Disabled man’s delight as scooter woes end (From York Press)
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The Great British Mobility Group apologise to John Gales, a disabled man from York for delays in repairing his motorised scooter
8:53am Thursday 26th November 2009 in Sorted
John Gales with his mobile scooter
DISABLED John Gales has told of his joy after being reunited with his motorised scooter and winning back the freedom of the pavement.
The 61-year-old was stranded in his York home for weeks after the scooter broke down and then its replacement also stopped working.
After The Press raised his problem last week with The Great British Mobility Group, which sold him the original scooter, it apologised for the delays in repairing the machine and pledged to try to get it back to him within days.
It said the delay had been caused by problems in obtaining a part.
Today Mr Gales, 61, of Swann Street, off Nunnery Lane, said: “It was delivered on Friday and I have been out and about again.
“It feels brilliant. I have been to the shops and to Rowntree Park, and am planning to visit my father at Glen Lodge in Heworth – I can get across there with my scooter, but couldn’t make it without it.
“I can get to the doctors and chemist, and don’t have to phone up to order things.”
He said he had bought the scooter in July for £2,000, plus part exchange on his old scooter, and it had been collected for repair under the warranty.
A second-hand scooter was loaned to him while he waited for the original equipment to be repaired, but this then broke down. He was unable to get any further than his local corner shop, to which he could walk with difficulty.
The company claimed last week it had no record of Mr Gales’s loan scooter not working and of him being left stranded within his home, saying: “If we were aware of our loan scooter breaking down, we would of course replace this for him as soon as possible.”
Mr Gales said today he did not believe the original scooter would have been returned to him so quickly, had it not been for the inquiries made by The Press. “I would like to thank you,” he said.
