US creators of £50 water bottle for disabled people slams UK retailer for £136 price hike
US-based Oak Hill Brands has hit out at a British retailer for charging £136 for a hands-free water bottle that it sells for £50 to American wheelchair users.
Giraffe Bottle has a long, flexible straw and clips on to a wheelchair which allows disabled people to drink water unaided.
Chicago-based Oak Hill Brands, which created the Giraffe Bottle, accused NineLife, of Harrow, North-West London, of ‘outrageous pricing’ following a Mail on Sunday report into the rip-off prices disabled people are forced to pay for mobility aids.
The investigation shamed companies for inflating the prices for mobility accessories that make life easier for disabled people.
Many crucial disability devices, such as walking aids, specialist beds and wheelchair repairs, it revealed, are not covered by Government funding schemes or NHS care.
Alex Zebutis, a spokesperson for Oak Hill Brands, condemned the £136 price tag and stated that there was no justification for charging so much. The firm instead recommended potential customers use an alternative British supplier, The Active Hands Company.
The Solihull-based firm sells Giraffe Bottles from £54.95, not including VAT, which many disabled people do not have to pay.
Disability prevents roughly two million people in Britain from easily drinking water, according to research carried out by the charity Hydrate for Health. Its research found that dehydration is a leading cause of falls and infections and contributes to tens of thousands of hospitalisations every year.
Fazilet Hadi, Head of Policy at Disability Rights UK commented exclusively to THIIS: “Disabled people need to fork out around £600 per month more than non-disabled people on living costs. In fact, a fifth of us are paying £1,000 or more extra on living costs each month.
“The equipment we need is often expensive, and this is a prime example of how the prices of even the most basic items are eye-wateringly high. It is hard to see how such items can have such a huge mark up, even factoring in that the markets for such products may be small.”
