Woman not shortlisted for job as 'car is too old'

An 18-year-old woman said she was left frustrated after being told she could not be shortlisted for a trainee role at an estate agency because her car was too old.

Alanah Thompson French, from Burton Joyce in Nottinghamshire, said she applied for a job as a trainee lettings negotiator at haart in Nottingham in December 2025.

She said she was told her application could not be progressed as her vehicle, a 2014 Citroen C1, was not under 10 years old.

In a statement haart said: "It's extremely important that people who work for us use reliable vehicles for their own personal safety, particularly where they travel many miles each day and often work alone."

Alanah currently works full-time in a coffee shop, but said she was keen to build a career in the property sector.

She said she had to declare the age of her car in the online application for the role at haart as a question asked, "is your car under 10 years old" and she ticked "no".

In an email seen by the BBC, the estate agency said it had considered her application, thanked her for the interest in working for the company but told her she had not been shortlisted for interview as it was a requirement to have access to a vehicle under 10 years old.

Alanah said: "It's just a bit of a kick in the teeth because obviously when you're applying for jobs, you're applying for loads and loads of jobs and to get an email back saying that... I just don't understand it.

"It doesn't seem fair because how am I meant to afford a bigger and better car? And how am I meant to get insured on a bigger and better car?"

Alanah said she saved up £2,800 and bought the car in May. It had had one previous owner and less than 40,000 miles on the clock.

She said she had not had any mechanical problems with it.

Jenni French, Alanah's mum, said: "The labour market is really tough for young people.

"I think the more that they're disadvantaged in terms of policies that start limiting their ability to show that they've got skills and knowledge and can do things, I think it makes it harder and harder.

"And if you don't have that door opened early days for you, it just has a legacy as you go through life."

In a statement haart said: "Evidence from motoring organisations shows that the likelihood of mechanical problems increases as vehicles get older.

"For that reason, and in line with many organisations that require staff to use their own cars for work purposes, our policy is that vehicles should normally be under 10 years old."

Danielle Parsons, employment partner at Irwin Mitchell, said haart's car policy raised questions for those wanting to enter its workforce.

"I'm concerned that this policy may disproportionately exclude younger, less affluent, applicants from applying for this job, particularly as this is an entry level position and job vacancies are currently few and far between.

"The response from haart doesn't point to any alternatives to this sort of blanket ban," she said.

Alanah said she still wanted to get into the property sector and was "still applying and searching for jobs every day".