Mobility aid sector to be investigated

The Office of Fair Trading is to investigate the UK's mobility aid industry following a spike in complaints and concerns about poor customer service.

It plans to examine the level of competitiveness in the sector and whether consumers are well informed and treated fairly.

Consumer advice service Consumer Direct took nearly 5,000 calls from people complaining or seeking advice about the sector last year, a 20 per cent rise on 2008, the watchdog said.

OFT chief executive John Fingleton said: "Increasing complaints and the wide nature of the concerns make it appropriate for us to examine this sector and consider whether there is potential for improvements on a consumer or competition level.

"Before embarking on such an important piece of work, we want to engage with the industry, consumer groups and others to get a clear idea of the most salient issues we should focus on."

Prashant Vaze, head of fair markets at Consumer Focus, said: "We are delighted that the OFT has decided to act on this issue after we presented our evidence to it earlier this year.

"Clearly people using mobility aids are among the most vulnerable in our society and action needs to be taken to ensure they do not lose out."