Motability Scheme  Reviews 

Don't use this scheme!!! Its not helpful anymore!! They just want to stalk and control you!! They claim its helpful.......... But ask anyone who's been FORCED to use their drive smart scheme........... AND believe me not one person will say its 'helpful'.

Cos drivesmart judge your driving. They have multiple RIDICULOUS criteria. If you drive for over 1 hour.......... then you MUST take a break for 10 minutes. THAT INCLUDES if you're traveling an hour and 10 minutes!!!! Oh and what's the penalty........ WELL YOUR SCORE GOGES STRAIGHT INTO THE RED!!!

If there is an old lady crossing the road.... and you break to not bump into them!!! Guess what?? Drivesmart says that harsh braking is bad........... SO YOU SHOULD RUN THAT LITTLE OLD LADY RIGHT OVER!!! IF YOU DON'T YOUR SCORE GOES INTO THE RED!!!

THIS IS DISCRIMINATION!!! THIS IS PUNISHING DISABLED PEOPLE THIS IS DISGUSTING!!

Dreadful service from Motability - I have 2nd vehicle on the scheme and whilst Motability's CEO has a package o f at least £846,000 a year these days clearly this is not the result of good customer service by Motability which just gets worse. The "bot" accessing my Motability account openly says that it cannot accept direct questions and the subject boxes are im possible ... all for a question about the next service of my vehicle. Neither my carer nor I get any joy... giving up after waiting 38 minutes on the phone too. With the results of the Government's demands falling due to customers of the scheme by 1st July 2026 I will hardly be surprised if there is a significant exodus from the scheme precursored by many fewer new customers. A reducing focus on the needs of disable people - shame on you Motability

The drive smart is reportedly riddled with faulty assumptions and direct line are not interested. They ignore the obvious and cancel the insurance, thus the lease.
They are using the smartphone sensors in isolation and are not interested in the reason for.
They have dragged a respected Motability service into people fearing for their freedom. Shameful.

Absolute disgrace of a scheme! Not a single one of these people care about disabled people! I have had nothing but stress after falling into their trap! I have lost money, property and received fines for a car I wasn’t even driving! For which I have had to get the police involved. Customer service are useless! As if having disabilities isn’t hard enough on the daily, this scheme just makes it worse!

The reduction in miles is totally ridiculous. My son and myself are disabled. Twice as many appointments so how on earth can we keep under the limit. Its going to cost £1000's to stay just in the mileage alone. Total discrimination.

they do begrudge helping you..today yet again for the 3rd time in 2 weeks my tyre has gone down..the small stabilisers have shaved down because the tyre is flat and scrapped the plastic off it's always the same tyre ..they moan about giving you taxis ..but your paying for a working scooter and if it's not working you've no means of going out.. you can't be expected to pay for taxis if your paying £129 a month already it's always the same tyre there must be a bigger problem then a puncture the repair man said there was an hole in the tyre l must be driving over something sharp every time..l don't think that would affect the same tyre as you wouldn't ride in exactly the same place you can't leave motobility because they charge £250 to leave .. if you haven't got it your stuck with a useless scooter ..68 callouts since l got it last year for issues

Motability was a supportive trustworthy organisation which supported many disabled in maintaining independence sadly this had declined rapidly the philosophy behind Motability is quietly changing: from empowering disabled people with personal freedom…to managing disabled transport through more controlled, monitored and standardised systems, reduction in mileage, increased excess mileage charge, VAT on advance payments, increasing advance payments, reduction in tyre replacements, unable to extend leases etc
Motability risks fundamentally altering the scheme from a support-based system into one based on surveillance, restriction, and compliance monitoring – and resulting in real safeguarding and accountability concerns.
I recognise that there is a need to manage costs and ensure the long-term sustainability of the scheme.
However, this must be balanced against the significant financial strength of the Motability system, which has reported substantial reserves and surpluses in recent years. Against that backdrop, it is deeply concerning that measures being introduced to control costs are placing the burden on disabled people through increased monitoring, restriction, and risk of losing essential support.
Cost management cannot come at the expense of dignity, safety, and fundamental rights. Any approach must be proportionate, transparent, and fair — and must not shift risk onto those who rely on the scheme for basic independence.
Motability needs to regain trust by openly addressing the concerns that customers are actually talking about, rather than appearing to pivot the conversation elsewhere.
They have not made a minor policy adjustment but a fundamental change to how essential disability mobility support is accessed, monitored, and potentially withdrawn, with significant implications for human rights, equality, and democratic accountability.
A Motability car is not a luxury, it is independence, dignity and freedom.
Disabled people do not just need “access to transport.”
We need independence, choice and control over our own lives.

It is now very time consuming stressful and no longer user friendly when contacting Motability Operations. Many users give up due to long delays on the telephone and online chat calls. Even authorised dealers are experiencing problems and delays in getting routine repairs and maintenance authorised by them, needing videos etc. as proof of failure and dilapidation 😡😱

I think Motability need to have major rethink on how they operate and the real needs of disabled people.
When I joined scheme it was excellent, great car choices and prices were well below what you could get through leasing offers, 20,000 miles a year usage, great service and option to purchase the vehicle at end of the lease if you wished to.
Now! O my god what a change! And NOT for the better. How can a scheme (Charity at that) get so bad that at the end of the lease you can get same car, same mileage and lower up front payment with much lower monthly payment than through the scheme designed for disabled needs! It beggars belief!
Latest Update, from July 2026 they have halved the amount of mileage and dramatically increased the excess mileage charge to an extent that in my situation it would now involve an additional payment on end of lease of £7,500!!!
So I pay upfront in region of £4000 for average EV ( of which I’ve had 2) pay total allowance including increases over next 3 years and at end of lease pay another additional £7500.
This was designed as a means of disabled and people with mobility issues a cost effective way for them to keep mobile and independent but now just turned into a Big Business Corporation and NOT a Charity.
All lease companies charge excess mileage at around 7 to 12pence per mile, you are now charging 25pence per mile - ripping off people on the scheme and reducing there mobility due to increased costs.
Disgraceful for an organisation put in place to help mobility you are now restricting it.

Not what it used to be!
I've used Motability for almost 20 years, over that time I've seen the vehicle choice get worse and worse. Far too many SUV and EV vehicles and really limited choice of large estate vehicles.
Also, with the new changes coming in and reducing mileage to 10k per year, it's no longer fit for purpose so I'll have to look elsewhere. Then a ridiculous 25 pence per mile if you do go over, talk about insulting and money grabbing!
Previously the scheme had been very good.

Impossible to contact following the death of my mother and need to contact to terminate the contract for her car. Have tried on 2 separate days spending countless hours on hold or requesting a call back which has never yet been received. Their repetitive message directs me to the online account where there is NO facility to report a death and terminate the contract. In the meantime I have contacted the Bank, Pension and Insurance companies, utility companies, Local council, housing association etc many of these have dedicated bereavement lines / teams but STILL impossible to connect to anyone in Mutability. Horrendous stressful experience at the worst of times.

I’m new to the scheme and joined 20th April. I’m so anxious about the drive smart as I can’t have my location on due to personal issues.
Why are those who are new to the scheme having to pay the price with drive smart because the insurance costs are high?
Surely it should be those who have had multiple claims. I’m 47 years old and have been driving since I was 17. I really feel like leaving the scheme as it will jeopardise my safety.

ATROCIOUS QUALITY SERVICE FOR MOTABILITY CAR USERS

Direct line is the insurance company for Motability cars.
The changes this company is enforcing on disabled people is outright disgusting, one of the changes is the mileage cuts, 20 thousand miles a year and then 5 pence per mile after that is good and sufficient for the majority of Motability car users, now the company Direct Line has made astronomical changes lowering it to 10 miles per year "NOT PRACTICAL AT ALL FOR THE MAJORITY OF MOTABILITY CAR USERS" and then raised the extra mileage to 25 pence there after, well knowing "AGAIN" the majority of users simply cannot afford the extra "THOUSANDS OF POUNDS" they are expecting to receive.
Direct line & The Motability Scheme need to quickly have a rethink were they are going wrong with their Motability customers and correct it before this situation gets too far out of hand, and customers start getting proper legal advice.
Direct line & The Motability Scheme need to "PLEASE LISTEN TO THE CUSTOMERS"

I haven’t yet had Drive Smart installed, but based on what I am seeing and reading, I am extremely concerned and frankly appalled—by the direction Motability is taking.

I have been part of the Motability Scheme for many years without issue. It has always been built on one fundamental principle: providing independence to disabled people. Drive Smart appears to do the exact opposite.

This system introduces what can only be described as intrusive monitoring and behavioural control. Disabled people are effectively being tracked, scored, and judged on how they use a vehicle that is supposed to support their daily lives. Penalising people for how often they drive, when they drive, or how they live their lives is not support, it is control.

For many of us, our vehicle is not optional—it is essential. It enables access to healthcare, caring responsibilities, and basic day-to-day living. The idea that this usage is being monitored and could result in penalties or loss of rewards creates anxiety and undermines confidence in using the vehicle at all.

More worryingly, this kind of constant monitoring risks increasing social withdrawal and isolation. If people begin to feel anxious about being judged or penalised for simply going out, it discourages them from using their vehicle freely. For disabled people, that loss of confidence can very quickly lead to reduced independence, fewer outings, and increased isolation, exactly the opposite of what Motability is meant to prevent.

This raises serious concerns around privacy, dignity, and autonomy. It feels like disabled people are being subjected to a level of scrutiny that would not be considered acceptable elsewhere.

Motability was never intended to function as a surveillance scheme. Yet this is exactly what Drive Smart risks becoming.

In its current form, this system appears fundamentally flawed, not fit for purpose, and completely at odds with the values Motability claims to represent.

Long-standing customers are now questioning whether the scheme still exists to support them, to monitor them or remove them from the scheme altogether. To conclude, If this system restricts independence, then it’s harming the very group it’s meant to support

We were not informed that new “Drive Smart” would be included when renewing my son’s Motability car. I happened to do some investigations myself after reading about it online and discovered that the car we’d ordered has this. After several phone calls to the dealership and Motability, who blamed each other for not informing us of the new rules, we have cancelled and will not pick up the new vehicle. The driver who is under 30, is an HGV driver, he drives for a living yet because of his age, he has to be monitored! None of the named drivers has had an accident nor have made a claim in the 9 years we’ve been a customer. This used to be a fantastic scheme; now it is not.

This is honestly not worth the stress. It's taken years to get my daughter in a stable place with her mental health and get her through her test, a few weeks into this scheme and she's going downhill again. Don't understand why this not fit for purpose app is being used, why as her appointee I have to have permissions allowed. Just ridiculous been told different things every time I phone, couldn't get through on Friday. Rural area so town miles away, she's constantly counting her journeys, speed, tractors, animals, pot holes, cyclists, which to me makes driving unsafe! Time to leave after only a month, I won't put my daughter through this so back to no independence as we're in a rural area. Well done motabilty and don't leave a reply to get in touch, I've lost hours of my life trying to sort this and I'm recovering from a heart attack and the stress is not helping me either

MISSOLD BY MOTABILTY - Save your money and go elsewhere !

First time Motabilty customer here. Was super greatful to be added onto the scheme last December.

Signed up for our car in September and at no time was drive smart, mileage reduction, tracking apps, limiting 6 trips a day, or only 6 tyres replaced in three years was not mentioned.

Two months from December all was well and boom. I have now been added to drive smart for being under 30 years of age. No warning. No advertisement when introduced to the scheme, not mentioned by the dealer either as they had no idea about this as I queried to be certain.

I’m currently waiting on a response from the CEO and another complaints handler to explain how this is fair primarily on not being told about drive smart. But also what drive smart is and the impact it has had on so many disabled people.

Drive smart is so inaccurate peoples insurances are being cancelled left right and centre. All shared on the Motabilty groups online. Measuring the speed limit incorrectly, having Bluetooth on at all times, recording people driving around in supermarkets… for real !
You are scored on a points system red orange and green. 6 reds and you’re out of the scheme and banned from joining again.

Such a shame, as a lone carer I felt I could breath for two months knowing a scheme that was always created to support those in need would protect me from so much worry. Now I sit here worrying about my insurance being cancelled due to drive smarts inaccuracies and not even being told about having to have this.

If I’d of known I wouldn’t have bothered joining and all this ( amongst hundreds of others ) now have to find money for a deposit on another vehicle. Before drive smart cancels it for us and looking for another car will be impossible … thanks Motabilty !

Drive Smart device and app are not fit for purpose

New motability customer here and I thought this would be life-changing for my disabled son. The Drive Smart app and device have, however, rendered the whole experience a total nightmare. I had to buy a new mobile phone to work with the system, which was not a great start. Things went ok for a while, but out of nowhere my son's journeys have stopped recording on his phone, and my journeys have gone from being all green between 90% and 100%, to the majority being below 70% and amber, and also some not recording.

This is causing a huge amount of anxiety, in a life that is already full of hardship. I wish we had never joined the scheme.

Drivemart -If could give minus score I would inflation on privacy very inaccurate product that is designed for safer driving but in fact makes journeys unsafe. Unfit for purpose
It is not a black box like everyone thinks but a device to cause stress and anxiety amongst drivers. Constantly worrying about their scores
Scores are marked down for
Instance not taking into account everyday things like a child stepping out in road. If u stop marked
Down (what a joke ). Can’t use music maps or hands free in car totally unfair disabled being treated like 2nd class citizens
By a scheme that is
Supposed to help

I've been on the scheme for almost 20 years now but I certainly won't be renewing with them when my lease expires next year. They clearly don't care about their customers or disabled people in general, they're purely about making a much profit as possible and benefitting from disabled people's suffering. They've made sweeping, devastating changes to the scheme with no consultation with scheme users or disabled people. As such they have no understanding of the impact the changes would have. Reducing the milage limit from 20,000 a year down to 10,000 a year based on an average ABLE BODIED UK average milage being 7500. They do know disabled people depend on their cars more, right? Then on top raising the pence per mile over the limit from 5p to 25p (way above the vast majority of lease agreements). They blame this need for increase on rising insurance costs because they've had more claims. Clearly related to the fact that they're taking on more younger drivers who are much higher risk. So why don't they charge them more for insurance? They'd pay a LOT more elsewhere. The low risk users that depend on their cars more are expected to subsidise the high risk drivers that choose to drive like idiots but THEY are not expected to subsidise low risk users that NEED to use their care more?! Disgusting. The move is clearly just an easy, lazy way to boot off what thay see as the least profitable customers.

As a disabled person I cannot fail to notice the devastating effects the roll out of the 'Drivesmart' app is having on users, it's all over social media. Ill thought out, not fit for purpose, illegal, discriminatory and to be frank, an appalling thing to do. It's tracking users 24/7, pushing out false, inaccurate data, Motability won't listen, Direct Line won't listen and the fall out is that lives are being utterly destroyed for no valid reason. The anxiety and distress they're causing is enormous.... Do they care? No. This won't be forgotten and as they realise users are leaving in droves they'll maybe realise that they're very close to destroying the scheme entirely. I suspect they won't survive this.
I don't expect the CEO will miss his almost million pound salary and £21,000 car allowance, he'll just move on and leave the scheme in tatters.

**I won't be affected by the changes but I refuse to support a company that treats disabled people this way, I won't give them my money.

***Edit since response added. How long are you going to trot out the same nonsense over and over again? Blame it on the government tax changes.....everybody else's fault. Yes, I'm sure that was part of why the changes were made but your sums just don't add up. You've passed on the VAT on the APs to your customers so that is paid for. That leaves the 12.5% tax on the insurance. Well you've removed European travel breakdown, you've reduced the tyre limit from 8 to 6 over the lease, you've increased the insurance excess from £100 to £200. My insurance quote privately is £625 for this same vehicle with zero no claims history. 12.5% of £625 is a whopping extra £78.12 a year. You've saved that so many times over. You can't really blame the government for the reduction in milage allowance from 60,000 to £30,000 and the obscene rise of 25p per mile from 5p a mile excess milage charge now can you?
Either way you paid your CEO just short of a million last year including hundreds of thousands in bonuses (and a £21,000 car allowance on top just to add insult to injury), despite knowing you were going to make a loss and despite making a loss the year before. You're sat on £4.2 BILLION in reserves and you shaft your vulnerable customers for every penny you can again and again. You can claim to be non profit as much as you like but the banks that own you are making massive amounts of profits from the disgusting amount and ever rising reserves sat there earning them money. It's very clear looking in from the outside that the downfall of Motability is due to greed, mismanagement and the appalling way that customers are being treated.
Motability has totally lost its way sacrificing support to gain profit. It's no longer a fair scheme and they do not care how much distress or damage they cause their customers. Note not one customer that was booted off the scheme and had insurance cancelled due to the massively floored 'Drive Smart' system has been put right by Motability. Disgraceful.