the disabled person themselves, can use the car for - if you want to use the vehicle for example as a delivery agent or food delivery, the insurance would not cover you but you can apply to motability for a business use application form.

If the disabled person is not the driver and is not resident with the named driver, a tracker is put on the car to ensure it’s used for the intended purposes. Named drivers also have to live within a five mile radius of the disabled person unless there are extenuating circumstances.

you can't assume they will be able to drive the car themselves
I didn't bake this assumption. Just that it would be their car, not the OP and ultimately could decide a friend could use the car and take her to college and/or other places. It isn't for OP to decide.

Well.i assume the Op knows her daughter and her needs better d than you do ,
And what her capabilities are.

Once more with feeling. It doesn’t matter if the disabled person is an adult or not. If the named driver and the disabled person are resident at the same address it’s assumed that in most circumstances the named driver would be using the car for the benefit of the disabled person. This would include going out to work. Because the money earned is paying the household bills and keeping a roof over the disabled persons’ head - ergo directly benefiting them. And it’s not a matter of agreeing for friends to drive the disabled person. They have to satisfy motability conditions to be a named driver. You can drive with points on your licence, but if you’ve been disqualified from driving for more than 30 days in the last five years, you cannot drive a motability car. You also have to be aged over 21 and either resident with the disabled person or living within a five mile radius.

We have a motability car as I am registered blind (amongst other disabilities) and get higher rate mobility PIP. Obviously I don't drive so DH is the named driver. He does some voluntary work for our local food bank which requires use of a car. I contacted Motability and asked if it was ok for him to use the car for this purpose a few times per month. It took a few days for a response but they came back confirming it was fine. We didn't want to do anything outside the terms of the Motability contract as this could lead to the contract being terminated. So my advice would be to ask them the question.

She is in full time education so cannot claim benefits . She does need me to work to support her .

I can assure you due to her needs she has no friends that have a driving licence and are able to drive her places .

Im unsure how you came to the assumption that I just want the car mainly to drive to work. As I said I am currently using taxis and have said that I cannot afford to pay for the car and pay for taxis . She is missing out on me being able to take her places due to not having a car but unfortunately i cannot afford to pay for a car on top of paying for taxis .

My late husband was a named driver on my motability insurance. He used the car for travelling to and from work, for shopping and for various other things. He had one accident - not his fault, but the insurance was valid for as long as he was resident with me. Most everyday occurrences would be covered as ‘for the benefit of the disabled person’ as long as the driver is resident with them at the same address.

there are always some shit stirrers on these threads, OP. Ignore. Using it to go to work is absolutely within the rules.

Also , in the nicest way , I am her appointee for a reason . So the decision is mine - I have to make the decisions in her best interest as she isn’t capable of making them .

No, there is a wide range of cars from nil advance payment up to £1000’s. Depending on what you want or need.
Look at Motability on line , they will show you the current advance payments. They do change every 3 or possibly 4 months. Test drive a few cars, dealers have a Motability specialist who will guide you through the process, it’s very simple. We’ve had cars for years as our main car, they don’t expect it to be only for the disabled person. It’s been a complete life saver for us to be honest. We now have an electric Renault, they will install a charger at home for you, it’s fab.

She is in full time education so cannot claim benefits .

Some in full-time education can claim UC. If you haven’t already, it is a good idea to make a credits only New Style ESA claim in order to establish LCWRA in preparation for when DD (or you as appointee) is able to claim UC in her own name (and, if she is currently on your UC/tax credits claim, when it makes financial sense). Here is Contact’s booklet explaining more.

It isn't for OP to decide.

Well that depends if the OP is appointee or whether OP’s DD has the capacity to manage the claim, and thus the lease, herself. X-posted with the OP.

The rules exist because there was a pretty high rate of people getting motability cars for someone they did not live with, and then using that car near exclusively for themselves.

If you live with the claimant and the use is broadly for their benefit or benefits them in some way, and is just practical use of the vehicle, its fine.

So in the OP's example, driving to work in it when daughter is at college is fine - if anyone thinks its not fine, thats easy to fix, stop at the supermarket on the way home and buy her something!

You can also ask for special consideration for personal circumstances. I used to use my car for driving to work where my work was NOT at a fixed address - I just explained what I did for a living and they made sure that was covered.

The only thing you can't do as the named driver (rather than as the claimant) is use the car in the course of your work, ie driving between clients, delivering food etc.

There are ones that you don't have to pay up front for but if you want a 'better' one there is often a payment to make. Consider applying for a blue badge too it's this that really helps us

Yes, the thought that mine had friends who could maybe drive her around made me 🙄.
I wish she had 🥲

This poster has misinterpreted the rules. Your DD lives with you, and the fact that you work means you are paying the household bills, including keeping a roof over her head. This is considered as for the ‘direct benefit of the disabled person’, so you are perfectly entitled to use it for travel to work.

If she were to move out, you would have to inform motability as they would have to check that she was living within a five mile radius of you, and the car would have to be fitted with a tracker. It would have be returned to her residence at the end of the day - and in this instance you would still be able to use it to take her places and anything else directly benefiting her, but you wouldn’t be able to use it for work unless you could show that she was in some way still financially dependent on you - such as contributing to her living costs or household bills.

Yes, considering all my adult daughters acquaintances all have moderate to severe learning difficulties I think it unlikely any one of them could drive her anywhere..

The only thing you can't do as the named driver (rather than as the claimant) is use the car in the course of your work, ie driving between clients, delivering food etc.

You actually can do this, but it’s not covered by standard insurance. You can apply to motability for a business use application form.

I take my child everywhere - social groups , days out , meeting friends etc . This has been impacted slightly but not massively with me not having the car all the time
Those are your words. £50 a week to get to work is very reasonable expenses.

I'm sorry but to use your daughter's car to drive to your work whilst your daughter uses other transport doesn't feel right at all.

You can use the car for business - taxis, delivery drivers, food deliveries etc, but you have to apply to motability for a business use application form, as the standard insurance doesn’t cover this.

Half of these replies are from people with no understanding of how life works when you have an adult child with a disability. @Justnavigating DD1 is 18, I am her appointee, I decided to get her a Motability car and we use it as the family car. That means that I occasionally use it to go somewhere without her. It's perfectly fine.

Well.exactly my 14 year old is the same ,that isn't going ti change 4 years time.