A disabled Motability customer has asked the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority to investigate how Motability Operations and its insurer, Direct Line Motability, handled the paused Drive Smart telematics programme.
- Drive Smart used an in-car device or app to monitor driving behaviour; Motability Operations suspended it in May after widespread complaints from disabled customers.
- Campaigner Phil Swindin says four cases he supported show customers had named drivers silently removed from insurance, or leases terminated, without being properly informed, leading to two- to four-year bans from the scheme.
- The FCA says it will use the evidence in its supervisory work but has not confirmed what action it will take; Motability Operations says it is reviewing the programme before any further steps are taken.
Why it matters: Motability leases are a key source of accessible transport for disabled people in the UK, and unresolved problems with Drive Smart have reportedly left some customers without a vehicle even after the scheme was paused.
Source: Disability News Service →
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