Can bailiffs take a motability car?

[uscwap]

Hi everybody. I am new to the forum and looking for a bit of advice please.

I'll keep it short.

Basically as the title says, i wanted to know if a Bailiff can take a motability vehicle off me? I have done a search all over the various consumer forums but cannot find the answer to this question. I also can't find the answer on the National Debtline site.

Any help appreciated on this thanks

[Tools]

Re: Can bailiffs take a motability car?

That depends on which scheme you have taken there are two.

Contract hire

Through the contract hire scheme you can lease a new car supplied by a Motability accredited dealer for at least three years. Insurance, routine servicing and breakdown assistance are included. You may need to pay for the fitting and removal of any adaptations.
You can apply if you have 12 months or more of your Disability Living Allowance 'award' remaining. If your award is not renewed during the full length of your chosen scheme, your car will need to be returned.
At the end of the period, the car is returned to Motability Operations who operate the car schemes under contract to Motability.

Hire purchase

Hire purchase enables you to buy the car you want. This can be a new or used car. You are responsible for negotiating the purchase price of the car with the dealer and arranging insurance cover. At the end of the hire purchase agreement - which can be between three and five years - you will own the car.

If you have taken the second option and you own the car outright with no hire purchase remaining on it then I would say yes a Bailiff could in theory take your car, however, I am quite sure that a vehicle purchased under this scheme is classed as excluded goods but cannot find this to show you.

What is the chased debt for?
The car or something else?
Have you any outstanding HP on it or is it paid for in full?
Under which scheme did you aquire the motability car?

[righty]

Re: Can bailiffs take a motability car?

Whether the car is on HP or contract they cannot take it (though they may try) because it's not your property.

Also I seem to recall a very recent case where a bailiff did just that to a mobility vehicle & was disqualified from holding a certificate

[jules2008]

Re: Can bailiffs take a motability car?

you could try pepipoo they are very good at this type of thing. I rekon they would be able to tell you quite quickly if they can or cannot take a mobility car.

I am pretty sure they cant from what i have read off of that site. Good Luck

[Guest]

Re: Can bailiffs take a motability car?

There was a case in Middlesbrough County Court early last year and the bailiff had his certificate revoked as a result of, among other things, clamping a Motability car.

In short, they cannot touch it.

[righty]

Re: Can bailiffs take a motability car?

The principal reason he lost his certificate is because he couldn't deny that he knew it was a mobility vehicle. So it's important that if they threaten you inform them (in writing) that it's a mobility vehicle

[tomtubby]

Re: Can bailiffs take a motability car?

It would be a very foolish bailiff who removed a Motability Car. The vehicle is very nearly always on Contract Hire and is owned in any event by the company. If the bailiff is pursuing a debt for an unpaid parking charge notice then the Warrant of Execution in his possession will clearly provide that it is Motability vehicle so he would have prior warning.

If the debt is for council tax etc, then it is always the case that a LETTER should be sent to the bailiff company to advise them that you are classified as "vulnerable" as provided under the National Standards for Enforcement Agents and that you have a vehicle provided by Motability Finance .

[righty]

Re: Can bailiffs take a motability car?

Am I not correct in surmising that irrespective of HP or Contract Hire because it is a mobility vehicle & may be the only means of transport therefore required for daily use it would still fall within the category of exempted goods therefore should not be the subject of seizer

[tomtubby]

Re: Can bailiffs take a motability car?

A motability vehicle would no doubt be displaying a valid blue badge and as such would be exempt from seizure in any event.

[righty]

Re: Can bailiffs take a motability car?

A motability vehicle would no doubt be displaying a valid blue badge and as such would be exempt from seizure in any event.

Apparently as I understand it some bailiffs need to be informed of that fact

[tomtubby]

Re: Can bailiffs take a motability car?

What is clear is that bailiff's are finding it very difficult indeed to collect debts and with many of them being employed on a self employed basis, we are finding that many bailiffs are becoming very aggresive indeed and will try anything to extract money from the debtor.

[Oldmann55]

Re: Can bailiffs take a motability car?

A motability vehicle would no doubt be displaying a valid blue badge and as such would be exempt from seizure in any event.

Being in receipt of Disability Living Allowance Higher Mobility Allowance, one of the 2 main criteria to get a motability car does not entitle automatically to a "blue badge", the easiest way for a bailiff to identify a motability car is the tax disk, which shows the road fund tax exemption entitlement. Cars leased from motability are not the property of the driver and therefore could not anyway be seized, unless the bailiff was doing so on behalf of Motability Operations Limited! This would only be the case if the terms of the lease were breached, and no other way could be found to resolve the issues. Equally displaying a blue badge would not exempt a car from seizure automatically, as anyone who is able to fulfil the requirements can get one regardless of entitlement to DLA.
The short answer to the original question is NO the car could not be seized under normal circumstances.

[righty]

Re: Can bailiffs take a motability car?

Apparently as I understand it some bailiffs need to be informed of that fact

Mobility vehicle will also be road tax exempt (so they have no excuse that they didn't know) & no although they will claim they can (& some have) its unlawful to seize a mobility vehicle