Nottingham firm Ideal Cars have asked PHTM to share their complaint they recently sent by email to the Access to Work team

Dear Access to Work Team,

I am writing to formally raise a complaint regarding the ongoing handling of invoices submitted to Access to Work for transport services provided by Ideal Cars.

Ideal Cars currently provides transport services for 12 separate clients under the Access to Work scheme. In line with agreed processes, we generate and issue invoices on the first of each month for the previous month’s journeys. These invoices are submitted to Access to Work by the individual clients we transport.

Each invoice clearly represents the full outstanding balance owed by Access to Work. Any passenger contributions are collected directly from the passenger at the time of travel and are deducted before the invoice is raised. To make this absolutely clear, every invoice includes the following wording:

“The invoice amount represents the outstanding balance. Any passenger contributions due have already been settled directly with the driver(s) at the time of travel. The remaining balance is to be paid in full.”

Despite this clear and consistent wording, Access to Work continues to deduct passenger contributions from the amounts paid to Ideal Cars. This has resulted in repeated underpayments, requiring time-consuming follow-up and reconciliation on our part.

In addition to this, Access to Work has repeatedly failed to pay invoices within a reasonable timescale. Several invoices are now more than 90 days overdue. As of today, the total outstanding balance owed to Ideal Cars across all 12 clients exceeds £12,000.

This situation is no longer sustainable. We are incurring ongoing administrative costs by having staff chase late and incorrect payments on a weekly basis, and the continued delay and inconsistency in payments is placing significant financial strain on our business. In addition, the drivers carrying out this transport are not receiving payment within a reasonable timeframe due to these delays, meaning the very individuals delivering this essential service are, in effect, working without being paid.

This matter needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. Our invoices are clear, accurate, and require no further adjustment.

They should be paid in full and within a reasonable timeframe.

Please note that I have blind copied the affected clients into this email so they are aware of the current situation and the potential risk to their transport arrangements.

I have also blind copied our local MPs to highlight the ongoing failings we are experiencing, and this correspondence will be shared with PHTM to allow them to investigate and raise awareness of these issues across the wider taxi and private hire industry.

Affected clients should also feel free to escalate this matter to their own MPs if they wish to support efforts to resolve these issues. It is deeply concerning that a scheme intended to support individuals into work is instead putting essential transport services at risk due to continued payment failures.

I would appreciate a prompt response confirming:

• When all outstanding invoices will be paid in full

• How Access to Work will ensure passenger contributions are not incorrectly deducted going forward

• What steps will be taken to prevent further delays

• Previous emails on this matter have gone unanswered, which further compounds our concern.

I look forward to receiving a response as a matter of urgency.

Yours faithfully,

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