Disabled water bottle maker slams UK store selling them for £136 as ‘outrageous prices’

An American company that sells a £50 hands-free water bottle to US wheelchair users has lashed out at a UK retailer for raising the price to an exorbitant £136.

Chicago-based Oak Hill Brands, which made the giraffe bottle, accused NineLife of Harrow, north-west London, of “outrageous pricing” following a Mail on Sunday investigation into the rip-off prices disabled people pay for mobility aids.

His plastic water bottle features wheelchair attachment and an extendable straw – a vital aid for many severely disabled people who have trouble moving their neck to reach shorter straws.

Oak Hill came forward after the MoS’s investigation was released last week, shaming companies for overpricing mobility accessories that make life easier for people with disabilities.

Ahead of the release, we contacted NineLife, who claimed that the giraffe bottle had indeed been reduced from its usual £224 price tag. We asked how it could justify such a price but received no answer.

US-based Oak Hill Brands, which made a hands-free giraffe bottle (pictured attached to a wheelchair) and sold it for £50, accused UK company NineLife of “outrageous pricing” for raising the price to an exorbitant £136

Giraffe Bottle (pictured) has a long, flexible straw and attaches to a wheelchair so disabled people can drink water unaided

Oak Hill condemned the £136 price tag as “exorbitantly high”. Spokesman Alex Zebutis claimed there was no justification for charging that much and that it would likely “earn a very high profit for almost no work”.

He added, “We have no way of stopping them as they sell outside of the US on their own website.”

We got back in touch with NineLife, which also sells protein sports supplements, vitamins and health foods, and offered them an opportunity to respond to Oak Hill. There was no comment here either.

Mr Zebutis suggests potential customers use an alternative UK supplier, The Active Hands Company (activehands.com), based in Solihull in the West Midlands, which sells giraffe bottles from £54.95, excluding VAT, which many disabled people don’t pay must .

Disabilities prevent around two million people in the UK from drinking water easily, according to a study conducted by the charity Hydrate for Health.

“Dehydration is a leading cause of falls and infections and contributes to tens of thousands of hospitalizations each year,” says Mark Moran, executive director of the charity.

“These problems are entirely preventable and the NHS should prescribe drinking aids.”