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Action 9 helps woman repair power wheelchair

CHARLOTTE — After spending most of her life in a wheelchair, Diane Lance said she lost her freedom when her new chair would not work.

She turned to Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke for help.

Lance was 6 years old when she caught polio. She has needed a wheel chair ever since. In 2013, she got a power version chair from a company called Smart Remedies. She said the chair started acting up within a few months.

"The bearings are bad in it. The wheels are bad in it," Lance said.

She said her doctor requested repairs for her. Medicare turned her down.

Lance started scaling back, going places more sparingly and worried the chair would break and that she'd lose what freedom she had.

"I want something I can depend on," Lance said.

Stoogenke started on Lance's case after finding out about it. He contacted Smart Remedies directly, skipping Medicare. The company said it would get her mobile once again after hearing the situation.

An executive told Stoogenke he would personally take care of it, saying he would have parts ordered and installed within two weeks. He followed through on that promise.

"Channel 9 got involved doing something that I tried for months to do with no success at all," Lance said.

If you've been ripped off, overbilled or misled; or if you see something that is hurting all consumers, contact Action 9.