This report refers to the GT model of this mobility scooter with wider steel rear wheels. The standard model has all aluminium wheels with built in brake drums with steel liners.Last September l ordered and paid for a £5,000 + VAT if it had been applicable, TGA Breeze S4 GT scooter from main dealer Kardinal Independent Living initially via on line. Delivery was set for two weeks but it ended up 2 months, not the dealers fault. HOWEVER, that is the only good thing l can say about the company. From start to finish l was attended by the Sales Manager Dana Hancorn who isn’t opposed to the odd mis_deed at times. She is also now a director of the company. I believe Conner is her MD brother, and the business was originally started by Dad and/or mum Carl and Helen Hancorn back in 2014. Changed names so hard to say. It arrived on a snowy 19th Nov. 2024 morning so l put it into my tool shed l had had prepared for it. At 80 years of age with some serious medical problems l didn’t see it again for about a month. This top of the range scooter has an electro magnetic type brake which self engages as you throttle back. It also has a ‘red brake lever’ that operates a single ‘brake-shoes and drum’ emergency brake via a cable on the left rear wheel only, should emergency braking be required, or in the unlikely event the electric brake fails. And there is a third ‘panic’ brake that will instantly sieze the main automatic brake by wrenching the accelerator wide open. The handbook warns to familiarise the owner with this panic brake as it stops the scooter so rapidly it can cause panic, hence its name. After checking the scooter over for myself it was obvious the red lever hand brake, such as on a motorcycle, did not work at all. I emailed the dealer who knew l had been a motor mechanic before retiring and was asked if l would adjust the cable so the brake would work, to save them the inconvenience and cost of sending a mechanic out to it, and l agreed. The weather still wasn’t that good for scooter use but some time later on a cold but sunny day l decided to make the adjustment. Due to little shortage of space to work by the rear wheel l could not get my fingers where they needed to be to adjust the cable so l put the Jack under the suspension and removed the wheel to discover a brake backplate, a pair of brake shoes, but no brake drum. Checking the other side l could see a brake drum connected to the rear hub. I contacted the dealer but when their promise to have a mechanic call me back didn’t materialise l emailed the main importer TGA, a quality company who always carries out a PDI, Pre Delivery Inspection of scooters before they are delivered to their dealer. Their inspection tick sheet shows the brakes in perfect order before forwarding the scooter to their dealer. Eventually the dealer had the scooter collected and the brake drum that was erroneously installed on the right side was then transferred to the left side to complete the brake mechanism, and from that point the red lever emergency brake worked fine. However, this begs the question, who moved the brake drum from the left rear wheel to the right wheel where it was not possible to operate the emergency brake at all.When ordering the scooter l was informed that a motorcycle twistgrip type accelerator was available as a £200 factory upgrade in place of the standard lever accelerator which also operates a third brake, the panic brake, and as l had been a keen motorcycle rider back in the 60’s and again in the 80’s l chose this option. However, nobody informed me that in doing so the panic brake would have to be disconnected by simply ‘twisting the wires together’. So whereas the scooter should have had 3 Independant braking systems it only had the one. Had the dealer informed me the panic brake would be disconnected in this way l would not have chosen this option. TGA have again confirmed to me that the scooter was in perfect mechanical condition when it was couriered to the dealership, and also forwarded to me their multi item tick list PDI mechanic uses when carrying out the work. For some strange reason the family operators of Kardinal Independent Living will not disclose the reason they delivered the scooter to myself with two of the three brake systems inoperable, even though l have advised them that l will reject the scooter and make a claim to my credit card company for a full refund under section 75 of the consumer credit act 1974. I also have the option of reporting the matter to our local trading standards office and police as the removing of brake parts would constitute an illegal act, thus supplying it in a very dangerous condition. Until now l have refrained from reporting the matter in an attempt to alleviate the Hancorn family from serious offences, but l now see they have buried their heads in the sand. Big mistake.Updates to follow.
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