charity refurbing elec scooters to give to oap's. LEGALITY
Discussion
possible the weirdest pistonheads topic (probably not, don't prove me wrong)
my wife's disabled.
can't believe the state of the NHS / local mobility people. Cant get a new scooter/ elec chair discounted. she's on high level DLA.
i was going to get an old one from eBay, refurb it etc (they're not cheap).
got me thinking, theres loads of OAP's around here that are disabled, how about i set up a charity, beg for old / used scooters and wheelchairs, put in new batteries etc. then give them (free) to people who need them. maybe we'd service the chairs every few months as well.
can this be done? do the chairs need PAT testing etc? i can do a course for cheap for that. ive got about 2 days a week i could put into this whole project.
if anyone works for trading standards / a lawyer etc my question would be;
"whats the legality of refurbishing wheelchairs / scooters to give to people in need? "
i may be overthinking this, but if someones battery runs out / dies and they get run over, am i responsible?
i know how England works. those that want to help are legally responsible for all the sh£t that happens within 5 miles.
have a think.
thanks
my wife's disabled.
can't believe the state of the NHS / local mobility people. Cant get a new scooter/ elec chair discounted. she's on high level DLA.
i was going to get an old one from eBay, refurb it etc (they're not cheap).
got me thinking, theres loads of OAP's around here that are disabled, how about i set up a charity, beg for old / used scooters and wheelchairs, put in new batteries etc. then give them (free) to people who need them. maybe we'd service the chairs every few months as well.
can this be done? do the chairs need PAT testing etc? i can do a course for cheap for that. ive got about 2 days a week i could put into this whole project.
if anyone works for trading standards / a lawyer etc my question would be;
"whats the legality of refurbishing wheelchairs / scooters to give to people in need? "
i may be overthinking this, but if someones battery runs out / dies and they get run over, am i responsible?
i know how England works. those that want to help are legally responsible for all the sh£t that happens within 5 miles.
have a think.
thanks
Davie_GLA said:
There is a market for it but i'm not sure on the legalities.
There's one that pops up on a friends FB now and then asking for ones that are a bit duff and will do a deal for anew (refurbed) one.
Amazingly, I thought there would be a market for stair-lifts too. We removed a perfectly good working one from our house and I thought I might be able to sell it. Nope. Worth buttons second hand. Same goes for expensive kid's buggies.There's one that pops up on a friends FB now and then asking for ones that are a bit duff and will do a deal for anew (refurbed) one.
The only similar thing I can think of is this mob... http://www.limbcare.org/shopmobility-limbcare.html
...although I'm not keen on them myself. Just something a little bit "off" about one particular tin-shaker locally. A bit too aggressive when I've declined to put money in his tin. Other than that I have no opinion on the charity itself or your idea, but there might be a possibility of some advice/encouragement from such a group if you're looking to set something similar up in an area they don't cover?
...although I'm not keen on them myself. Just something a little bit "off" about one particular tin-shaker locally. A bit too aggressive when I've declined to put money in his tin. Other than that I have no opinion on the charity itself or your idea, but there might be a possibility of some advice/encouragement from such a group if you're looking to set something similar up in an area they don't cover?
OP to answer a few of your question:
As your wife is on higher rate DLA/PIP she can get a scooter or power chair via Motability. You can also get a car but not both. Aplogies if you already know this!
Car via Motability are very good value but scooters/power chairs are not, IMHO.
Most second hand scooters/powerchair need a lot more than new batteries to make them work reliably.
Some, not all, users even when they have paid for them do not look after them well, they don't charge them properly and get them wet. So imagine how they would be looked after if given it for free.
Scooters and power chairs are very expensive to repair.
Scooters/power chairs don't need pat testing but the chargers do but pat testing is very simple (you don't need to do a course) contrary to what people that make money out of will tell you!
NHS wheelchair services will provide wheelchairs, scooters and power chairs but you might have to wait a long time and the service they provide is a joke.
Sorry to be negative but until a few years ago I worked for a small company that sold these things (I did the repairs etc.) but I don't know anything about the legal side of things.
As for setting up a charity - your 2 days a week would take you years to get one set up, again sorry to be negative.
As your wife is on higher rate DLA/PIP she can get a scooter or power chair via Motability. You can also get a car but not both. Aplogies if you already know this!
Car via Motability are very good value but scooters/power chairs are not, IMHO.
Most second hand scooters/powerchair need a lot more than new batteries to make them work reliably.
Some, not all, users even when they have paid for them do not look after them well, they don't charge them properly and get them wet. So imagine how they would be looked after if given it for free.
Scooters and power chairs are very expensive to repair.
Scooters/power chairs don't need pat testing but the chargers do but pat testing is very simple (you don't need to do a course) contrary to what people that make money out of will tell you!
NHS wheelchair services will provide wheelchairs, scooters and power chairs but you might have to wait a long time and the service they provide is a joke.
Sorry to be negative but until a few years ago I worked for a small company that sold these things (I did the repairs etc.) but I don't know anything about the legal side of things.
As for setting up a charity - your 2 days a week would take you years to get one set up, again sorry to be negative.
Edited by skeggysteve on Thursday 30th August 19:26
E36GUY said:
Davie_GLA said:
There is a market for it but i'm not sure on the legalities.
There's one that pops up on a friends FB now and then asking for ones that are a bit duff and will do a deal for anew (refurbed) one.
Amazingly, I thought there would be a market for stair-lifts too. We removed a perfectly good working one from our house and I thought I might be able to sell it. Nope. Worth buttons second hand. Same goes for expensive kid's buggies.There's one that pops up on a friends FB now and then asking for ones that are a bit duff and will do a deal for anew (refurbed) one.
sim72 said:
E36GUY said:
Davie_GLA said:
There is a market for it but i'm not sure on the legalities.
There's one that pops up on a friends FB now and then asking for ones that are a bit duff and will do a deal for anew (refurbed) one.
Amazingly, I thought there would be a market for stair-lifts too. We removed a perfectly good working one from our house and I thought I might be able to sell it. Nope. Worth buttons second hand. Same goes for expensive kid's buggies.There's one that pops up on a friends FB now and then asking for ones that are a bit duff and will do a deal for anew (refurbed) one.
Straight lifts need the staircase to exactly the same height, the treads and risers to be the same dimensions etc. Curved lifts have a much bigger problem with the same things.
The second is that the big stairlift companies make a lot and I mean a lot of money out of selling new lifts - a national company (great oaks grow out of them!) will give anyone that gets them a referal that they convert (by hard sale) into a sale a minimum of £250.
IMHO stair lift companies are worse than double glazing companies.
You'll get a better price for an old lift for the scrap man.
skeggysteve said:
There are two reasons for stairlifts being worth nothing second hand.
Straight lifts need the staircase to exactly the same height, the treads and risers to be the same dimensions etc. Curved lifts have a much bigger problem with the same things.
The second is that the big stairlift companies make a lot and I mean a lot of money out of selling new lifts - a national company (great oaks grow out of them!) will give anyone that gets them a referal that they convert (by hard sale) into a sale a minimum of £250.
IMHO stair lift companies are worse than double glazing companies.
You'll get a better price for an old lift for the scrap man.
You know a lot about them. I worked for the 'S' brand for about seven years, never again. I think Acorn started out buying back old lifts and modifying them, before copying the design entirely.Straight lifts need the staircase to exactly the same height, the treads and risers to be the same dimensions etc. Curved lifts have a much bigger problem with the same things.
The second is that the big stairlift companies make a lot and I mean a lot of money out of selling new lifts - a national company (great oaks grow out of them!) will give anyone that gets them a referal that they convert (by hard sale) into a sale a minimum of £250.
IMHO stair lift companies are worse than double glazing companies.
You'll get a better price for an old lift for the scrap man.
sim72 said:
E36GUY said:
Davie_GLA said:
There is a market for it but i'm not sure on the legalities.
There's one that pops up on a friends FB now and then asking for ones that are a bit duff and will do a deal for anew (refurbed) one.
Amazingly, I thought there would be a market for stair-lifts too. We removed a perfectly good working one from our house and I thought I might be able to sell it. Nope. Worth buttons second hand. Same goes for expensive kid's buggies.There's one that pops up on a friends FB now and then asking for ones that are a bit duff and will do a deal for anew (refurbed) one.
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