Company pays for hurt feelings

May 25, 2001 in Legal, Mental Health

A disabled woman has won her case against a utility company
under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

Npower must pay £850 compensation to Valerie Dexter for
hurt feelings. Dexter, who has a neurological impairment causing
her to shake, is in charge of all her financial affairs. But when
she signed a contract to change her gas and electricity supplier,
the Npower rep asked a neighbour to countersign the form without
her knowledge or consent.

Part III of the act makes it unlawful for a goods or service
provider to have polices, practices or procedures that discriminate
against disabled people.

Npower said that all disabled and older people’s contracts are
counter-signed.

Dexter said: “The sales rep was not qualified to decide that I
wasn’t capable of running my own affairs.”

Npower was not available for comment.