Fighting to recover hundreds from dodgy furniture firm Anchor Mobility

Seventy-one-year-old grandfather of four Paul, turned up at the Streetwise consumer surgery in the Gosport Discovery centre with a distressing story about how he’d been ripped off by the firm from Felixstowe, Suffolk but didn’t know which way to turn.

‘I’d not long lost my wife, so the last thing I wanted was to be given the cold shoulder treatment by this shady outfit,’ the grieving widower said.

‘As I’m no spring chicken, after my wife died in October 2018 I decided to invest in a mobility chair and adjustable bed to make my life a little easier. I’d been suffering from backache and wasn’t getting a decent night’s sleep.

‘Last March a leaflet from Anchor Mobility caught my eye when it fell out of my regular weekly TV listing magazine.

‘It advertised an impressive array of mobility products so I took up the invitation to contact them for more information, but now I wish I’d never set eyes on them.

‘I’d hardly put the phone down when the very next day a pushy salesman turned up to give me a glossy sales brochure and show me a recliner chair he claimed would transform my life.

‘He said his visit was just a courtesy consultation, and to try out a chair in the comfort of my own home.

‘He certainly had the gift of the gab, and the first half hour was spent going though the company brochure. It soon became obvious he was in the business of verbal arm-twisting and wasn’t going to leave until I’d given him an order.

‘All I was really interested in at that stage was the price, but he was at great pains to tell me all their recliner chairs and adjustable beds were custom made and specifically made to ensure complete personal comfort. That’s why there were no prices in the brochure.

‘He then insisted in taking some measurements, which he claimed would ensure the chair met my expectations to improve my posture.

‘He went through much the same routine for the bed, where I was invited to chose from a range of mattresses, headboard styles and fabrics, and whether I wanted fitted side rails and a massage facility to help sooth my back pain.

‘After doing some calculations the insistent salesman said they could do me a special £2,200 deal for the chair, and £1,800 for the bed.

‘When I gagged at the price, and said I couldn’t possibly afford £4,000 for a chair and a bed, he promptly switched tack.

‘He said he’d phone his manager and ask if there was any chance of getting at least 20 per cent off the price if I agreed to give him an immediate order, and a 50 per cent deposit. I was reassured I could always cancel it within 14 days if I changed my mind.

‘I got the impression it was just a ruse, but when he got the go-ahead some two and a half hours down the line, I was so sick and tired of the whole business I gave him an order just to get rid of him and out of the flat.

A couple of days later Paul, a former hospital porter from Fareham, rang the company to tell them he’d changed his mind, and cancelled the order. He was promised a refund of his £1,600 deposit, but when it didn’t turn up and tried to contact them again, he couldn’t get an answer.

After a follow up letter went the same way he decided he was onto a hiding to nothing, not knowing where to turn for help - until a neighbour told him how to get in touch with Streetwise.

When we gave the company profile the once-over it soon became evident why Paul‘s refund complaint had hit the buffers.

Anchor Mobility’s sole director was one David Walters and the company had been warned of impending shut down by Companies House regulators for failing to file accounts.

Following a three-week trial in December 2019 Walters was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court to two years and eight months jail with £82,000 in refunds owed to vulnerable customers.

We also discovered Walters had been behind two previous companies that supplied similar products.

In 2013 he was prosecuted by Suffolk trading standards and fined after pleading guilty to nine charges of engaging in aggressive and misleading sales practices.

Just two year later in a separate case, his next company, Westminster Recliners Ltd, pleaded guilty to fresh charges of breaching consumer protection laws.

A spokesperson for Suffolk trading standards said that Anchor Mobility Ltd, and David Walters owed their customers a special duty of care, but instead had caused vulnerable people great stress, anger, and loss they could ill afford.

When we relayed the bad news to Paul, he wasn’t at all surprised at being swindled out of £1.5k.

But when we asked him how he’d paid the deposit, there was good news just around the corner.

He’d used his NatWest credit card, but he hadn’t made a Consumer Credit Act claim for the return of his money because he mistakenly believed deposit payments didn’t qualify for refunds.

After we set the record straight and advised him about putting in a claim, he was delighted when the refund turned up in his account just a few weeks later.

He said: ‘I wish I’d known about Streetwise earlier because it would have saved me much anguish and distress. I started to get quite bitter about the way I’d been treated.

‘Coping with my wife’s death was stressful enough without having to sort out these rogues. I just didn’t feel up to dealing with the matter.

‘I can’t thank you enough for looking into the problem for me. Without your help I would probably resigned myself to writing off money I could ill afford.’