Can someone get out of a Motability lease agreement if circumstances change?

[Anne&C]

Hi.

My sister has Downs Syndrome and Dementia and has been living in Supported Living. We were told in February that she can no longer be cared for in that setting because her dementia has progressed but she is still there until we can find a suitable alternative.

She is one of only 2 service users at the current placement who has DLA mobility at the high rate and since she's been there they have leased a Motability car in her name and one in the other person's name. These are 7 seater vehicles and are paid for by all the service users and driven by staff members for everyone's benefit.

My sister rang me this evening all excited to say she had a new car. They have renewed the motability car that is in her name - presumably taking on a new 3 year lease - at the same time as they have told us that she cannot stay where there. I cannot understand how they could do this knowing she won't be there much longer!

I can't find any information online about whether she could hand back the car when she leaves there or whether she is committed to keeping it for the entire 3 years regardless. It will be of no use to her if she goes into a residential care home. If she comes to live with family we would not want a huge car like that and we have our own cars that we take our sister out in anyway. The money would be much more useful to her.

Could this be why the organisation and her SW have been pushing for her to move into a CH run by the same organisation in the same town even though it is clearly unsuitable? Could they do this and try to keep the car for the benefit of the supported living house? If so that would surely be financial abuse?

 

[Greensleeves]

Be very careful regarding DLA allowances because if someone goes into a care home, they are no longer paid. I have found this out the hard way - my husband had a leased motability vehicle which I was using when he first went into the care home for assessment to take him to see various care homes, to take him to hospital etc. When it was decided that he would stay in the care home, I contacted DLA to explain the situation. And imagine my horror when I found that they now want the money repaid from the date he went into hospital

However, it is quite easy to get out of the Motability agreement - they were much easier to deal with than DLA and could not have been more helpful. I just phoned them and explained the situation and they arranged to cancel the lease and even for someone to pick the car up.

Hope this makes the situation a bit clearer - the trouble is that you just don't know these things until it is too late!

Kind regards,
GS

 

[jenniferpa]

I must confess, this sounds, shall we say "unusual".

According to the Motability handbook, "Under the motability Scheme you have agreed to lease your car for the full length of the agreement. If however, you have a valid reason to end your agreement early, please contact us on 0845 456 4566,"

Who signed the contract? Your sister? Or someone on her behalf? I do think this sounds fishy, frankly, although it's possible that if she was at the end of the 3 year lease, then this might have happened automatically.

 

[chucky]

I dont know about getting out of the agreement but i do know that the mobility component part of DLA is still paid its only the care component that is stoppped. However, it is one of the cuts that nice Mr Cameron is thinking of making.

 

[Anne&C]

Thanks GS and jennifer - it is some reassurance that she is not tied into it.

I was aware there was a proposal that DLA mobility would end for people in residential care though I didn't think it had come into force yet.

Jennifer I doubt my sister would be considered competent to enter into such an agreement on her own - especially given that the staff who look after her now are describing her as totally withdrawn, confused and unaware - which of course she's not! I can only imagine they have signed for her.

The thing is though they have said she can't stay there - if we'd let them our sister would have moved into the new CH already - so how can they have entered into this agreement in her best interests? From what I can see on the motability site the renewal process isn't automatic - there seems to be a renewal process to be followed.

Thanks again for your input - it really helps to bounce thoughts like this. I'll have to add it to my list of things to ask them about.

 

[cragmaid]

I'm no lawyer, but I would have thought that if the vehicle is leased under the Mobility scheme in your sister's name, then surely it would, theoretically at least, go with her when she moved home?

 

[Anne&C]

Thanks Maureen. As neither her family or any potential residential home will want it though they've just given us another thing to sort out - as if there isn't already enough. x

 

[FifiMo]

I would find out who signed the lease. If it was someone other than your sister then I would be starting to think the fraud word. If there was someone else present when she signed the lease (if indeed they got her to sign) I would use the argument that if they thought her capable of signing such a legal document than they cannot argue that she is unsuitable to remain in her current facility. They cannot have their cake and eat it that's for sure. I even wonder if they intended doing anything about the lease and whether they hoped that your sister would move on somewhere local and they would keep the vehicle to continue using it as they are currently doing.

If the sheltered housing folks have signed it then I would be talking about the F (fraud) word to them and telling them they had better do what is necessary with the Mobility people to remove this obligation from your sister. If not then I would be seeing them in court!

Who pays the money for the lease do you know? Can you get a copy of it too - you will need to have that no matter what happens and make sure that any arrangements to cancel the lease early are properly recorded in writing.

Just my thoughts...

Fiona

 

[Anne&C]

Thanks Fiona - I'm thinking exactly what you are thinking - it doesn't make sense that they have done this otherwise.
And thank you chucky - I don't know how I missed your post this morning - sorry. I checked today and the proposal is to end DLA mobility entitlement for people in residential care from October 2012.

I rang and spoke to Motability today but only in general terms.

They confirmed that my sister as the DLA recipient has entered into an agreement to lease the car for 3 years and that normally the agreement cannot be broken. However, in the event of a change in circumstances they may allow the agreement to be ended early and they reserve the right to charge a fee of up to £250 in this situation.

I explained that I felt that she does not have the cognitive ability to understand that she was entering into a legal 3 year agreement to lease the car or the implications for her of breaking that agreement and that she will have been acting under the direction of her care providers. I explained that the care providers had told us 6 weeks ago that she would have to move and that I was concerned that they should not therefore have allowed / assisted her to sign up for a 3 year agreement.

She sort of went "Oh... Ah…" at this stage and then said that she would take my sister's details and make a report of my call but I told her I would get a little more information from the care providers first.

The other information I'll have to ask the care provider about and would prefer to do so in person so it will be next weekend as my sister is staying with another sister this week.

 

[Greensleeves]

I don't really understand the mobility allowance after reading your posts: my husband has been in a care home for a year now. Initially I used his mobility car to take him for hospital appointments etc at the request of the CH as both he and his wheelchair would fit into the vehicle. However, after a discussion with the CH we both agreed an electric wheelchair would be better for him, because it would increase his mobility in the home. I wrote to DLA to ask their advice and was told that he should not be receiving mobility allowance because he was in a care home. They are now asking for it to be repaid.

So the question is: is mobility allowance paid to someone in a CH or not? My dealings with DLA - who have been most unsympathetic and at times thoroughly unpleasant - say that it is not.

 

[Anne&C]

Greensleeves - I've copied this from Direct Gov here

Moving into a care home should not affect the mobility component of your Disability Living Allowance (DLA). It will also be disregarded when your local council are calculating how much you should contribute towards the cost of your care.

The current government has proposed that the mobility component should cease on entry to a Care Home but that proposal is not yet law.

Hope that helps though not sure how you persuade the DLA staff who seem to have been misadvising you.

 

[Greensleeves]

Anne

Thank you very much for your response which is really useful. I have to write out the grounds of appeal against repayment of my husband's mobility allowance today and this will be really, really useful. I am just so grateful. I do feel that there is no way that the appeal will be allowed: I feel as though I am in a situation where vultures are circling.... still at least once what little he has left is gone, they will just have to go whistle.

 

[Anne&C]

Greensleeves - you are very welcome. Good luck with your appeal. I'd say your appeal has every chance of success if their decision is wrong.

Anne xx

 

[Greensleeves]

I was successful with the appeal in that they are dropping the claim for repayment of the mobility allowance. So once again thank you so much, Anne, for your advice and support. I can't believe this has happened. I must make a separate post to let people know what I have been told about the rules regarding mobility, but thought I'd just post here first.

Regards

GS

 

[jenniferpa]

Excellent news Greensleeves.

Anne - have you heard anything more about your problem?

 

[imac.girll1]

Hello Anne and Catherine,

i have recently done exactly what you have asked about.

My mother had a motability vehicle for many many years, although she was not a driver i was the named driver. Circumstances at the end of last year changed to say that the car was not used to the full capacity and that we wished to end the 3 year lease, having only just had car since July!

I called the Motability number stated that we needed to end the agreement and wished to claim the money for her instead.

This was acknowledged and within 7 days i handed the car back, and with in 4 weeks her DLA started to get paid into her account.

She is now in a care home and as a residential resident - not nursing she is still entitled to receipt of her DLA payment, she does however no longer receive her AA money which of course is acceptable.

There may be a small fee for ending the contract earlier, but we had someone who fully understood the circumstances and said that he would not charge us the £200 odd for this.

Contact them and state in a clear and patient way and see where you get to.

Regards.

 

[Anne&C]

Greensleeves - wonderful news - I'm so pleased I was able to help a little though the law was on your side all along.

imac.girll1 - thanks for the information. My sister is still in the supported living so for now there is nothing to report to motability. it is only at the point at which she has to leave there that we will need to deal with the car.

jennifer, we met with SS yesterday to discuss Catherine and we did express concern to them about the fact that a new motability lease had been taken out. They agreed with us that it was strange for that to have happened given the fact that it has already been stated that Catherine cannot stay there. Even stranger is the fact that the second car, leased in another service user's name has not yet been changed though they were both originally leased at exactly the same time. SSW has said she will check it out with the care providers.

Anne xx