Councils crack down on mobility aid rogue traders

Hundreds of thousands of pounds are being retrieved and given back to older and disabled people who have been bullied into buying overpriced mobility aids by rogue traders.

Council trading standards officers are cracking down on those posing as social care professionals using hard-sell tactics to pressurise vulnerable people into parting with life savings to buy over-priced home equipment, such as mobility scooters, stair lifts and walk-in baths.

Already, Hampshire County Council trading standards officers have recovered £277,000 obtained from vulnerable residents. A mediation service has been set up to help those who get into serious difficulties when buying goods or services, or who become a victim of a scam. Residents recently helped include a man in his late eighties who was bullied into buying a £5000 motor scooter when he already had one, together with an 80-year-old lady who was cold-called by a home improvement company and pressurised into signing two contracts totalling more than £13,000.

In Bracknell Forest, council trading standards staff have directly intervened and helped residents and organisations save over £125,000 in the last year. Included in those helped was a retired couple who got back £1000 from a bathroom company who originally paid £1066 as a deposit for a new shower unit but when they tried to cancel their order, they were told that they would incur additional charges of £740 if they pursued their attempt.

Whilst in Leicestershire, a 75-year-old couple were preyed on by a cold caller who tried to make them buy an adjustable bed for £3,500. Leicestershire County Council trading standards issued a warning to all residents and received 17 complaints regarding mobility scooters, 4 on stair lifts and one about a bath aid.

Cllr Paul Bettison, chairman of Local Government Regulation (formerly LACORS), said:

“People who target vulnerable members of society have no morals and will not think twice about piling on the pressure to ensure they get as much money as possible. The equipment sold is rarely suitable, it’s severely overpriced and will no doubt come with a cancellation policy that is extremely hard to get out of.

“These heartless criminals are leaving people extremely worried and in a great deal of debt. They need to realise that they will be caught, dealt with by the courts, and punished severely."