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<p>Such refusals would be potentially unlawful under the Equality Act 2010. This legislation
provides that it is unlawful age discrimination for a service provider such as a car
hire company to refuse, on age grounds, to lease a vehicle to an otherwise qualified
person, unless the company can, when challenged, objectively justify its decision.</p><p>Where
a company cannot, in those circumstances, show that their leasing age policy is a
proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, the individual affected can bring
a claim to the County Court, or Sheriff’s Court in Scotland. The court may determine
whether the “objective justification test” has been satisfied, and may award costs
and compensation if the claimant wins their case. A range of guidance is available
to service providers on their obligations and to service users on their rights, most
notably on the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s website: <a href="https://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com"
target="_blank">https://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com</a>, and through the Equality
and Advisory and Support Service (EASS). The EASS can be contacted via its website,
<a href="http://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com" target="_blank">http://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com</a>,
by telephone on 0808 800 0082 (or by text phone on 0808 800 0084).</p>
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