eBay sellers flogging off Hidden Disability lanyards so people can ‘get out’ of wearing a mask

eBay auctioneers are selling hidden disability lanyards so that buyers can avoid wearing mask.

The Sunflower Lanyard was originally introduced in 2016 to allow workers to recognise those who require extra assistance in public spaces.

Since March, the beginning of lockdown, the Hidden Disabilities scheme has been printing a ‘facemask exempt’ card for those who are not able to wear a mask due to a physical or mental impairment.

The mask exempt cards and lanyards are officially given out by charities or can be bought directly from the Hidden Disabilities website.

You do not need a doctor’s note to purchase one, although the scheme does list those who should be included in the scheme.

Priced at just 55p, the website firmly states ‘this item is not for resale.’ However, greedy eBay sellers are flogging the lanyards online to those who don’t want to wear a face covering.

With 438 listings on eBay, some sellers are asking for as much as £23 for the unofficial version of the lanyard, with discounted offers such as buy two get one free or price reduction for multiple buys.

Concerns arise as a big part of the people using the lanyards are able-bodied people who are buying them simply because they don’t want to wear a face covering.

One Twitter user wrote: “People who aren’t medically exempt and simply don’t want to wear a mask are getting the lanyards, that’s the problem.”

A second added: “Unfortunately many people are abusing this Lanyard as a way to avoid wearing a mask.”

Another said: The abuse of it [the lanyard] by those who wish to push an anti-mask (and frankly, anti-science) agenda is worrying.”

A spokesperson for Hidden Disabilities told Fabulous Digital: “We are aware that sadly, some people are abusing the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Lanyard Scheme by reselling our lanyards and other wearables at inflated prices for profit on sites such as Ebay and Amazon.

The charity confirmed that they do have a verified retailer on eBay and that they are monitoring the reselling of the badges and lanyards.

They added: “It is worth noting that there are a number of official resellers that are charities reselling our products on these sites. To be an official reseller you would have been issued with a certification badge, so please keep an eye out for these as they are legitimately doing so.”