Motability Operations is under pressure to tackle fraudulent use of the vehicles, which are leased in exchange for disability benefits money.
The i Paper last week revealed that the company removed vehicles from 11,000 people in the past three years, rising from 2,488 cases of misuse in 2022 to 5,300 such cases in 2024.
As Motability Operations steps up its monitoring and reviews some of its rules, we took a closer look at the different ways people exploit the system.
Claimants are allowed to have three people on the insurance. It means that two appointed friends, family members or carers can drive the car, so long as they are helping the disabled claimant with their needs.
The i Paper understands that the company recently removed a benefits claimant after its tracking system discovered the car was being used to travel between his son’s home and his son’s place of work.
Motability Operations has been able to identify such misuse because of data recorded from tracking devices. The company tells people upfront if a tracker is being installed.
Motability chief executive Andrew Miller has said the company is looking again at the number of people allowed to use each car, reviewing whether it is being “too generous” with the insurance rules.
Benefits fraud
However, Motability Operations has relationships with UK police forces through a “memorandum of understanding”. The company works with officers to probe possible misuse and can help trigger benefits fraud investigations.
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Ann Hooper, a Motability user, was sentenced to nine months in prison in 2021 for fraudulently claiming £33,000 in disability benefits for herself and two sons.
Linda Hoey, another Motability car user, was given a suspended jail term of 18 months in 2017 after falsely claiming £65,000 in disability benefits. She was photographed snorkelling while on holiday in the Maldives despite claiming she could barely walk.
The i Paper understands the company’s tracking devices have been used to discover late-night runs from 11pm and 6am.
Its chief executive said greater monitoring could be used to counter some of the “valid” claims that people are “using the scheme in not the way it’s intended”.
Sub-leasing, lending and selling
They hand over most or all of their £300 monthly mobility benefits, along with an advance payment of anywhere between £499 and £8,000, depending on the car’s price.
Motability Operations can remove people from the scheme if they are found to be using a car to commit any criminal act – not only benefits fraud.
Leases can also be terminated if people are found not taking good care of a car. The company can also send users the bill for any repairs.
Criticisms and defence of the scheme
Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice has claimed that the Motability scheme has been “hijacked” by “freeloaders”.
One TikTok influencer, wearing a red balaclava, produced videos in which he claimed to get a £31,000 car for “essentially free”. But his account has been taken down.
One young man claimed on TikTok that the Government had “bought him” a £34,000 car because of his autism. The i Paper understands that Motability Operations looked into the video and discovered he had been rejected for a car since he was not eligible.
But higher up-front payments of up to £8,000 are needed for the most expensive cars. Motability has said only 7 per cent of its stock are premium vehicles.
They said the growth in misuse reflected the rise in the number of Britons getting disability benefits, with the PIP claimant count expanding from 2.8 million to 3.7 million since 2022.
“We’re strengthening our approach to tackling abuse, including working closely with national policing bodies to investigate allegations of fraud or malpractice.”
TikTok has been approached for comment.
‘It’s a lifeline – I wouldn’t manage with my car’
Yolanda Barker, a 52-year-old from Kent, has a Motability car which has been specially adapted for her wheelchair.
Yolanda Barker from Kent has multiple sclerosis and relies on PIP and ESA benefits (Photo: Supplied)She has secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), suffering from pain all over her body, serious fatigue and brain fog. Because of poor eyesight, she relies on her husband to drive her around.
She receives around £600 a month in PIP. Just over £300, the mobility part of her benefit, goes to the lease for her Peugeot. She also had to pay around £4,000 up front.
“It’s a lifeline – we couldn’t afford a car otherwise,” said Barker. “It’s so important to get to appointments, for therapies, to get to voluntary work I do. I don’t know how people like me would manage without their car.”
She added: “I think we should praise Motability for catching people out if they are misusing it. But it’s a small proportion of people. There are clear rules in place to deal with it.”
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