Stairlift from local authority

[agatesw23]

August 7, 2016 at 6:52 pm

Hi,

My mum got a stairlift fitted by the local council about 5 years ago. They informed her that the warranty ran out in May but she’s had an ongoing problem where the stairlift will start going up the stairs then stop then start again then stop. She’s been having this problem for about 6 months. An engineer came out and said he had fixed it but it’s never worked properly. About 6 months after she got it the platform where you rest your feet stopped working and all she kept getting told was we’re waiting for parts. Is there anything we can do to get it fixed as my mum will have to pay for the engineer to come out and she can’t afford it.

Thanks,
Wendy

[kevin]

August 7, 2016 at 8:23 pm

When the lift started playing up at six months you really should have persevered with having the issues sorted, a reasonable period of time should have been given for the repairs to have been completed after which it would have been reasonable to reject the equipment.
If the starting and stopping is only happening when she is on the lift then it could be a sign that the batteries are failing.
The footrest failing to fold up may be something as simple as a spring having failed or the foldup motor just needing either its fixings adjusted or a tweak to tighten its clutch device.
I think you’ll struggle to get anywhere with the company and might have more joy hassling the council, as most likely they will still be awarding grant work to the company.
If all else fails and you have kept records and paperwork then the BHTA may be able to help if the supplier is a member.
Otherwise find a reputable local company and bite the bullet, a stairlift should be an aid to living not a source of stress, you may find one of the members on here is local to you if you put up your rough locality.

[agatesw23]

August 9, 2016 at 10:31 pm

quote Kevin:

When the lift started playing up at six months you really should have persevered with having the issues sorted, a reasonable period of time should have been given for the repairs to have been completed after which it would have been reasonable to reject the equipment.
If the starting and stopping is only happening when she is on the lift then it could be a sign that the batteries are failing.
The footrest failing to fold up may be something as simple as a spring having failed or the foldup motor just needing either its fixings adjusted or a tweak to tighten its clutch device.
I think you’ll struggle to get anywhere with the company and might have more joy hassling the council, as most likely they will still be awarding grant work to the company.
If all else fails and you have kept records and paperwork then the BHTA may be able to help if the supplier is a member.
Otherwise find a reputable local company and bite the bullet, a stairlift should be an aid to living not a source of stress, you may find one of the members on here is local to you if you put up your rough locality.

Thanks for your reply Kevin. My mum probably would have persevered if we weren’t having such a rough time at the time what with my father being in hospital and then passing away and then losing my Nan as well. I will advise my mum to contact the council to see if they can do anything.

If anyone in the Thurrock area is on and can fix the chair can you please message me.

Thanks