An 18-year-old job applicant says she was turned away from a trainee role at an estate agency because her car was considered too old.
Alanah Thompson French, from Burton Joyce in Nottinghamshire, applied for a trainee lettings negotiator position at haart in Nottingham in December 2025.
She says she was told her application would not be taken forward because her vehicle – a 2014 Citroën C1 – did not meet a requirement for cars to be 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.”
French, currently working 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 told the press: “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?”
French 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.
haart’s statement added: “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.
Aaaaah poor little thing… doesn’t get her own way so tells everyone about it… get over it….
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
A ‘Pool car’ perhaps?
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Cool story Boomer.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
What a rubbish, unkind comment. If Alanah was right for the job Haart should have appointed her regardless of her vehicle and upon successful results, upgraded it.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
haart. Taking elitism and car snobbery to a whole new level.
Some companies just have no self-awareness.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Haarts have now offered her an interview. I hope she declines.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
It comes across as both ageist and elitist. If SpicerHaart were that fussed about employee safety they would provide pool car or company cars. To dismiss an applicant at such an early stage without exploring options with them is very short sighted
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
One previous owner and only 40,000 miles so probably got a full service history and, one assumes, a current MOT so what’s the problem. Lost count of the number of ‘new’ electric cars I’ve seen in the middle of the road that have run out of battery!
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
I hate to think how much the insurance is!
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Industry standards continue to drop – we should all put checks and measures in place to address the decline…wonder what this candidate has done proactively in the last three months to earn a role in our industry…??
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
I was once told by an area manager at Haart that I needed to have a car no older than 3 years . I explained that I drove a 1961 Austin Healey and after I explained what that was, he said that was no good by the area manager. I asked him what he drove and he admitted it was a Ford Mondeo 🙂 🙂
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
This is very typical of that agency. Quite how they are in business still is beyond me.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
I’ve seen some bizarre hiring hurdles in my time, but haart rejecting an 18-year-old trainee because her car is “too old” takes the cake.
Alanah Thompson French saved up £2,800 to buy her 2014 Citroën C1. In my book, that doesn’t just show “reliability”—it shows a level of commitment and work ethic that most companies would kill for in an entry-level hire.
The Irony?
An estate agency—an industry built on finding “potential” in older properties—is refusing to see the potential in a young professional because of an old car. Apparently, a Victorian terrace with “character” (read: rising damp) is a great investment, but a well-maintained car with 40k miles is a “safety risk.”
The Silver Lining:
Honestly? Alanah probably dodged a bullet. If a company values a car’s registration plate over a human being’s grit and drive, she’d likely have been molded into another bland, “lights-on-nobody-home” negotiator with zero personal skills. She has too much character to be an assistant with the calibre of a dull Sports Direct floor-shuffler.
The Reality Check:
A car doesn’t sell a house; the person sitting in the driver’s seat does.
We should be judging applicants on their inner drive, not their outer driveway.
If “reliability” was truly the concern, haart should have looked at the teenager who worked a coffee shop job to buy her own transport.
Next week: haart rejects buyers because their wallets aren’t made of genuine Italian leather. Stay tuned.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
My car is a 2013 plate, so they would obviously reject me despite having over 20 years experience in the property sector… Good to know!
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
I’ve got a perfectly reliable 12 year old diesel car that I really do want to replace, but not until electric cars and their charging facilities are a bit better.
I actually think we are probably about there right now, but buying a new car is economically stupid. I want to buy one of today’s cars in about 2-3 years time after the initial depreciation is over.
I would therefore also be unemployable.
I also ride a big sporty motorbike, so that would probably exclude me too 🙂
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Same. I don’t want an electric one, I want a self-charging hybrid though. But I also just do not have the expendable money to buy one! Especially since it needs to be big and ‘meaty’ enough to tow trailers, deal with farm tracks and partially flooded roads…
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
And another thing…
Pool cars are basically mobile advertising hoardings. Foxtons got that right all the way back in 2001…
After Paul Smith’s dive into the accounts of the Big Guns yesterday, one of the things he may have failed to look at was associated/ ancillary/ appurtenant businesses to just the agents.
Although my information is years out of date, when it was current, my understanding was that the owner of Arun Estates made more profit for far less effort from his car leasing business than he did from the agency… The car lease business only had one client, guess what it was…
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
The Chairman having inherited the business from his dad not keen on allowing those less fortunate an opportunity it seems…
Who wouldn’t rather have the 2014 C1 on their drive instead of a haart board
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Absolutely disgusting. If the car had an MOT insurance and tax there should be no issue.
I bet the agent pays minimum wage as well
Sounds like the young lady dodged a bullet
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
She’s dodged a bullet. When she didn’t like working there and left within twelve months, they’d have levied a five grand ‘training’ charge against her.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register