Stairlift charity rip off

I have done a lot of research into various stairlift companies, the big names all have pushy salesmen who try to sell more expensive models and extra features. Acorn have a history of selling double glazing! Surprisingly, Handicare (supposedly "recommended" by Age UK) were the worst! Lots of waffle about safety/security etc etc which was utterly irrelevant! I purchased a stairlift from Leodis at half the price quoted by Handicare - and interestingly Leodis are also recommended by Age UK!!

I would ignore the Age UK reference - its just an excuse to hike up the price. On further investigation, Age UK are doing very nicely from these associations but I feel they should be ensuring that vulnerable people are not being ripped off by salesmen who imply that this "recommendation" by a charity implies they are whiter than white! Age UK cover themselves by suggesting one gets lots of quotes but is that really good enough???

Message deleted by Gransnet for breaking our forum guidelines. Replies may also be deleted.

Hello I work in the stair lift industry for over 10 years and would like to clear up some issues. All stairways are different and the stairlift needs to be custom made for the stairs. Usually a user will need a stairlift quickly after recovering from hospital or the need to avoid a fall on the stairs after a reduction in mobility.

The company I work for takes complaints very seriously and escalates them if they are not solved after a period of time.

We also pride our selves in being able to help people on a daily basis. Not all stairlift companies are cruel hard selling rogues.

I would advise when buying a stairlift ask the following questions:-

- Is the lift new? (some suppliers supply a second hand rail and new carriage or vice a versa ex rental or buyback versions) to give a lower cost. Depending on the manufacturer you can check a lifts history with them from its serial number by calling them. These stairlifts are fitted and then expensive call outs attached to them so in reality the low initial cost over time becomes more expensive if the lift breaksdown.

- Ask the company how it deals with complaints and its procedures for them

- I would not fully trust internet reviews I would seek recommendations from peers/neighbours relatives and friends who have stair lifts or know some one. The internet is full of competing customers with biased reviews.

- Renting a stairlift is entirely up to you but take into account and do your research from my first point above.

- When you don't need the stairlift ask if the companies helps with relocating the stairlift.

- If you find a sales man pushy you should direct a complaint to there department.

- Request all the costs in writing before having it installed.

I hope this helps anyone considering a stairlift purchase

We were looking to fit a stairlift in my mums house , we got age uk to come round and quote , the salesman was not pushy at all and explained everything in full , also pricematched . Today we have had it fitted 3 days after seeing salesman . The fitter Rob was an absolute diamond , very caring and nothing was to much for him. He had a lovely manner with my mum , she said she felt very comfortable with him . So if your thinking of having a stairlift fitted try Age uk , (handicare) i fully recommend them .

Had a survey done by companion Stairlifts recently for my mother who is now living with us but struggles with the stairs.the surveyor was very good and said the stairlift would be fitted in 7-10days and in the brochure it said they would liase with the client for a mutually acceptable date.I hadn't heard anything after a while so I gave them a ring to be told they had fixed a date of 19 February so much for liaising as I explained this date was unacceptable as my mother has a hospital appointment.The operative then said he would try for the mon or Tuesday and would ring me back to confirm.I was away for 2 days with my mother for more appointments and to my SUPRISE someone had rung me back and left a message that they had now fixed a date of the 19 February the same inconvenient date.I then rang them back and all they could offer me was a date in another 2 weeks meaning my mother had to struggle for a further two weeks I was not amused.So be careful if you want a stairlift and are promised it quickly get it in writing!

Although this was a dormant thread I need to vent about my experience with Handicare because I have still not moved on from the fact that my dad died within 3 weeks of the stairlift's installation. He suffered for many week prior to that because they promised us installation in 10 days..but this apparently was only to secure our contract. It was many weeks later than the date they promised it would be installed and he had to crawl up the stairs to go to the bathroom. Their excuse between an "unexpected manufacturing problem" and our stairs being unusual...this in a normal row house of 50 in a street. The salesman knew we needed the stairs urgently and were shopping around to find one who could install it quickly..so he over promised, knowing we could do nothing about it once the deposit was paid. Suddenly I could not contact him, suddenly dates given for installation were missed and excuses given that they could not contact us even though we were sitting daily watching life go by in our sitting room since my Dad was barely mobile. They did offer us 600 pounds to take back the chairlift when he died 3 weeks after installation and 5,000 pounds plus later. Horrible experience...It really doesn't pay to be old and ailing.

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.