Take Care When Investing in Mobility Aids
Filed Under Elder Care
Mobility aids can give elderly or disabled people a new lease of life; allowing them the freedom to move alone, and to stay independent in their own home for longer. Every senior citizen should consider how the use of mobility aids could make their life easier, and safer. But recently elderly people have been targeted by companies using often aggressive sales tactics in order to push faulty mobility aids onto those who need them.
Local councils have been issuing warnings about the bad practises of some companies selling mobility scooters, stair lifts and orthopaedic furniture to the elderly and disabled. Consumers have complained about high pressure sales tactics, salesman spending extended periods in their homes, and even claiming to be working for Social Services, the Department for Work and Pensions and the National Health Service.
Consumer Direct, the OFT-managed advice service received 200 complaints about mobility aids from the Midlands alone in the first four months of 2009, up twenty-five per cent on the same period last year. Most of these complaints were about faulty products and customer service issues, but almost a quarter were about sales practises, including trader’s misleading claims. Nationally, Consumer Direct received over 1500 complaints about mobility aids in the first four months of the year.
While mobility aids provide independence for the elderly and disabled, allowing them to stay in their own home for longer, but these vulnerable people need to be careful when buying mobility aids because of the shocking tactics adopted by a few rogue operators.
These mobility aids are often sold to people within their own home, where they can be particularly vulnerable to pressurised selling tactics. Remember that most complaints are about high pressure sales techniques, unsuitable or faulty products, and overcharging.
New laws which came into force in October 2008 mean that consumers generally have seven days to cancel contracts entered into within their home. If you agree to something which you later regret, you have a week to correct it before the contract is legally binding.
There are also regulations which forbid traders from misleading consumers, subjecting them to aggressive sales practises, or refusing to leave a home when asked to do so. If these regulations are not followed they are punishable by up to two years imprisonment or an unlimited fine. Local Trading Standards investigate and enforce these regulations, based on the complaints received by Consumer Direct.
If you’re thinking about investing in a mobility aid, do yourself a favour and go with a reputable company that you can trust.
John Mce writes on a number of subjects including stairlifts. Stannah are a British family-owned stairlift company dedicated to quality, safety and service.
http://www.stannahstairlifts.co.uk/
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