Anyone made a purchase from Discount Mobility Direct?

schrodie

zaksmum wrote: »

You will need to charge it overnight.

Thanks. It seems the battery is fully charged as the battery indicator goes all the way round to green. Handy though that I don't have to take the battery off to charge it!

zaksmum

It just plugs in to a standard household socket. I pop mine on charge every evening so it's always got a full charge and is ready to go.

anjogo

What internet sellers don't tell you is what happens when you get a fault with your scooter, even when its under warranty they will expect you to stump payment to return the faulty parts to them. You could of course take it to your local mobility shop who should be able to get your warranty part replaced foc but you will have to pay their labour rates. You might pay more for a scooter from your local dealer but at least you get two years of worry free scootering knowing they will fix it for free.

zabboo

It strikes me that anyone buying from DMD is simply asking for trouble. If you want to pay bottom dollar then expect bottom dollar service. It's that simple. Dont complain if you dont get premium service when your scooter doesn't work or if you need further advice. You made the choice to buy from them.
This company seems to have developed a reputation in the industry for low prices but terrible aftercare.
If you want good service go to your local independant mobility shop. Most of them will be prepared to do a deal if it means getting your business and most of the time you get the benefit of quality local service as well.
But dont be surprised if your local shop refuses to mend your DMD bought scooter if it goes wrong. Forget the bit about parts warranty. Why would they help you out if you didn't give them the business in the first place? Wake up people. If you dont support your local shops they wont be there much longer.

David_Sears

zabboo wrote: »

This company seems to have developed a reputation in the industry for low prices but terrible aftercare.

So it seems in my experience. Great prices. But hopeless if there's a problem.

Brassedoff

zaksmum wrote: »

I took delivery of a mobility scooter today and was not expecting it to need assembling! I tried to understand the booklet that came with it but it's not very clear so phoned the company with a query.
They said I should've booked the services of an engineer at £80 if I needed help - which I certainly wasn't expecting to!

They gave me the number of the carriers who equally couldn't help! Then when I called back, gave me the number of the manufacturers, Pride Mobility.

The company said they did not deal direct with the public.

So back to Discount Mobility Direct where I was rather grudgingly given a bit of advice.

I've got the scooter on it's first charge tonight but though the charger is lit up, there are no lights on the tiller console display to indicate power levels. Do these only light after charging when the key's turned?

After the hassle I had today I'm reluctant to call back again - but it looks like their after sales service is totally non existent:(

I have just gone through the buying process for one of these with "DMD". Despite clearly seeing this thread, the company has not adjusted their purchasing method. Right through to buying the item there is no advisory of needing an "Engineer Delivery" which is offered at just an option. I advise businesses and find that despite such an influence forum flagging up an issue with their purchase system, they have not changed their website or order confirmation process.

zaksmum

Brassedoff wrote: »

I have just gone through the buying process for one of these with "DMD". Despite clearly seeing this thread, the company has not adjusted their purchasing method. Right through to buying the item there is no advisory of needing an "Engineer Delivery" which is offered at just an option. I advise businesses and find that despite such an influence forum flagging up an issue with their purchase system, they have not changed their website or order confirmation process.

They certainly do need to address this issue.

The disability market is obviously their main target, so many customers will be elderly and/or disabled. In these cases there is a very definite need to have an engineer delivery because it would be impossible to assemble the scooter without assistance.

Very heavy lifting is involved, around 70-80kg, and parts like the seat need to be lifted to almost shoulder height to be placed correctly.

The booklet that comes with the scooter is difficult to follow and in parts, impossible to fit as directed.

Yes, the prices are good, but they do need to make it very clear to potential purchasers that serious help and muscle will be required for assembly.

And their after sales service is dreadful as others appear to have also found.

ni-james

The delivery terms couldn't be much clearer. Anyone buying anything online should at the very least check the 'delivery' page which is clearly listed at the top of the page. There is also an info button beside the delivery options on the shopping basket to further clarify things. It clearly states what free delivery is and what the customer is required to do should they use this method.

I honestly can't believe someone who sees an £80 delivery option and a free option won't look to see what the difference is. There are many able bodied, technically minded people buying these products for relations. These are the ones who benefit from free courier delivery. Anyone else should be paying for a technician delivery service.

far1034

I recently purchased a scooter for my mother from DMD (I had not seen this thread beforehand, and only just stumbled across it and registered to post this). The scooter came pre-assembled although I did not request an engineer set up. However, the booklet is rubbish, poor instructions that do not seem to correlate to the scooter, for example, the pneumatic tyre pressure in the manual is stated as 25 Psi, but the side of the tyre says 50 Psi. The manual says, the charger indicator light should turn green when fully charged, but it remains solid red no matter how long you leave the charger on for, even when fully charged.
Echoeing everyone elses sentiments, the aftercare is appalling. DMD are the most frustrating company I have ever had to deal with. The telephone lines are constantly engaged and God forbid you ever have to deal with warranty through them; the manager will never get back to you and all your messages will get ignored. Whilst I agree with a previous poster in that you cannot expect a premium rate service from them considering what you paid, but this should not equate to a bad/ poor service/ no service at all, or indeed failure to honour the terms of warranty which is a legal obligation upon them.
It's people with genuine disabilities who suffer in the end. And if DMD really cared about these people they would put their prices up if that meant providing a better service for their sake.

ni-james

far1034 wrote: »

I recently purchased a scooter for my mother from DMD (I had not seen this thread beforehand, and only just stumbled across it and registered to post this). The scooter came pre-assembled although I did not request an engineer set up. However, the booklet is rubbish, poor instructions that do not seem to correlate to the scooter, for example, the pneumatic tyre pressure in the manual is stated as 25 Psi, but the side of the tyre says 50 Psi. The manual says, the charger indicator light should turn green when fully charged, but it remains solid red no matter how long you leave the charger on for, even when fully charged.
Echoeing everyone elses sentiments, the aftercare is appalling. DMD are the most frustrating company I have ever had to deal with. The telephone lines are constantly engaged and God forbid you ever have to deal with warranty through them; the manager will never get back to you and all your messages will get ignored. Whilst I agree with a previous poster in that you cannot expect a premium rate service from them considering what you paid, but this should not equate to a bad/ poor service/ no service at all, or indeed failure to honour the terms of warranty which is a legal obligation upon them.
It's people with genuine disabilities who suffer in the end. And if DMD really cared about these people they would put their prices up if that meant providing a better service for their sake.

The 50 psi on the tyres is just the maximum that the tyre can safely handle. The tyres are made by a different manufacturer and are used on many different applications as well as mobility scooters. The 25 psi is what the scooter manufacturer deem to be the best all round. It's firm enough not to effect the battery performance or tyre wear but still soft enough to absorb some bumps making it a more comfortable ride.

As for the charger it sounds like it's not charging at all. If it sticks on red and won't turn to green even after 10 hours then it's usually a sign of a fault with the batteries or a blown fuse in the scooter.

It's hard to advise as there are literally 100's of different chargers with a different light setup. If there's just one light on the charger, that usually stays green when the chargers switched on but not connected to the scooter. Once connected to the scooter it changes to orange when its charging, then green when its fully charged. There are a few chargers that use red to indicate charging, but for the most red means a fault.

If there's 2 lights on the charger then red is normally just the power light. There will be another light come on for the charging indication.