Mobility scooter woes mount for Tokoroa man

Having just turned 90, Denis Dugan was excited about getting a new mobility scooter.

But what was meant to give the Tokoroa man back his independence has instead left him feeling even more isolated. Within weeks of forking out $8345 for a heavy-duty double seat canopy scooter from Mt Maunganui company Mobility Plus, mechanical issues have been rife. The scooter’s control panel has stopped working and a loose bolt became lodged in its brake pads.

Despite having a one-year warranty, Dugan claims the company has left him high and dry. It will only look into the issues if it’s returned at Dugan’s cost, something it says he was aware of Dugan, who is now having to rely on his daughter to get out and about, said due to the issues not being of his making he feels he shouldn’t pay.

‘‘It’s guaranteed for a year but they are telling me I have got to pay to take it over and they won’t send anyone over to fix it. It’s unbelievable, they brought it over,’’ he said. ‘‘The terms and conditions of the warranty state they will repair or replace free of charge. Honestly, you wouldn’t believe how I’ve been treated.’’

He said due to how quickly the scooter had issues and the company’s response he’s asked for a refund.

‘‘If these issues had happened after six months, fair enough, but this has happened after a few weeks and only 70km. I just don’t feel safe with it,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s left me feeling us old people are being seen off. I have told them, I will talk to my solicitor.’’

Mobility Plus co-owner Jo Smith, however, maintains the company has done nothing wrong. The warranty states ‘‘products shipped direct to you or delivered out of [the] area will need to be returned at your cost to assess any warranty claim’’.

‘‘When he bought the scooter

. . . he agreed to it verbally multiple times that it was a return to base warranty,’’ she said.

‘‘I said, you need to be absolutely clear that, if you need it to come back for something, you need to get it here. We cannot close the business, drive over to Tokoroa and pick it up’’.

Smith said without assessing the scooter there was no way to determine if a warranty claim was justified.

Consumer New Zealand communications and campaigns head Gemma Rasmussen said as well as any warranty given, businesses also have obligations under the Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA).

‘‘These are usually greater than their obligations under any warranty,’’ she said. ‘‘The CGA states you can ask a trader to repair faulty goods whether the problem is big or small, however, the fault mustn’t have been caused by the misuse of the product. The repair must be carried out at no charge to the owner. If it is not, then you can claim your money back or have the work done elsewhere and charge the original retailer.’’

Rasmussen said determining who’s liable to cover transport costs for warranty assessments depends on how a product was distributed.