Lifeline boss will do ‘whatever he can’ for stranded pensioner
The former director of a lifeline company has offered to do whatever he can to help an 85-year-old man who was left lying on the floor for almost five hours when his calls for help went unanswered.
Jim Dixon fell out of his chair after breaking his ribs days before. It was the first time the pensioner had been on his own since the accident.
He pressed his emergency buzzer, which was installed by Maidstone- based Halo Alert Services in August 2014, only to receive an automated message.
Luckily the retired bookbinder was found by family members the next morning and was not hurt.
But Mr Dixon, of King George Road, Chatham, has since been admitted to hospital with complications linked to taking morphine for his injuries.
His son, David, said it had since become clear Halo had gone bust in December 2013 and his father didn’t know. He has also became aware of a number of people in a similar position, including a woman who had paid £900 for a five-year contract.
Mr Dixon contacted Jason Witt, a former director of the company, who explained his new business, Intra Telecare, had contacted every one of Halo’s 500 customers and offered to honour their contracts for a small transfer fee.
Speaking to the Kent Messen- ger Mr Witt said: “I ceased to be a director of Halo at the start of 2013 but returned for a few months in 2014 to help my friend, company owner Simon Bennett.
“Simon contacted me at the end of 2014 to tell me Halo were experiencing financial problems, and I offered to contact his customers and take over the running of their lifelines.
“Every one was contacted either over the phone or by mail, and 80% took me up on the offer.”
Mr Bennett said: “The customer was the most important person when the company went under, and we did everything in our power to get in touch with them.”
He said he would do whatever he could to make things right for Mr Dixon and his family.
A spokesman for KCC confirmed it was aware of the issue and had addressed it with formal action and court warnings in May.
He added: “If these orders are breached, this could be in contempt of court and result in a fine or even imprisonment.”