Bruno Independent Living Aids, Inc. Cessation of ,reviously outstanding,direct customer support. No means provided for customer to contact company, except through dealers. Ripoff price for part. Internet

Bruno manufactures equipment to assist people who are disabled and previously provided excellent technical support via telephone and email, making me a loyal customer.

Now, unfortunately, this policy has changed. Bruno has made itself inaccessible to customers, who are shunted off to local dealers, many of whom are not knowledgeable about the products, do not have the answers, and must go to Bruno themselves for help.

I have a Bruno stairlift and a Bruno wheelchair/scooter lift for my car. I recently bought a new scooter and discovered that the "T-bar" (a small piece of hardware that fastens under the seat and allows the lift to pick up the scooter) was not compatible with my new scooter. I contacted a local dealer to buy one, thinking it would probably be less than $50. The dealer, a very nice person, apologized for the price, but told me it would cost $150. I was shocked, but told him to go ahead and order it. Then he called me back and said it would be $300. After much anguish, I told him to proceed with the order, since I had to have it to transport my scooter. When it came, it turned out to be (not the simple part I needed), but a whole new docking system, and it was the wrong docking system for my scooter. It had to be sent back. Eventually, I got the right docking system, but felt I had been ripped off in several ways by Bruno.