Citizens Advice says it helps someone with a disability aid complaint every hour
The charity said it helped someone with a complaint about a disability aid 'every hour', with 48% of all complaints relating specifically to mobility vehicles.
Faulty goods made up more than two-thirds (69%) of disability aid issues reported to the charity's consumer service, including products that were unsafe, of poor quality, broken shortly after purchase, or never worked to begin with.
The advisory service said it had dealt with cases where people were stranded over their bath, stuck on the top floor of their house waiting for delayed repairs to a stairlift, or left in pain from using products which did not meet their needs.
In total, 70% of all complaints were specifically about aids designed to help people with mobility, including – as well as mobility scooters – stairlifts (12%) and mobility and bath aids (10%).
A UK-wide survey by the charity found that around one in seven people (7.4 million) bought an aid for themselves or someone else in the last year.
It warned that people buying disability aids experienced problems at every point of the process, from confusing and technical product information and poor customer service to poor quality items and a lack of warranty support.
Citizens Advice chief executive Dame Clare Moriarty said: 'Too often, disabled people are being failed by a disability aids market that isn't meeting their needs – and instead of offering support, it's creating new barriers.
'Problems like faulty products and poor service don't just leave people out of pocket, they can leave them literally stranded or unable to carry out even the most basic tasks. Having to battle to resolve problems only makes this worse.
'In this growing market, it's vital consumers are armed with the correct information before making a purchase. We urge people to do their research, know their rights and stay safe when buying – and remember we're here to help.'
John Herriman, chief executive at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), said: 'These findings are deeply concerning and highlight just how vital effective consumer education is for disabled people to help ensure accessibility and inclusion.
'Alongside enforcement, we need to ensure disabled consumers are empowered with the right information to make informed choices, recognise poor practice, and know where to turn for help.
'CTSI is committed to working with partners and the Approved Code Scheme provider – the British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA) – to raise awareness, and support education efforts to protect all consumers, and ensure businesses are held to the standards they should be meeting.'
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