Jobseeker happy after 'old car policy' dropped
BBCA 19-year-old woman has said she is happy an estate agency has dropped its car age limit policy for its staff and hopes it will make it easier for others to get a job with the company in future.
Alanah Thompson French said she applied for a job as a trainee lettings negotiator at haart in Nottingham in December 2025.
However, in an email seen by the BBC, she was told her application could not be progressed as her vehicle, a 2014 Citroen C1, was not under 10 years old.
A spokesperson for haart said the policy was "introduced with good intentions" to ensure vehicles were roadworthy and safe but "it was never meant to prevent people from joining our organisation".
Alanah, who currently works full-time in a coffee shop but is keen to build a career in the property sector, said: "I think it was a highly discriminatory policy and it's good that it's been changed.
"It just wasn't really very fair, so I am very happy. Hopefully people can go to them in the future and it can be easy for them to get a job.
"In my eyes it doesn't matter how old a car is.
"Cars can break down whether they're three years old or 10 years old. It doesn't matter."
Since sharing her story with the BBC, Alanah, from Burton Joyce in Nottinghamshire, said the response had been "very overwhelming".
She said: "It's been a bit crazy - my phone has not stopped going off.
"Everyone's been trying to contact me to get me on different news channels, radio, to talk to me about jobs, all sorts.
"I've been getting recognised at work and everything."
Jenni French, Alanah's mother, said: "From a mother's point of view, you want the best for your daughter and I was quite upset when she got the rejection letter in the first place.
"But to hear haart's change of policy, I think it's a great coup for Alanah to actually get a company to change what they're doing and make sure there's opportunities for young people going forward.
"She never expected it to go this far. It's great."
A spokesperson for haart said: "We are extremely grateful to Alanah for raising her concerns about our 10-year age limit car policy, which has now been withdrawn.
"Although it was introduced with good intentions, to ensure that colleagues use vehicles that are roadworthy and safe, the policy was never meant to prevent people from joining our organisation.
"We also have many roles that either don't require a car or come with a company car so there are many routes into our business.
"We have now had the opportunity to talk to Alanah about the different job opportunities within our estate agency group and the varied training programmes we offer."
Alanah confirmed she had now spoken to the firm's chief executive Anthony Lark, and had been offered an interview for the job she was initially rejected for due to the age of her car.
She said a number of people had contacted her about potential career opportunities, including a council, the civil service and a car lease firm.
Alanah said she was now considering her next career move.
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