Mobility Scooter - Not Mobile - Repair Store Gone No Contact

sheramber

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81881491#Comment_81881491

The item failed under warranty so any repair should be dealt with under the warranty.

Alternatively, it is not fit for purpose.
I don’t think the OP told us how she paid for it.

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81881803#Comment_81881803

Agreed - I made that point about failure during warranty right back at the beginning, and have also highlighted the potential to choose between exercising CRA rights or making a warranty claim!

Alderbank

Just to recap…

Last year you bought a new mobility scooter from a shop 50 miles away on the other side of London.

It is probably similar to this Drive Envoy which costs £1,445 and has a range of about 30 miles.

In October it broke down so you returned it to the shop to be fixed.

The shop has recently written to say they have carried out extensive tests on the motor, batteries etc. including road tests and the scooter is in perfect working order and ready for collection.

Is the above correct?

If so, I don't think the shop is required to do anything further and I don't think you have grounds (at present) for taking them to court.

Going forward, your best and lowest cost option is to travel to the shop using your Disabled Persons Freedom Card from TfL. Pre-arrange the meeting with the shop in advance. Test your scooter out on the local streets. If the fault is still there you can discuss what to do face-to-face with the seller. Once he admits he has not been able to fix it you acquire the right to reject under the CRA, so you can then discuss enforcing your rights to return it for a refund.

If, in spite of your feelings, the scooter is indeed OK, you can travel back home with your scooter on the Tube or train using your Freedom Card. Do plan the journey in advance though because not all stations are fully accessible (I'm looking at you, Putney Bridge!) TfL have a really useful planner:

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/step-free-tube-guide-map.pdf

You didn't answer my earlier question about insurance. For peace of mind you really should get mobility scooter rescue insurance. It costs about £35 annually. It doesn't pay for repairs but you get a 24/7 phone number which in the event of another breakdown sends a suitable recovery vehicle to convey you and your scooter safely home or to your choice of destination such as a repair shop. The premium typically covers at least 3 or 4 rescues a year,.

Okell

@Alderbank said:

"… Going forward, your best and lowest cost option is to travel to the shop using your Disabled Persons Freedom Card from TfL. Pre-arrange the meeting with the shop in advance. Test your scooter out on the local streets. If the fault is still there you can discuss what to do face-to-face with the seller. Once he admits he has not been able to fix it you acquire the right to reject under the CRA, so you can then discuss enforcing your rights to return it for a refund.

If, in spite of your feelings, the scooter is indeed OK, you can travel back home with your scooter on the Tube or train using your Freedom Card. Do plan the journey in advance though because not all stations are fully accessible (I'm looking at you, Putney Bridge!) TfL have a really useful planner:…"

Before committing herself to a lengthy and probably stressful cross London trip, wouldn't it make more sense for the OP to get her normal scooter repair guy to inspect the scooter locally and provide a report on it as added ammunition?

Either he can confirm there is something wrong with it, which will support the OP's case against the seller, or he can't find anything wrong with it and the OP is in no worse position than she is now?

(Although what I'm a bit confused about is whether the OP now has the scooter back or whether the seller still has it)

Alderbank

Would your suggestion for her normal scooter repair guy go to inspect the scooter make more sense?

Yes it might, but we'd need more information.

Two days ago on Tuesday the shop said to the OP,

'We put the scooter on a rolling road test and our engineer found no faults with the scooter, the scooter is working fine, the batteries are reading ok and there are no loose connections and we are unable to do anymore with the scooter. Would you like to arrange collection?'

We don't know where the OP lives or where the shop is but my suggestion is for the least cost. In London people with disabilities travel free (outside rush hour) on all forms of transport. London Transport is pretty good and is always my choice for the least stressful way to get anywhere.

OP could presumably pay her mechanic to drive to the shop 50 miles away, check over the scooter then bring it back in his van. However London is the world's slowest city and that 100 mile round trip during the working day could could easily take 3 hours each way so she would be paying him 8 hours at London rates.

I know which I would do. Just my opinion though

Okell

@Alderbank - yeah of course.

I wasn't certain if she had the scooter back or not. If it's stil at the shop the other side of London my idea is a non-starter.

Pity the usual scooter guy couldn't have given it a once over before it wwas taken back to the shop

sheramber

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81881954#Comment_81881954

The shop did witness the fault.

“ut after discussion with the Engineer, and that my friend went and rode it about for about 15 minutes around there, to see if it was ok, and it wasn't. It definitely had the faults. The Lights flashed. There was the beeping, the Power kept dropping, or dropping out completely, and the ticking in the back end was even louder by the time he got back to the place. ... 

He took it back, and reported what he had witnessed. So the Engineer said to me, that he'd hang onto it.”

OP later said they said it was an intermittent fault.

“We have tried to contact you by telephone and we have discussed that we put the scooter on a rolling road test and our engineer found no faults with the scooter, it was explained to you that with an intermittent fault we cant access it until it happens/shows and unfortunately your scooter isnt. “