Mobility firm drives through the night to deliver hoist for family with MND
A mobility equipment company drove from London to Leeds and back, arriving past midnight, to replace a faulty hoist for a woman whose husband has motor neurone disease – a journey its chief executive described as the logical response to a product he calls “mission-critical”. The overnight dash by an owner of the online retailer Wuva came after a refurbished hoist arrived damaged and unusable just days before the family’s planned holiday.
Customer’s ordeal and Wuva’s overnight response
The customer, who identified herself only as SN from London, said her husband’s MND meant that without a working hoist they could not get him in and out of bed. The couple had bought a refurbished mobile hoist from Wuva to allow them to continue going away. The hoist arrived quickly but had been damaged in transit and did not function. She contacted Wuva out of hours via WhatsApp and received an extensive apology within five minutes, followed by a promise that an engineer would call. One of the company’s owners then telephoned almost immediately and assured her that a working hoist would be in place before the holiday the following week.
The next day the owner drove from London to Wuva’s warehouse in Leeds to collect a brand-new hoist. The motorway was closed, forcing a detour, but he kept the customer informed throughout. He arrived at the family’s home past midnight, unpacked the hoist and set it up. “It is amazing and we are now able to plan more trips away,” SN wrote. “Everything is such a struggle when living with MND, and Wuva’s kindness, empathy, and swift action means a great deal.”
‘Mobility aids are mission-critical’
Wuva began trading last year and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. It is backed by InnovateUK, the British Business Bank and Virgin StartUp. The company sells and leases a range of mobility and daily living aids – wheelchairs, scooters, hoists, profiling beds and walking aids – and offers refurbished equipment as a lower-cost option along with VAT relief for eligible customers. Its stated mission is to make daily life easier and safer for people seeking independence.
Chief executive James Hole said the company’s five staff were accustomed to making “emergency dashes across the country” to ensure customers received equipment on time. “Mobility aids are mission-critical,” he said. “A delay could mean a customer can’t get out of bed, attend a wedding or go on holiday, so we will always do what it takes.” The firm’s rental service includes collection, refurbishment and reuse of products, with repairs covered as part of the rental agreement. Customer reviews on the company’s website and on independent platforms consistently praise “exceptional customer service”, quick response times and staff who “genuinely care”. Hole’s explanation underscores why the category is treated as essential: for someone with MND, a hoist or an adjustable bed is not a convenience but the mechanism that makes basic daily activities possible. The MND Association, which offers grants for equipment not available through social care or the NHS, and “Quality of Life” grants that can be used for holidays, highlights the same reality – without reliable devices, independence and comfort collapse.
Market plagued by faults and poor service
The episode stands in sharp contrast to the wider mobility aids market, which Citizens Advice describes as “plagued by faulty goods and poor service”. The charity said it receives a complaint every hour about a disability aid purchase. New research from Citizens Advice indicates that over two-thirds (69%) of complaints about assistive technology in the last year concerned defective goods – products that were unsafe, of poor quality, broke shortly after purchase or never worked. Approximately 70% of all complaints were specifically about mobility aids, with mobility scooters accounting for 48% of those. The charity has documented cases where consumers have been left stranded, unable to carry out basic tasks, or in pain because of faulty products. It is calling for reviews of market standards, investigations into supply chain issues and a reconsideration of whether current consumer protection regulations are sufficient.
The Guardian article that first reported the Wuva story also drew a parallel with Bagcraft, an Essex luggage shop whose owner made an 860-mile round trip from Leigh-on-Sea to Edinburgh to ensure a customer received a replacement suitcase in time for a holiday. For the family with MND, the Wuva owner’s willingness to drive through a motorway closure and set up the hoist at midnight turned a potentially ruined holiday into “amazing” new possibilities. “We are now able to plan more trips away,” SN said.