Stannah Stairlifts ... HELP HELP HELP !!!

dazbyd

Hello there ...

Im 'hoping' someone can offer me advice or a pointer in the right direction ...

My father was diagnosed with cancer approx 9 months ago ... and as time went on he became increasingly frail and eventually unable to handle the stairs at home ...

So after having some quotions from various companies my parents decided to have a Stannah stairlift installed (they were not the cheapest - but my parents felt they had the best reputation).

The stairlift was installed on April 4 2007 at the cost of £5300.00. My parents did not qualify for any help off the government due to there savings.

On April 10 2007 my fathers health deteriorated further and he was admitted to the local hospice. Sadly on April 13 2007 my father passed away.

He had used the stairlift a total of 7 times.

My mothers head (as you can imagine) is here there and everywhere, but the one thing she has asked for is the stairlift to be removed asap. They have both lived in our family home for nearly 40 years and she just wants the reminder of how my Dad suffered towards the end taken away.

I contacted Stannah Customer Services yesterday and explained all of the above and enquired of there 'Buy Back' policy ...

My parents paid £5300.00 21 days a go for a stairlift used 7 times ...

Stannah offered £600 !!!

There explanation being that the only part they can reuse is the chair & carriage. After complaining further they increased the offer to £1000. When I enquired as to where the increase of £400 came from, they just said 'as a gesture of goodwill'.

Money can never bring back my Dad and it can never bring back my Mam's soul mate, husband and pal ...

But surely it cant be right for a company to profit in such a way at such a sad time ?? ... or is it just a fact of life ??

Im hoping someone has had a similiar experience and can shed some light on Stannah policies, true cost of stairlifts and also if other parts such as rails etc are reusable ...

And if anyone has an email address for Jon Stannah I would be most grateful.

Thank you for taking time out to read.

Dazza

hollydays

Have you had a look at help the aged sites or action on elder abuse.(helpline).Items like this do depreciate quickly when used though.Good luck>could maybe see what they are selling for on ebay.

dmg24

Hi Dazza,

Have you contacted Consumer Direct (08454 040506)? I imagine they have experience in this area.

Not much more I can add, but am so sorry for your loss.

Lots of love to you and your mum x

moonrakerz

My late Mother had a (refurbished) Stannah stairlift installed. She had a couple of years use out of it, so it wasn't a total loss of money.
I tried everywhere to get rid of it: Stannah, Other stairlift companies, Freecycle: I couldn't even give it away.

Any reasonable DIY man could re-install it - I was just amazed at the total lack of interest in it - but there, if you can sell a new one at £5300, perhaps I can see why !

lindos90

Im so sorry about your loss, and then all the hassle with the stair lift, emotionally and financially, on top of it all.
I have recently left my job as an occupational therapist in social services so have a fair idea about stairlifts, we used to get them installed in council houses, and private properties via Disabled facilitiy Grants (the grant your parents were not able to get because of their savings)
I would like to confirm that in my experience Stannah are quite a fair company, and the rep in our area was more professional than most. However in my opinion they are generally more expensive as stannah do more advertising than other companies and have made themselves a 'householdname'.

I am making a bit of a guess, but due to the cost you express, I would imagine the track is a curved one? If so it would have been made especially to fit the rise and contour of the stairs, if we ever had one put in a council house, it was very unlikely we could remove it and relocate it to a similar property as there is always some variation in the treads etc.

I think this is probably why they have offered you so little for it as they probably will not beable to reuse the track, which is the major part of it.

Straight tracks are much more re useable im afraid, Im really sorry not to be able to give you more possitive advice, but Stannah are offering something, although its not near what your parents paid, I know of some less reputable companies that would remove it and charge for the privalege.

I hope you get something sorted out, Stannah as I say does have a good reputation, and may as a further gesture make a higher offer, especially if you contact the head office, you never know..... if you have any more questions you think I could help you with, please let me know OK!

dazco

Why would you expect a company to buy something back?

Why would people point you to Elder Abuse and Consumer Direct?

I don`t get it. Has he any other recent purchases you are hawking back to the vendor?

He bought it, it is his. The company that sold it has no moral or legal obligation to buy it back, and to be honest £1000 is the highest offer of a buyback I have ever seen. I would bite their hand off.

Stannah are VERY expensive and use the double glazing school of pricing.

I sympathise with you but do not understand why you believe they should offer you good money to buy it back

sorry

hollydays

While i agree(my) suggestion of Elder Abuse (they deal with issues of financial abuse) was a long shot(I thought originally they had a forum)i think the other suggestion of consumer direct was quite valid- dmg simply said they have experience in this area.WE are not experts after all.I see the point you are making though-but could have been said with a little more humanity.

mountainofdebt

Hi

I too am sorry for your loss and the predicament that your mum finds herself in.

The thing is, at the moment, your mum's grief is still raw and understandably wants to remove all evidence of your dad's suffering.

However, depending on her future plans (e.g. does she plan on staying on in the property) which ideally should not be made at this precise moment in time, she herself may benefit from the use of the chair in the future.....I only say this as my aunt and late uncle had a stairlift fitted because of his ill health but now my aunt uses it because of her increasing fraility.

zappster1966

I too am sorry for your loss and the predicament your Mum is now in.

The practical problem for Stannah is this. The stairlift was tailored specifically for your parents home. Most staircases are different, the number of steps or whether the staircase bends as it goes upwards. It's unlikely Stannah can remove the stairlift and find a customer whose stairs are identical to your Mum's. Even the chair itself may have been tailored specifically for your Dad and his physical condition & relative frailty.

Apart from the chair itself there's little they'll be able to re-use ... then factor in the cost of removal, servicing the chair to make it "brand new" again for the next customer and the costs for Stannah all mount up. They are a business after all. Everything they do involves making money.

I know it's a huge loss in financial terms. And terribly unfair on your Mum. The greatest unfairness of course is that Dad has passed. We all wish your Mum good and continuing health. Maybe it would be prudent to keep it installed for when, God forbid, she may need it herself rather than taking a financial hit of £4300 ? Downside of that though is that the stairlift would need annual servicing.

Whatever you decide I hope you & Mum get on OK.

mspig

My neighbour bought a stannah stairlift for her husband who had had a stroke.
1 week after installation her husand died, she contacted the Stannah stairlift company about having it removed not to buy it back but just to remove it.
They told her it would cost her £2000 to have it removed, after just spending over £5000 on it.

In the end she got an odd jobs man to remove it for her.

kalico

Heck I love this site!

I'm on the other side of the coin here. My Mother is (within weeks) unable to use the stairs and the solution is obviously one of these stair-lifts.

She's self-sufficient downstairs for the minute though, and being the Yorkshire moneysaver that I am, I'm trying to avoid the situation described in this thread. I agree that the company has no obligation to buy the things back and yes they make their money (as well they should). I just want to try to avoid it being at my expense!

So, does anyone have any pointers about where to acquire one of these things more cheaply? A couple of local firms have quoted for new, but we could probably employ an army of Sherpas to carry her upstairs for the prices they quote.

Thanks and regards.

PS. Incidentally, I think that this issue is one that 'grates' so much because it has that air of exploitation of people's grief. Founded or otherwise. When an item is really needed as opposed to just wanted, people will pay prett much any price. Then all of a sudden it is not needed and the only party to whom it has a minimal value is the company that sold it. So the buyer has the upper hand in that later transaction.