Keeping wheels turning

Motability is a registered charity set up on the initiative of the government in 1977 to provide cars and powered wheelchairs to disabled people.

The first Motability car was supplied in 1978 and since then more than 700,000 cars and powered wheelchairs have been provided. The scheme continues to expand at a remarkable rate.

In one year alone, more than 111,000 vehicles were supplied to disabled people, representing an increase of 17 per cent on the previous year.

In fact, Motability now has around 300,000 vehicles on the road.

Motability accounts for the largest single fleet in the UK, taking around 5.3 per cent of all new car registrations in the UK annually.

Disabled people receiving the Higher Rate Mobility Component of the Disability Living Allowance or the War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement can use their allowance towards the cost of obtaining a car on the Motability scheme.

Special terms have been arranged with motor manufacturers, banks and insurers so that today a variety of schemes can be offered to enable disabled people to become mobile.

Through Motability's contract hire scheme (around 95 per cent of people using Motability opt for this scheme), disabled people including children from the age of five, can get a new vehicle from a wide-ranging list of approved manufacturers.

All maintenance and servicing costs are covered, together with comprehensive insurance and recovery service membership.

There is also a 'loss of use' insurance scheme, which can provide a weekly payment equivalent to the allowance if the car is off the road for more than a week.

Motability, keeping

vital wheels turning.

What will it cost me?

CUSTOMERS agree to pay over all or part of their allowance, depending on their choice of vehicle, for the three-year agreement.

For cars in the lower price range, available with no advance payment, this is the only financial commitment the disabled person has to make, apart from petrol and oil.

For other models, the customer may be required to make an advance payment because the allowance alone is not enough to cover the cost of providing the vehicle for the three-year term. The amount will vary according to the cost of the vehicle.

For people who want to buy their cars, Motability offers an HP scheme under which finance can be provided towards new and used cars in return for all or part of their allowance.

qMANY people who rely on the Motability scheme need financial help to pay for adaptations or a larger car to suit their particular disability, which they desperately need but could otherwise not afford. The Motability Charitable Fund provides grants to pay for such things as hand controls, swivel seats, automatic transmission, wheelchair hoists, advance payments and special driving lessons.

The average grant is £800-£1,000. The fund has provided more than £2m in grants over the last year and demand is growing.

Extra money is always needed to help the maximum number of disabled people become mobile. A Motability car is much more than just a means of transport - it is a passport to the world, the chance to go to college, get a job and live life to the full. Bequests and donations are gratefully received. For further information on fund raising contact %01279-635999 or write to Motability Fund raising, Goodman House, Station Approach, Harlow, Essex, CM20 2ET.

MOTABILITY launched a new initiative in 1997 called Customer First. This has been devised to ensure that the level of service provided by Motability and the suppliers to the scheme is second to none, and puts the customer first.

The First-class suppliers (FCS) Programme ensures that people using the Motability Scheme get a first-class service. Motability has set standards for its suppliers and in future all suppliers will be inspected on site to ensure that they are reaching those standards.

Only suppliers who become Motability Accredited will be able to serve disabled people who want to join the Motability Scheme.

Contract hire car dealers: Already, over 5,500 contract hire car dealers have been invited to join the First-Class Suppliers programme to become Motability Accredited, The standards Motability have set for contract hire dealers are explained in the First-Class Suppliers Charter (see below).

Wheelchair dealers: A First-Class Suppliers programme has been launched for wheelchair dealers alongside Customer First. Again, suppliers will have to reach the standards set by Motability and on-site inspections will ensure these are met and maintained.

The First Class Suppliers programme is being extended to more suppliers to the Scheme. Even now Motability is adapting the programme for organisations that supply and adapt vehicles for people who receive Motability grants.

Promises in writing: Customer First will ensure that customers' needs shape the future of the Motability Scheme. There are a number of new publications that explain how Motability and suppliers to the Scheme aim to put you, the customer, first:

Customer Charter - words can come easily but this Charter has been put in writing and published so that customers know exactly what service they can expect from Motability.

Motability receives around 15,000 applications to the Scheme and over 60,000 phone calls every month. For the first time customers have a promise in writing that Motability will meet specific targets for its services, such as: processing an application, responding to correspondence and phone calls and keeping customers informed.

First-Class Suppliers Charter - this replaces the Approved Dealer Code of Practice. It explains what customers can expect from their Motability Accredited contract-hire dealer or retailer. The list of mandatory and desirable standards that Motability has set for all contract hire dealers to achieve is published for all to see. Only dealers who meet these standards will become Motability Accredited as a First-Class Supplier.

Help Us to Help You - a very important part of the Customer First

initiative is the feedback which customers provide. This will be used to help Motability improve the Scheme. In this brochure Motability also

outlines what customers can do to help Motability provide the best service.

You can play your part in Customer First by:

using the contract-hire car for the benefit of the disabled person

conforming to the contract rules with Motability Finance Ltd (MFL)

making sure that they are aware of their responsibility to arrange

servicing and maintenance

notifying the Scheme's suppliers of any change in circumstances,

notifying Royal Insurance Motability of any changes in nominated drivers or amendments

using the procedures set out in the Help Us to Help You brochure when you have any grievances or comments you want to make.

The Help Us to Help You brochure explains the route which customers can take if they have a grievance with a Scheme supplier or the charity. Again, for the first time, Motability has clearly defined the targets it aims to achieve when dealing with grievances.

The brochure informs customers of the procedures involved and informs them of how much time they can expect it to take for Motability and other suppliers to the Scheme to resolve a grievance.

Naturally, Motability aims to prevent any problems occurring in the first place. In order to do this Motability has commissioned a market research company to undertake a Customer Satisfaction Monitor (survey) on their behalf.

This ongoing survey forms another important part of Customer First and will help to identify existing and potential causes of concern so that Motability can take action before any serious problems arise.

It will also help determine whether the new Customer Charter standards meet your needs so that Motability can serve you to the best of their ability at all times.

It would be most helpful if anyone contacted to participate in the survey can spare the time to do so. Motability will use the feedback that customers give to restore and enhance the confidence of those who have had a grievance with any aspect of the Scheme. It will also be used to identify the cause of grievances, enabling the charity to improve the service for customers.

Customer First sounds marvellous; here's what the motor manufacturers thought of the First-Class Suppliers programme: Graham Smith, Managing Director at Toyota (GB) Ltd., said: "As a recognised master of customer service, Toyota fully supports the move by

Motability to provide the highest standards of service to disabled

customers.

"Our own commitment to Motability will see each of our 240 dealers

undertaking to become recognised as Motability Accredited First-Class

Suppliers from the beginning of the programme."

Barrie Goodman, Manager of Specialist and Emergency Sales at Renault UK, said: "Our dealer network's response to the Customer First initiative has been very positive and confirms our belief that the programme provides standards of excellence appropriate to the relationship between our dealers and their Motability Scheme customers.

"I am confident that the two-way benefits of the initiative will

progressively improve those relationships and we will continue to give our full support to future developments of this nature."

The Customer First literature is available from Customer Information

Services at Motability, Goodman House, Station Approach, Harlow, Essex CM20 2ET.

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