http://www.ukmobility4u.co.uk/haveyoursay/Blah.pl? http://www.eblah.com en http://www.ukmobility4u.co.uk/haveyoursay/Blah.pl?m-1253903038/ http://www.ukmobility4u.co.uk/haveyoursay/Blah.pl?m-1253903038/#num1 Can anyone tell me if my parents, 82 years old and 87 years old are able to get financial help in the purchase of a  medically necessary stairlift.
It cost them nearly 3,000 british pounds. Seeing the age of the couple, wouldn't  it have been nice f the Acorn salesman might have mentioned this information to them,  before taking their savings?]]> Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:23:58 elizabeth http://www.ukmobility4u.co.uk/haveyoursay/Blah.pl?m-1247070537/ http://www.ukmobility4u.co.uk/haveyoursay/Blah.pl?m-1247070537/#num1
The company blamed both the scooter for just being a year old and the batteries. They replaced the batteries at considerable cost to her, depite being still under warrantee, but the scooter could still barely go a mile even then. Also every three to six months the batteries suddenly needed to be continually replaced when the original batteries worked great right up until the original service.

She has had to pay out a lot of money for taxis to get her and her scooter into town so she could do the most basic of things like the shopping or collecting her basic state pension from the Post Office, and only once a fortnight.

When the scooter broke down to the point wher it could no longer be of any further use to her, she got a part exchange deal with them for a "new" scooter, which performed just as badly as the original one with all the same problems.

Eventually, as she understandably by this point no longer trusted the original company, she got batteries of the correct type from somewhere else and had them installed. The scooter was good enough to get into town with the aid of a taxi for a short while. Then it croaked completely on her.

She tried to get the problem sorted out while still under warrantee but the original company blamed the batteries as she didn't get them from them while the company she got the batteries from, having tested them and found them to be just fine, blamed the scooter.

On the advice of Trading Standards she contacted both companies formally by letter to try and clear things up. Unfortunately it made things much, much worse.

Apparently her style of writing formal business letters dates from the 1950s where she was first taught how to do business letters, a time where people were still watching black and white Ealing films at the cinema while wearing bowler hats. Modern business correspondence, 40-50 years on, is routinely much less formal than in her day. The only time that anyone writes that formally these days is when lawyers are criminally suing someone.

So on encountering such an old school style business letter, both companies freaked, thinking that she was bringing criminal proceedings against them when, after re-reading several times with a dictionary and a thesaurus, there was nothing of the sort in the letter. The only thing wrong with her typewritten correspondence (using an old Imperial manual typewriter) was it's uber formal style, which for her, from back in the day, was her idea of perfectly normal.

They basically wanted nothing more to do with her when she tried to clear things up by phone unless she was either prepared to spend an extortionate £35 an hour rate to have her scooter repaired (there was an audible gasp from a customer in the background over the phone) or buy yet another scooter.

As she had been drained dry of cash by the original scooter company there was no way she could afford to do such a thing. Also, because she wasn't registered disabled when she was of working age, the Social Services in Lincolnshire won't even lift a finger to help with the cost as the rules say she's not eligible.

So now she is housebound, completely distraught, and in real need of help.

All she wants to do is to patch things up with the company she got the batteries from and save up to be their customer (which is the only other mobility place where she lives), instead of being the original company's butt-monkey, and get her life back up and running but no one wants to talk to her anymore, because of the above.  ]]> Wed, 8 Jul 2009 17:28:57 outtheredude http://www.ukmobility4u.co.uk/haveyoursay/Blah.pl?m-1219389643/ http://www.ukmobility4u.co.uk/haveyoursay/Blah.pl?m-1219389643/#num1
Highway code issued for mobility scooters
Mobility scooters, capable of hitting speeds up 8mph, are being kept in check by a new highway code, warning users of the dangers of speeding and drink driving.

It is hoped the booklet will help enforce the strict 4mph rule (8mph on the road) and convey the dangers the elderly and disabled face on the vehicles.

Herefordshire Council has spent hundreds of pounds drawing up the booklet, which features cartoon characters in various scenarios, such as one man who has got his scarf caught under his wheel, and a granny caught up in traffic.

The guidelines helpfully advise users: "Do not use your scooter if you have been drinking alcohol or taking drugs".

It warns users: "Make sure that you know what all the switches and levers on your scooter do, and that you can control it properly before you go out on it."

It points out the potential pitfalls scooter users face, telling them to plan their journey accordingly and make sure they have enough battery power as "steep hills, high kerbs or other obstructions may make it impossible to tackle certain routes".

The new code also forbid extra passengers from hitching a ride - including pets which may prove a distraction.

Road Safety Officer Ann Mann said 500 of the booklets had been made up with a view for more to be produced and possibly rolled out to other areas should they prove successful.

She said: "Any vehicle, whether it is a car, HGV, bicycle, mobility scooter or motorcycle, if not used safely and with consideration could cause considerable damage to the user or other people.

"We've done this as a little reminder and we've put it into a nice and easy format so that people can understand the responsibilities mobility scooter users have."

Mobility scooter user, Irene Bickington, from Coventry, who has cerebral palsy, said: "It seems like a waste of money to me.

"I can see their intentions and perhaps some of it does make sense, but I can't see many scooter users being big drink and drugs users.

"Saying 'make sure you know what everything does on your scooter' is a little bit patronising. What do they take us for?

"Some of the advice does make sense, I'll give them that, but a lot of it is just barmy."

Earlier this week, an 81-year-old man was stopped by the police for driving his 8mph mobility scooter on a high-speed dual carriageway.

When police attempted to intervene, the man, who was not named, complained he found other roads "too slow".

The driver set off from his home on Hayling Island near Havant in the morning, heading for an electronics shop seven miles away in Farlington on the outskirts of Portsmouth, before being picked up by the police and given a lift home in a van.

He was not breaking the law however, as legally mobility scooters can be driven on dual carriageways, although police strongly advise against it
]]> Fri, 22 Aug 2008 08:20:43 ukmobility4u http://www.ukmobility4u.co.uk/haveyoursay/Blah.pl?m-1202817339/ http://www.ukmobility4u.co.uk/haveyoursay/Blah.pl?m-1202817339/#num1 Needless to say, I had a row between me, a very large steel cage and a floor that opened up causing me and the cage to go into superman mode flying into my new life!
I have been left with a neck injury. The UK doctors all tried insisting it was somatisation, a good Greek word which basically means it's all in my head! Well, yes I do agree, the pain emulates from the back of my neck up into my head, then down along my spine and out across my shoulders, mainly on the right hand side of my body.
I would describe this pain as extremely intense, I would say that I have oftentimes wished to end the pain, terminally. Something keeps me going, keeps me fighting and keeps me in pain!
I have sought help and advice from other doctors abroad, they all are of the same opinion, I have severely injured my brachial plexus causing all the nerves to send me the pain signals.
I have tried various drugs, pills, herbal concoctions, pillows of all types, sizes and fillings, but have yet to find something that really helps, so if anyone knows of anything to help this immobilising injury pray tell!
I must add that once the UK doctors realised that I was not 'putting on my pain' they did a huge turnabout and actually began helping me, first with useless and very painful cortisone injections, followed by an absolute miracle, Botox!
If I chose to remain in the UK, I could have access to these Botox injections every 5 to 6 months. I will say that they are nothing short of a toxic miracle, although if too much time elapses between treatments and the pain is allowed to creep back in, it does so with a vengeance!
I find it extremely difficult to do the most simplest of tasks such as open a bottle, I have lost co-ordination between my two hands and oftentimes my entire body, causing other minor injuries such as walking into the door post.
Some device to open jars, bottles and the likes would help matters.
Some very comfortable cushion to take the weight of my head off my shoulders could maybe help.]]> Tue, 12 Feb 2008 11:55:39 aPainintheNeck http://www.ukmobility4u.co.uk/haveyoursay/Blah.pl?m-1202765522/ http://www.ukmobility4u.co.uk/haveyoursay/Blah.pl?m-1202765522/#num1
Audrey Lane is recovering in hospital
A mobility scooter driver left an elderly woman with a broken leg and wrist after a hit-and-run accident.
Audrey Lane, 84, from Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, was hit by the electric vehicle which drove off at less than 8mph.

Mrs Lane is being treated in hospital while CCTV footage is being used to try to trace the driver.

He could face assault charges, or even be charged with dangerous driving under the Road Traffic Act.

'Elderly lady'

Mrs Lane's son, Daniel, 59, said: "My mother was standing with her shopping in the High Street, waiting to cross the road.

"The next thing she knew, she had been hit from behind by this man on a mobility scooter. She was in the middle of the road lying on the floor and her shopping bag was thrown half-way across the street.

"She remembers the incident clearly. He told her: 'I can't stop. I'm busy', then went off."

Inspector Les Pritchard said: "The information we have is that a fairly elderly lady was waiting to cross the road outside Somerfield in Tewkesbury High Street.

"As she was waiting, she was struck by a mobility scooter which then drove away."




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