Updates From Motability Regarding Coronavirus

The government has announced that they will allow car dealerships to reopen their showrooms on 1 June in England. As a result, Motability will start 'Phase 1' of their own plan to reopen the scheme.

New Motability cars that are already at dealerships waiting to be handed over to customers will be their first priority.

Around 5000 brand new vehicles are ready and waiting to be delivered to Motability customers, and now that dealerships have had the go ahead to reopen Motability specialists will be allowed to register and hand over these vehicles 'subject to this being done in a COVID-19 safe environment'.

Motability have also made money available to dealerships to cover the cost of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and sanitisation when preparing and handing over vehicles to customers.

At present showrooms in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are expected to remain closed until further notice.

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Motability have decided to send an insurance-based refund of £50 to every Motability car and Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) customer. The current lockdown has led to fewer accidents on the road, which has meant a lower number of insurance claims and Motability (in consultation with the Motability Charity) has decided to share this saving directly with Motability customers.

This refund will be paid automatically during the second half of May and throughout June 2020.

Motability customers who are experiencing 'temporary and exceptional financial need' can now apply for an advance of the £600 Good Condition Bonus, which is usually only paid to customers at the end of the vehicle lease. 

The statement from Motability reads: 

"The Motability Good Condition Bonus (GCB) payment can be brought forward to provide support during the COVID-19 lockdown, ensuring that customers in need have access to money during a period when they may need it most. Please note that customers who choose to take this payment early would not therefore receive a further GCB at the end of contract – a point when some customers like to put this towards an Advance Payment on their new car."

Motability customers who want to request this early payment need to call Motability directly on 0300 020 5050 or complete the online form to request a call back.

They warn that they are expecting a large number of calls so customers may have to wait on hold for longer than usual.

Read the full statement here.

As the Motability Scheme is currently closed to new applications Motability customers who were due to order their new Motability vehicle between April - June 2020 will have to wait until after the current Government restrictions have been relaxed.

For this reason, Motability have decided that the new Advance Payment prices for the Motability Scheme will not be launched as usual on 1 April 2020. 

According to a recent statement on the Motability website the firm '...are monitoring the situation daily and plan to publish prices no later than mid-June'.

• Motability have confirmed the cancellation of the One Big Day events for 2020.
• The Motability Grants scheme has been paused and the Charity has been temporarily closed.
• Partner services including the RAC, Kwik Fit, the insurer RSA Motability and some car dealerships remain open with a reduced capacity.

Motability have put together a handy Q&A for current customers who have questions about how it will affect the running of the scheme.

This advice covers the common questions that have been asked by Motability customers over recent weeks, including questions related to:

• Servicing & Maintenance
• MOT Tests
• Vehicle Insurance & Adding A New Named Driver
• Lease Extensions
• Early Lease Terminations
• Delayed PIP Reassessments
• Insurance Refund
• Good Condition Bonus Payments

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If you have a question that Motability haven't answered on their FAQ page the Motability Customer Service team is available Monday to Friday between 9am to 5pm for urgent enquiries. They can also answer customer questions via their webchat facility.