Doorstep sales - alzheimer's sufferer

Doorstep sales - alzheimer's sufferer

Author
Discussion

Henzy

Original Poster:

125 posts

150 months

Monday 11th September 2017
quotequote all
My grandad lost his wife last year and has since been diagnosed with alzheimer's.

My Nan bought an expensive motorised chair around 10 years ago which is in as good of condition as the day it was delivered. She weighed very little and hardly used the motorised tipping feature, only when her arthritis was particularly bad.

My mother recently visited and noticed the chair had been replaced.
Turns out a doorstep sales man from the same company turned up and offered to take away the old chair and replace it with a brand new one. He didn’t believe there would be a cost for this. Unfortunately he was alone with this salesman and due to his condition we can only speculate on what happend and take what he says with a pinch of salt.

May also be worth noting My Nan’s will left all of her property to her Daughters with my grandad having life interest in the flat.
If you were to spend 5 minutes talking with him, it would be clear he is vulnerable and no longer the full ticket.

My sister and I are going round to see him tonight to find out the company details, times and dates but I’m under the impression he may be outside of the 14 day cooling off period.

I’m hoping the company given their demographic will do the morally correct and refund him the full £3,500 for a chair he does not use or need and refund the £70 for removing the old chair!

Am I right in thinking, legally they do not have to refund outside of the 14 days cooling off period or is there any exception due to his condition or ownership of the old chair?

I am out of my depth here, so any pointers or help with letter writing would be greatly appreciated.

akirk

5,376 posts

113 months

Monday 11th September 2017
quotequote all
So he sold your grandfather a replacement chair, when the original was for your grandmother - i.e. your grandfather had no need of the chair?

if so:
http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/...

theboss

6,878 posts

218 months

Monday 11th September 2017
quotequote all
I'll bet anything it's the same company which also recently sold my grandmother two of the same for a combined cost of £6k. She was told they were half price at that! Apparently a guy came around to provide a demonstration and it seems she was a victim of hard sales tactics. PM me if you wish.

A quick look around a mobility shop recently revealed very similar looking chairs priced between £500-1100

Butter Face

30,191 posts

159 months

Monday 11th September 2017
quotequote all
He's classed as a vulnerable person and the salesman should very well have realised this (especially as he probably deals with lots of elderly customers)

A call to his boss outlining the situation should sort it out pretty quickly,

theboss

6,878 posts

218 months

Monday 11th September 2017
quotequote all
Butter Face said:
He's classed as a vulnerable person and the salesman should very well have realised this (especially as he probably deals with lots of elderly customers)

A call to his boss outlining the situation should sort it out pretty quickly,
As per my post above - if its the same outfit then they supply furniture almost exclusively to very elderly people at colossal markups, all their customers are probably vulnerable to a degree or they'd have the wherewithal to realise they were paying a massively inflated cost. I'd bet this wasn't a one-off rogue salesman but the actions of a company which knows exactly what its doing.

Henzy

Original Poster:

125 posts

150 months

Monday 11th September 2017
quotequote all
akirk said:
So he sold your grandfather a replacement chair, when the original was for your grandmother - i.e. your grandfather had no need of the chair?

if so:
http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/...
Pretty much, yes. Thanks for the link

Henzy

Original Poster:

125 posts

150 months

Monday 11th September 2017
quotequote all
Butter Face said:
He's classed as a vulnerable person and the salesman should very well have realised this (especially as he probably deals with lots of elderly customers)

A call to his boss outlining the situation should sort it out pretty quickly,
This is what I first thought, their products are designed for the elderly.

Thanks I will check the paperwork tonight and this will be my fist port of call.

Henzy

Original Poster:

125 posts

150 months

Monday 11th September 2017
quotequote all
theboss said:
I'll bet anything it's the same company which also recently sold my grandmother two of the same for a combined cost of £6k. She was told they were half price at that! Apparently a guy came around to provide a demonstration and it seems she was a victim of hard sales tactics. PM me if you wish.

A quick look around a mobility shop recently revealed very similar looking chairs priced between £500-1100
Thanks, I'll check out the paperwork tonight and may PM you tomorrow.

Norse_mann

109 posts

203 months

Monday 11th September 2017
quotequote all
Does the old boy still have the mental capacity to make a £3500 purchase?

4x4Tyke

6,506 posts

131 months

Monday 11th September 2017
quotequote all

If not in place do so immediately.

https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney

WJNB

2,637 posts

160 months

Monday 11th September 2017
quotequote all
Butter Face said:
He's classed as a vulnerable person and the salesman should very well have realised this (especially as he probably deals with lots of elderly customers)

A call to his boss outlining the situation should sort it out pretty quickly,
That phone call would be a waste of time. The boss is probably the very man that is encouraging aggressive selling because his boss & his boss is running a business & is never going to come over all charitable.

Butter Face

30,191 posts

159 months

Monday 11th September 2017
quotequote all
WJNB said:
Butter Face said:
He's classed as a vulnerable person and the salesman should very well have realised this (especially as he probably deals with lots of elderly customers)

A call to his boss outlining the situation should sort it out pretty quickly,
That phone call would be a waste of time. The boss is probably the very man that is encouraging aggressive selling because his boss & his boss is running a business & is never going to come over all charitable.
Whilst I agree that they are probably running a firm with form for this kind of stuff, they are probably smart enough to know when to back out or something and give someone their money back before it goes badly in their favour.


Sheepshanks

32,526 posts

118 months

Monday 11th September 2017
quotequote all
You can't enforce a contract against a person who lacks the mental capacity to enter into that contract, but I imagine reversing one when the chair has been delivered and payment made would not be straightforward.

CoolHands

18,496 posts

194 months

Monday 11th September 2017
quotequote all
Not a solution to this, but would leaving only a credit card for old vulnerable people provide any protection from this type of thing? Eg whatever overpriced ste they buy in this sort of situation, is paid for on credit card. Can that then be charged back later to fk the company? Cash spending money could be left with them weekly to buy everyday stuff.

Sheepshanks

32,526 posts

118 months

Monday 11th September 2017
quotequote all
CoolHands said:
Can that then be charged back later to fk the company?
No.

CoolHands

18,496 posts

194 months

Monday 11th September 2017
quotequote all
Drat!

hyphen

26,262 posts

89 months

Monday 11th September 2017
quotequote all
OP Install CCTV and no cold caller stickers for the future if not present already.

Ozzie Dave

563 posts

247 months

Monday 11th September 2017
quotequote all
Was here (Oz) but had a similar situation, dad looked after everything but had early onset dementia. On checking 1 day found local telecoms had supplied 2 phone lines, pay TV, multiple internet packages, fax lines etc. Complained and threatened taking them to TV. Result was refund of all costs for previous 4 years, they backed down quite easily and initially offered 1 year but asked for complete refund as he was deemed as not of fit mental capacity to authorize the services/goods. Could prove most services had never been used as hardware was still in boxes.

Adrian E

3,248 posts

175 months

Monday 11th September 2017
quotequote all
4x4Tyke said:
If not in place do so immediately.

https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney
Probably too late now if he's already lost the capacity to make an informed choice - needs to be done ahead of reaching that point. I have it for my parents, but not yet instigated legally as my dad is still all there mentally, just physically ruined from caring for an occasionally double incontinent wife of over 50 years who can't walk far and has lost all interest in life, and stares at the TV all day......

carreauchompeur

17,830 posts

203 months

Monday 11th September 2017
quotequote all
Absolute fking scum. I find that these companies are far less keen to speak to sharp middle aged blokes than their elderly mothers. Rip them a new ahole. I have had to have 'words' about similar issues in the past.