Nationwide Mobility mis-sold a bath lift - help

Garetha

My father has been sold a £600 bath lift by Nationwide Mobility
Sadly the suckers under the lift don't stick on the non-slip surface of the bath.
The company will not take it back because he didn't reject it within 7 days of his ordering the item (it took 10 days to arrive!)
They appear to be a particularly unhelpful company and they are not in a trade association.

PS in conclusion! to save you reading the whole thread
Nationwide Mobility finally collected the bath lift and gave a refund - but not before they denied all responsibility until I threatened court action.

Also note that the price of this bath lift was almost double the price I found elsewhere for the identical make / model.

They also sell Adjustable Beds; Walk In Bath; Bath Lifts; Bath Belts: Riser Recliner Chairs
My advice:
Check elsewhere before you consider Nationwide Mobility
and don't expect good service or value!

munchings-n-crunchings

Hello,

I think the first thing you should do is contact Trading Standards.
They can advise you on consumer rights, and where you stand.
Any item sold has to be 'fit for the purpose intended', and if the lift is slipping, it's clearly not fit.

Trading standards are part of your County Council

Regards
Munchie

[Deleted User]

this may help:

http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/after_you_buy/making-complaint/

Mojisola

Garetha wrote: »

My father has been sold a £600 bath lift by Nationwide Mobilty
Sadly it slips because the suckers under the lift slip on the non-slip surface of the bath.
The company will not take it back because he didn't reject it within 7 days of his ordering the item (it took 10 days to arrive!)
They appear to be a particularly unhelpful company and they are not in a trade association.

Definitely get in touch with Trading Standards.

The company are trying to fob off your Dad by mixing up two things. The 7 days they quote is if you change your mind about the order. He wants to send it back because it's not fit for purpose - quite a different thing!

Garetha

woodbine wrote: »

this may help:

http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/after_you_buy/making-complaint/

Thank you all
I've just filled in a detailed form to Consumer Direct.
I gather Trading Standards won't accept problems until CD have seen it.

Nationwide Mobility seem to be a very uncaring company to be supplying products to a vulnerable section of the community. My brief contact with them was horrendous.

Keith585

Have you thought about contacting the BBC watchdog programme?, they often get involved in things like this

dmg24

Keith585 wrote: »

Have you thought about contacting the BBC watchdog programme?, they often get involved in things like this

Watchdog will not get involved until a consumer has tried to resolve the problem themselves.

OP, you are correct that you need to contact CD before TS.

Did your father ask the retailer advice on whether the item would be suitable, or did they just buy it without seeking advice? Did your father make the retailer aware that his bath had this special surface, or is this type of surface pretty common now in baths? These questions are very important in determining if the retailer is in breach of SOGA.

Garetha

dmg24 wrote: »

Watchdog will not get involved until a consumer has tried to resolve the problem themselves.

OP, you are correct that you need to contact CD before TS.

Did your father ask the retailer advice on whether the item would be suitable, or did they just buy it without seeking advice? Did your father make the retailer aware that his bath had this special surface, or is this type of surface pretty common now in baths? These questions are very important in determining if the retailer is in breach of SOGA.

The salesman looked at the bath and then advised them to buy the particular model.

dmg24

Garetha wrote: »

The salesman looked at the bath and then advised them to buy the particular model.

The fact that they visited your father at home and gave advice would be very strong evidence that the retailer is in contravention of SOGA, as the item is not fit for the specified purpose.

Hopefully Consumer Direct will provide you with a template letter to send to the retailer. If not, post again on the Consumer Rights board and someone will supply you with one. If the retailer still will not play ball, you can issue a small claims action against them. Based on the information provided, your claim will be very straightforward.

Antispam

LOL watchdog

as Jim Royale would say"my @rse"

Besides Watchdog is ruined now due to one hour long and beast from hell hosting it

Best route is sale of goods act

CutTheJargon

Garetha wrote: »

My father has been sold a £600 bath lift by Nationwide Mobilty
Sadly it slips because the suckers under the lift slip on the non-slip surface of the bath.
The company will not take it back because he didn't reject it within 7 days of his ordering the item (it took 10 days to arrive!)
They appear to be a particularly unhelpful company and they are not in a trade association.

Please, does anyone have knowledge of Nationwide Mobility?

I have a bit of experience with a manufacturer of bathlifts, though not the ones sold by Nationwide Mobility. We and/or our agents offered an evaluation/assessment where we would go out to the home and ensure the product was right for the customer. As there are so many types of bath available, it is important to do this to make sure the bathlift suited the bath. Unfortunately, some agents tend to only offer the bathlift with the most profit in it for them, which means less choice for the consumer.

It may be worth contacting the manufacturer of the bathlift, as I have occasionally seen faults on rubber suckers that have prevented them from sticking correctly. They may be willing to send you some replacement suckers or recommend something else. We would do this even if we had not directly sold the bathlift, as the agent would have purchased it from us originally. It would also be useful for the manufacturer to know which of its agents are less than helpful!

If £600 was paid for it then I can assure you that Nationwide has made enough profit to at least try and resolve your issues.