U-turn after job applicant told 'car is too old'

An estate agency has dropped a car age limit policy for its staff after an 18-year-old woman was left frustrated when she was told she could not be shortlisted for a job as her vehicle was too old.

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

Estate agents 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", adding Alanah would now be invited to a job interview.

Alanah, who works full-time in a coffee shop, 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".

She was then told she had not been shortlisted for interview as it was a requirement to have access to a vehicle under 10 years old.

Alanah, from Burton Joyce in Nottinghamshire, previously told the BBC: "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 to buy the car in May and had not had any mechanical problems with it.

In its statement, a spokesperson for haart said: "We are extremely grateful to Alanah Thompson French for raising her concerns about our 10-year car age limit policy, which has now been dropped.

"Although it was introduced with good intentions, to ensure that colleagues use vehicles that are roadworthy and safe, it was never meant to prevent people from joining our organisation."

The spokesperson added the firm would now be inviting Alanah for an interview.

"We are so impressed by Alanah's tenacity in raising the issue," they said.

"She is exactly the sort of person we would like to work for haart estate agents and we are contacting her to invite her for an interview."