Monica Ulfheim herself believes that she is both healthy and cheerful, even though her birth certificate reveals that she is 82 years old. Yet she is not allowed to lease an electric car.
Monica Ulfhielm really just wanted to lease a new car. But now she's found out that she's too old for that kind of thing.
The 82-year-old woman was rejected by the finance company Avlal, which is owned by the large international group PNB Paribas, because of her age.
Monica Ulfhielm is, say the financing people, too old to lease a Zeekr. She has reported the matter to the Swedish Equal Treatment Board.
Monica Ulfhielm lives in Saltsjö Boo outside Stockholm and is still active after a long working life. She has also leased cars, including from Peugeot.
She tells Senioren.se .
I previously rented a Peugeot, among other things. But then I thought the Zeekr electric car was interesting.
– And it was designed in Sweden, so I was curious. She contacted a dealer who introduced her to the new car model.
Monica Ulfhielm test drove the car and describes it as a good experience.
However, the application process was difficult. Monica Ulfhielm is surprised, among other things, that she was suddenly asked for a copy of her passport.
She submitted the necessary documents to Avlal, but was rejected.
– Hello, I have some sad news. Unfortunately, our maximum age limit for leasing cars is 73 years. Therefore, we unfortunately cannot proceed with the process. To proceed with the process, we need a co-applicant, the message from the financing company read.
Monica Ulfhielm was surprised and did not understand the rejection.
– Him (the salesman, ed.) at the car company was also completely confused and didn't understand anything. The finance company just needs to see if I'm able to pay.
"If I can drive, they should leave it to others, for example a doctor," says Monica Ulfhielm.
Ulfhielm has not had personal contact with the financing company, and their age policy also surprises her.
– They didn't even do a credit assessment but went straight to age. That was the first thing they saw and rejected me. I had never experienced anything like that and felt very surprised, says Monica Ulfhielm.
Monica Ulfhielm decided to report the case to the Discrimination Ombudsman.
– Then I reported the matter to the Discrimination Ombudsman. But they did not take up my case and did not need any justification. Then the wind went out of me, and I continue driving in my old car, says Monica Ulfhielm.
Only when the matter reached the media did Avlal change its mind about how old you have to be to lease a car. The company itself believes that this was a mistake.
"It was about a new employee who misinterpreted our policy. We have followed up on this internally," says Jennie Casselborg at PNB Caribas.
Avlal tried to downplay the incident. "When we do a credit rating, there are a number of factors that we look at in order to make a comprehensive assessment.
"Unfortunately, we are not able to comment on this individual case, as we are not allowed to comment on individual credit ratings," says Jennie Casselborg.
Monica Ulfhielm is skeptical of the explanation. She also doesn't give much credit to Avlal's apology, which she subsequently received over the phone.
In fact, she is not interested in the Zeekr at all. Monica Ulfhielm is not sure whether the financing company has invented a new explanation because the story was picked up by the media.
However, she finds it strange that it should take four months to discover such a mistake. If it is a mistake at all.
