Ken May, 92, agreed to buy the therapeutic recliner and even put down a $2000 deposit when a salesman visited his house on Sunday.

The easily confused pensioner already had a recliner, less than a year old and measured to fit.

That night, Mr May mentioned to a family member that he had written a cheque and Ms Madin later found a $15,930 invoice for the cycloid therapy reclining chair.

“I’m not saying anything about the product or the company,” Ms Madin said.

“The product is probably fine. That amount of money is frightening.

“It scares the hell out of me to think they can target someone who is elderly.”

When she rang the Niagara Therapy salesman he agreed to cancel the deposit but Ms Madin said she wanted to raise awareness for seniors to be cautious and informed when it came to door-to-door sales.

She started by contacting local senior citizen groups in Buninyong yesterday.

The salesman, Clive Chapman, left his contact details after selling the chair to the pensioner. He told The Courier he met Mr May at a stand at the Buninyong shops.

“He spoke to us and said he had concerns about his health,” Mr Chapman said.

He said when a client was over 90 he was required to ask certain questions, including if a family member should be present, but Mr May declined.

“I certainly asked him and he spoke to my manager while I was in the room,” he said.

Mr Chapman said the price of the chair was due to the fact it was a medical chair used in top hospitals.

He said Mr May’s existing recliner would not help him with his circulation problems as it did not have a massage function.