Citizens Advice helps someone with a disability aid complaint every hour
Faulty goods make up more than two thirds (69%) of disability aid issues reported to the charity’s Consumer Service
Almost half (48%) of all complaints relate specifically to mobility vehicles
The charity is sharing top tips for buying a disability aid and what to do if there’s a problem
Disabled people are being let down by a disability aids market plagued by faulty products and poor service - with Citizens Advice receiving a complaint every hour, according to new research.
Items like mobility vehicles, stairlifts and hearing aids are a lifeline for disabled people to help them navigate their everyday lives. But problems are leaving consumers in stressful situations they’re forced to seek help with.
Citizens Advice says it has dealt with cases where people are stranded over their bath, stuck on the top floor of their house waiting for delayed repairs to a stairlift, or left in pain from using products which don’t meet their needs.
According to the charity’s Consumer Service, more than two thirds (69%) of disability aid complaints in the last year were about defective goods. This includes products that are unsafe, poor quality, broken shortly after purchase - or never worked to begin with.
In total 70% of all complaints were specifically about aids designed to help people with mobility, including mobility scooters (48%), stairlifts (12%) and mobility and bath aids (10%). These items are essential in helping people maintain their independence - and product issues can risk people being stranded or unable to carry out basic tasks, like having a bath.
Previous research by Citizens Advice found that while defective goods is the most common reason people come to the Consumer Service for advice, the vast majority also experienced poor treatment by the trader, including pressure selling, bad installation, refused returns and delayed repairs.
The issues people experience when buying or using disability aids stretch further than the people Citizens Advice supports. The charity conducted a UK-wide survey and found in the last year, around one in seven (7.4 million) people bought an aid for themselves, or someone else.
The survey also found the majority of disability aids purchased are paid for using personal funds such as savings (60%), with one in five (20%) paid for using credit cards or finance.
The charity warns that people buying disability aids experience problems at every point in the customer journey - from confusing and technical product information and poor customer service, to poor quality items and a lack of warranty support.
And Citizens Advice says these issues often have wide-ranging negative impacts on people’s emotional and physical wellbeing. There are more than 16 million disabled people in the UK, who are disproportionately affected by the cost-of-living crisis.
Citizens Advice is giving advice to people looking to buy a disability aid to mark the start of its Consumer Awareness campaign (Wednesday 18 June - Tuesday 24 June). The annual campaign is run by the charity in collaboration with the Consumer Protection Partnership (CPP), which includes Trading Standards and the Department for Business and Trade.
“I assumed they were telling me the truth” - John’s story
John, 80, lives in Llandudno, Wales, with his wife. She’s had long-term, debilitating health issues since a fall a few years ago, and with her mobility severely limited, John is her full-time registered carer. After seeing a national TV advert for an accessible bath, John decided to enquire.
He was told as well as the cost of the “bespoke” accessible bath, the company would also need to carry out additional work as part of the installation. However in reality, the work didn’t turn out as expected.
John said: “I just thought, ‘This is a big company, they are going to be fine’. They were not. They said the price was based on four people needed to do the job, but it took one man just two half days. I assumed they were telling me the truth.”
John paid £10,500 for the installation of the new bath as well as the additional work initially quoted, which included new flooring, replacing part of a wall and moving the toilet. However, none of this additional work was carried out.
He added: "I asked for a refund and they said they were a bespoke company. I was quoted for all this stuff which didn’t appear, and was told I had to pay. I was very much brushed off. I was in a situation where I was trying to make my wife happy as she was desperate for a sit-in bath. I thought this is the way I could help.”
After being denied a refund, John approached an ombudsman and received an offer of £200, which he rejected because it is a small sum of the thousands he spent.
Dame Clare Moriarty, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said: “Too often, disabled people are being failed by a disability aids market that isn’t meeting their needs - and instead of offering support, it’s creating new barriers.
“Problems like faulty products and poor service don’t just leave people out of pocket, they can leave them literally stranded or unable to carry out even the most basic tasks. Having to battle to resolve problems only makes this worse.
“In this growing market, it’s vital consumers are armed with the correct information before making a purchase. We urge people to do their research, know their rights and stay safe when buying - and remember we’re here to help.”
John Herriman, Chief Executive at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), said: “These findings are deeply concerning and highlight just how vital effective consumer education is for disabled people to help ensure accessibility and inclusion.
“Alongside enforcement, we need to ensure disabled consumers are empowered with the right information to make informed choices, recognise poor practice, and know where to turn for help.
“CTSI is committed to working with partners and the Approved Code Scheme provider - the British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA) - to raise awareness, and support education efforts to protect all consumers, and ensure businesses are held to the standards they should be meeting.”
Jane Parsons, Consumer Expert at Citizens Advice, has offered top tips to follow when buying a disability aid and navigating problems:
1. Check trader reviews
If you’re buying from a trader, you should look for an established firm you can trust, with a good reputation. There are organisations that can give you a list of traders which sell disability aids or help you with choosing one:
Your local council Trading Standards will have an approved traders scheme - Buy with Confidence
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) operates the Approved Code Scheme which aims to guarantee high standards of customer care and added levels of protection from traders who are signed up to an agreed code of conduct - such as the British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA)
If you’ve already got a trader in mind, they might claim they’re a member of a trader association - check the association's website to make sure.
2. Returning faulty goods
If something’s gone wrong with the disability aid you’ve bought, you might be entitled to a refund, repair or replacement, whether the item is new or second-hand.
You’ll have legal rights if the item you bought is:
Broken or damaged
Unusable
Not what was advertised, or doesn’t match the seller’s description
You won’t have any legal rights if the item was damaged by wear and tear, an accident or misuse, or if you knew about the fault before you bought it.
3. Solving an ongoing dispute
There are steps you can take if you’ve approached a business seller about a problem with your disability aid, or the service you received, and you’re not getting anywhere.
Make a formal complaint by email or post for your records. Before contacting the seller, check if they have a complaints procedure, which can usually be found on their website - make sure you follow this.
If you’re not happy with the response, ask the seller for a final response (often called a ‘deadlock letter’), which will confirm they haven’t been able to resolve your complaint.
A final response is proof you’ve already tried making a formal complaint - you’ll need it if you try other ways to sort out the problem. These can include:
Checking if the seller is a member of a trade association - meaning they might have to follow certain rules. If they've broken them, you could get help from the association.
Checking if you can get your money back if you paid by card or PayPal. If your card or finance provider doesn’t help, you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Checking if the seller is a member of a trader scheme - there may be an ‘alternative dispute resolution’ (ADR) scheme available to use.
-ends-
For more information contact: press.office@citizensadvice.org.uk
Tel: 03000 231 080
Out-of-hours contact number: 0845 099 0107
We give people the knowledge and confidence they need to find their way forward - whoever they are, and whatever their problem.
Notes to editors:
The Citizens Advice Consumer Service figures relate to disability aid complaints analysed from 16/05/2024-15/05/2025. “In the last year, Citizens Advice helped someone with a complaint about a disability aid every hour”. This statistic was determined via the following calculation: There were 253 working days between the above time frames and the Consumer Service was open on each of these days, for 8 hours per day. There were a total number of 1,857 disability aid complaints to the Consumer Service within the time frame. The number of complaints (1,857) was divided by the number of working days (253), which equates to 7.3. This figure was then divided by the number of hours in each working day (8 hours equating to 0.9 complaints per hour) = 1 complaint per hour.
The Consumer Service data showed mobility vehicles (48%) were the most complained about disability aid, this was followed by: adjustable and orthopaedic chairs and beds (16%), hearing and vision aids (13%), stairlifts (12%) and mobility and bath aids (10%). In-store purchases appeared to be more troublesome for customers (37%), compared to online (23%).
Citizens Advice commissioned Yonder Data Solutions to conduct a UK representative survey via its online Omnibus, with 2,068 adults aged 18 and above. Fieldwork took place between the 14th-15th May, 2025. The survey found 14% (285) of respondents bought a disability aid for themselves or someone else in the last 12 months. The data has been weighted to ensure the figure is nationally representative of those aged 18+ across the UK, and so that accurate data analysis can occur.
The survey also found the majority of disability aids purchased are paid for using personal funds (60%), with one in five (20%) paid for using credit cards or finance.
Of the people surveyed who had bought a disability aid in the last year, one in seven people had experienced a problem. When extrapolated, this equates to over a million people a year. Caution should be taken with this data point given the low base in respondents (40).
Since January 2024, almost two thirds (63%) of the people Citizens Advice helped with crisis support, which includes charitable support and food bank referrals, are disabled or have a long-term health condition - compared to 46% of the people the charity helped with all issues.
Citizens Advice is made up of the national charity Citizens Advice; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities across England and Wales; the Citizens Advice consumer service; and the Witness Service.
Our network of charities offers impartial advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free.
Citizens Advice helped 2.68 million people face to face, over the phone, by email and webchat in 2023-24. And we had 51.7 million visits to our website. For full service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.
Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 19,000 trained volunteers, working at over 1,900 service outlets across England and Wales.
Citizens Advice is the statutory consumer advocate for energy and postal markets. We provide supplier performance information to consumers and policy analysis to decision makers.
You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or 0808 223 1144 for Welsh language speakers.