Cancelling a service contract

family4tunes

Hi,

My father has just passed away recently and I have noticed that his stair-lift service annual contract has been re-newed just over a month ago (40 days) at a cost of £325 which was payment in advance.

I rang the company to cancel the service contract in the hope to save some money for my mother as she does not require the stair-lift or need its use, so a contract to service it was not needed.

The company replied saying that they are not an insurance policy or company and the contract stands. There will be no refund even though its only a month old and they have not even serviced it or visited to inspect its usability.

My question is can they refuse to refund like this even on a pro-rota basis, without ever doing any work and the contract only just over a month old? They didn't have a payment plan other than full payment in advance. If it had been monthly this might not now have been so upsetting.

I would appreciate any help or guidance please

JJ_Egan

Its going to depend upon the terms of the contract .Date of renewal was it before date of death ??.
What is going to happen now to the stair lift ??.
In-use or removing .

family4tunes

Hi,

Thanks for your response,

The length of the contract was 1yr with payment in advance. My father took out the service around 40 days ago. The service agreement started on the 18th Feb 2018, he made payment on the 10th Jan 2018.

He passed away only a few days ago. mum is elderly and only has a small pension. I'm just trying to recover whatever I can for her to help her finances. The stair-lift with be removed and sold if possible to help out also.

Thank you.

lincroft1710

Is there not a possibility that the stairlift would be useful to your mother in later years. Used stairlifts fetch very little.

discat11

Any refund consideration would be entirely goodwill and the company's decision.
In this case the product is still in place, and still, (it could easily be argued) covered by the policy taken out.
It is irrelevant how much or how little use to would now attract and as long as they make reasonable efforts to fulfil their side of the contract there is no breach.

family4tunes

lincroft1710 wrote: »

Is there not a possibility that the stairlift would be useful to your mother in later years. Used stairlifts fetch very little.

Its a case its truly not needed now and to be honest it does limit the staircase for able users to go up and down.

Any return would be welcomed and I do appreciate your thought and considerations.

family4tunes

discat11 wrote: »

Any refund consideration would be entirely goodwill and the company's decision.
In this case the product is still in place, and still, (it could easily be argued) covered by the policy taken out.
It is irrelevant how much or how little use to would now attract and as long as they make reasonable efforts to fulfil their side of the contract there is no breach.

My dad took the policy out after the original one expired and he was prompted to renew by the said company, this was done over the telephone. At the time obviously he didn't reason his health would degrade before the new policy did.

Since he renewed they have not visited to do any service or inspection of the stair lift so they haven't lost any worktime or costs other than the small administration made when renewing his policy details. I thought on that basis some refund could be payable if cancelling due to the 10 months still left on the service agreement.

As he paid in advance (their rules) for a service he has not used or that they have given, a refund subject to some costs or pro rota would be given. I understand they have not breached any agreement, but insisting they still get paid for a service they now know is not longer required seems a bit unfair.

family4tunes

JJ_Egan wrote: »

Its going to depend upon the terms of the contract .Date of renewal was it before date of death ??.
What is going to happen now to the stair lift ??.
In-use or removing .

Hi,

Thanks for your response,

The length of the contract was 1yr with payment in advance. My father took out the service around 40 days ago. The service agreement started on the 18th Feb 2018, he made payment on the 10th Jan 2018.

He passed away only a few days ago. mum is elderly and only has a small pension. I'm just trying to recover whatever I can for her to help her finances. The stair-lift with be removed and sold if possible to help out also.

Thank you.

kazzah

the small child in me is seething at this and makes me want to call the said company out EVERY WEEK for some "fault" or "problem"

I wonder how long it would take them to cancel the contract if it were not economically viable for them

do they have social media ? sometimes a mention on SM platforms can bring about a "gesture of goodwill" from companies

forgotmyname

If they cancel the contract you still wont get your money back.

Does it cover breakdowns or servicing? You say its a service plan but mention calling them out for breakdowns. What is actually covered?

Its not costing your mum anything from her current pocket, you said it has already been paid for.

So what is actually covered and have they fulfilled their end of the contract?

family4tunes

kazzah wrote: »

the small child in me is seething at this and makes me want to call the said company out EVERY WEEK for some "fault" or "problem"

I wonder how long it would take them to cancel the contract if it were not economically viable for them

do they have social media ? sometimes a mention on SM platforms can bring about a "gesture of goodwill" from companies

The company is:

1st Choice Stairlifts Limited
25 Harris Road,
Porte Marsh Industrial Estate
Calne, Wiltshire, SN11 9PT

I'm not sure if they have a social media site as I cant see any link on their web-page:
https://www.1stchoicestairlifts.com

and I don't have a social media membership to see if they are on any of the well known platforms.