There has been some talk surfacing lately about weather products sold on television are legitimate or just scams with high dollar advertising. When your mobility depends on a product such as a stair lift, you should take care and caution before purchasing. Acorn Stairlifts is a rapidly growing business advertising on televisions across the world, and with the growing success comes a matching growth in Acorn Stairlifts complaints.
Though the Company has an A+ with the Better Business Bureau, there have been complaints about their product and service. The reason for the high rating appears to be that they make a good faith effort to fix any problem at hand. The most common dissatisfaction issue, however, is in the product and its quality.
One consumer states that the unit broke down within 24 hours of installation, followed by less than desirable customer service in attempts to have the malfunction resolved. Another consumer states that “Acorn does not service what they sell”. The complaints lead to the assumption that many customers have felt mislead into buying a product that are “unstable” where the advertising has become the number one priority over quality.
A former employee states that this is an unprofessional company who funds advertising more than product improvement. Some even think that it is a “scam to take advantage of the elderly.” Just the thought of someone taking advantage of the elderly could make ones stomach turn, but what about the handicapped as well?
More complaints include the warranty which is along the lines of the common product and service complaints. The company declines to honor its warranties weather they are one year or lifetime. Consumers are out great deals of money for paying for independent repairs when the manufacturer refuses to service their own warrantied products.
Another criticism has been the extra charge for overweight consumers. Upon further investigation, the only difference between a regular and heavy duty model is a sticker, and a scam that the company uses to pad the costs of merchandise.
With all of these Acorn Stairlifts complaints, it seems confusing how a company can even make an effort to remedy the problems enough to receive an A+ with the Better Business Bureau. All in all out of 25 complaints in 3 years only 8 have been closed within the last 12 months. Is it just that people are not reporting their issues to the BBB, or is their participation in the online program including special procedures if necessary for resolving disputes enough?
When buying a stairlift, be sure to shop around. Talk to others who have purchased a lift, call into customer service with questions, compare quality and reviews. Treat it like any other investment to ensure you are not purchasing something that you will come out less than satisfied with. When researching which stairlift you want to purchase, don’t only search for prices, but include reviews, opinions, and consumer complaints into your search as well.
Acorn charge circa £600/year for a Gold Plan service and insurance package. However don’t be miss-led, they do NOT offer a 24 hour call out service, only a call out WITHIN 24 hours. Leaving you stuck for up to 24 hours on the wrong floor! You may think that is bad enough but that has happened to us twice this year so far and it is still the first week of June. This is despite paying for the Gold Plan service and insurance cover! The equipment is not reliable and the service cover is not adequate!
I have had my stair lift since may 2014 and will be on my 7th call out need a new seat a new track had wireing loam re done and the after service is crap all they do is say sorry .And when all this is happening they call you and try to sell you insurance No wonder the engineers look so tired and worn out l would never recmeand them it don’t give the top of the house back if it breakers down on ground floor