UKH

Not for me, you understand, hopefully a few years before I require one. But hopeing some of the knowledgeable and helpful people on here might be able to give some advice.

Aging stepmum has a stairlift installed about 10 years ago when Dad was still alive.  It has now stopped working. They did have an anual service contract on it but that expired last summer and she didn't renew it. She gets flustered having to deal with these companies so tends to put things off or not do them, but she really needs this back working. Luckily she can get up the stairs without it but not really if carrying anything. . 

I phoned them up yesterday and they have sent an engineer out today. Quite good service, but I'm rather put off by the salesmanship. On the phone yesterday they were trying to get us to sign back up for the annual service contract (roughly  200 pounds for 1 star contract, 300 for 2 star and 400 pounds for 3 star) but it was going to cost 185 for the call out today anyway. Engineer now been out and told her the bearings have gone and it will be 1000 to fix the problem "but that is a 50% discount"

Anyone with experience/knowledge of dealing with these companies/problems?

Does 1000 pounds seem reasonable to replace bearings?

Are the service contracts at those kind of prices usually worth having?

Anyone with experience of a third party service/repair company rather than the original installers?

Any advice gratefully received.

I've never even looked at a stairlift but that does seem steep to me. Motor, drivetrain and rails. Bearings, many, are standard size and cost £10's of pounds. No real weight, heat, long duty cycle or side loading to consider.

Even if it is the main motor a new motor shouldn't cost that much and replacing the bearings even cheaper.

Get a second opinion (other than the Hive Mind that can't see the beast)

Robin

I can give you a bit of a comparison on cost for what I got for my elderly relatives: a reconditioned second-hand one (complete stairlift) fitted last year for a single flight of stairs with no bends, supply and fix for £1300. Subsequently, I decided it didn't do quite what I wanted it to do (there's a bit more to it than just up and down) so I got a brand new one fitted, with revolving seat that worked from the remote control, and the old one restocked that they'd sell on again. That was an additional £1400. 

I was going to to say, if it's not repairable you can pick them up second hand.

It's shockingly expensive but that's the stairlift model for you, a literally captive audience that they are not in the slightest ashamed of ripping off.  While it is an utterly outrageous price I'm not sure of the alternative unless you know someone with the relevant skills.  It might be worth shopping around especially since you've now paid £185 pounds for the diagnosis.

Many thanks to all of you for your input. I thought a few kind people here would be able to offer some helpful advice.

Shes not wealthy but she can afford to pay for repairs. She is of the generation who thinks you should always use the original installers/manufacturers for repairs/serving. She also gets stressed easily so is unlikely to want to go through the hassle of trying to use an alternative company for.

As Gravy says, i'm sure thats what a lot of the companies rely on.

I could find an alternative company for her but I am 200miles away so she would have to deal with the engineers.

https://www.bearingshopuk.co.uk/bearings-bushes/?SID=v0th94pdlngookklq53dfk...

All you need are the dimensions of the existing bearings. 

Via Wintertree, Sr, I formed a very bad view of the stairlift business model.

I removed a stairlift from our house when we moved in.  It was very simple construction, and a good workshop would be able to change the bearings for you in 10 minutes if you took the assembly to them along with a replacement part which, if you can find it, won’t be expensive.  However, know your enemy and study in advance before dismantling it; as simple as they are, access to various key bolts and connectors in-situ is difficult if you don’t have it in the right location for various steps.

Classic sign of sales bullshit.  

Yes, thats what I thought. 

I've spoken to the company myself now and they say as it is a 10 year old system they can't just change the bearings they need to change other substantial parts as well. Not sure how much I trust them. I have asked for an itemised quote.

If it was me spending the money I'd get a 2nd quote in, but the step mum is getting very stressed by the whole situation and just wants the least complicated solution. She was talking about giving up with the stairs and just living on the ground floor. 

A grand seems very steep but in theory they are a professional company with trained service engineers and insurance to cover if granny ends up catapulted out of the window at the top of the stairs.

You can buy bearings cheap and fit them yourself but do you know what you are doing? I'm not asking if you think you know what your doing, do you actually know?

I love people who do their own maintenance, we brought a vacuum pump back to the workshop today that a customer maintains themselves, they over filled it with oil causing the oil to get through to the vacuum chamber, they also didn't seat the intake filter properly so a combination of product ingress and oil has caused a nice sticky grinding paste and they are looking at a bill for 15k for a new pump but that's okay because they saved £250 by not having us service it. 

That’s the dilemma isn’t it, do you trust them?

It’s unlikely they had custom bearings made, or that if they did, that they don’t maintain a significant stock - given that they offer annual service contracts and given the quoted cost of the alternative substantial rebuild, it’s in their own business interest to maintain a substantial stock of such a cheap and consumable part.

And the management full well know this is how their customers react.  

I doubt you’ve much choice but to pay.  The DIY approach is slow and fraught with risks without their training, experience, parts/suppliers list and the right press.  I imagine it would take me a few weeks at best, and you need this fixed ASAP.

But you could ask for an itemised list of parts to be replaced, and ask that you be left the old parts (step mum owns them) and watch the service engineer like a hawk, feigning interest in all things mechanical.  If they’re being honest you’ll watch an engineer at work which is always a learning experience; if they’re fleecing you, they’ll know you know.

I’d have extended them the benefit of the doubt but for the “50% discount”.  Next they’ll be offering you a credit agreement and insurance.  

My advice would be always try and find an independent, the stairlift companies overcharge.

I paid £4k for Mums stairlift from Acorn. All good and it never failed in 4 years.  We never had it serviced. 

But when she died they wanted to charge us £150 to remove it. I thought that was a bit steep so I rung around. All prices were the same. So I stuck it on Ebay and somebody paid me £175 to take it out....

Ditch the chair lift and use the money to make a bedroom and bathroom downstairs.

Winer winner chicken dinner. 

Have a look through here https://www.stairlift-spares.co.uk/shop/bearings-rollers/ or if it's a standard bearing just google the diameter plus "SKF" or "Bearing" to have a look on places like rsonline or ukfarnell

I'd be tempted to have a look how simple it'd be to diy it or have a chat with your local mechanic see if he fancies making a couple hundred pounds after he closes shop

Thanks for everyones helpful thoughts. There seems to be a consensus that this company are taking advantage of elderley people. I think the step mum is going to pay it this time to get the thing running again quickly and without to much hassle for her. But I will try and sort out an alternative company for her for future servicing and repairs.

When you say stopped working, in what way has it stopped working? Stopped working to me implies stopped dead which if bearing related would require a bearing to seize or collapse, at least badly enough to cause sufficient drag that an electrical overload is detectable. It's possible but I'm very surprised (ok, skeptical).

It seems pretty steep to me for what can't be more than a day of work and £100 in parts (more like 2 hours and £30 I'd have thought). Unless you're willing to DIY or find someone with the skills/familiarity willing to do it cheaper you're probably stuck with it as at or near market rate. That said, I don't know stair lifts specifically and I'm cheap, I hate paying what I earn in a month for simple jobs I can learn and do in a weekend just because others are willing to.

I'd assumed they were all but maintenance free, no reason why they shouldn't be, it's a very simple light duty, low impact machine in a nice environment. The contract is peace of mind that someone will come the day it breaks which matters if you're really stuck and or alone, less so if it's a nice to have but you can cope with a little help. Sucks you have to pay through the nose for what is really basic ongoing product support.

jk

I get what you're saying about sinking the ship for a penny of tar but, this lift wouldn't cost £15k new and as far as the mechanicals go it's a pretty simple device compared to a pump.

Thanks for your comments, unfortuneatley I'm 200 miles away and can't get across at the moment. If I was closer I would go and try and work out what the issuses were myself. Can't get a lot of sense out of her if I ask anything vaugly technical, all she can tell me is its stopped working.

Might well get like that myself by the time I'm in my 80's

At least she can afford to pay for the repair.

The capital cost is no where near but its a lift designed to move old and vulnerable people up and down stairs. If my pump fails the factory stops for a few hours. If the lift fails it could be catastrophic for the person on it. I'm not saying get your leg lifted paying a grand for new bearings and maybe a few more bits but I would get prices from other specialists who know what they are doing. 

No wonder it's expensive if they're employing engineers. They could probably halve their labour costs by using trained technicians. Imagine if Boots started employing actual chemists to sell you shampoo and sunglasses.

Any car mechanic would identify the problem in minutes, it's a modest motor, small gearbox, driving along a track. There is not much in the way of moving parts. 

For all we or they know she might have unplugged it, when she plugged the hoover in and forgot to reconnect. 

I love all the engineers replies, but I bet you do not know what an  SKF Bearings is......

So I would pop into Disabled World and ask them do they know a friendly maintenance engineer.

Then I would look at your Step Mums stress , bite the bullet and go for it. Stress when you are elderly is not good, and getting rid of that should be your priority instead of your step mum being worried.Especially if she has the money.

Svenska Kullagerfabriken, although they are more global now.

I'd be concerned on having the correct type and dimensions of bearing, than one specific brand. 

Interesting comment. What do you mean by it? SKF is a common brand and I expect most engineers are aware of it. Did you mean something else? 

That was my point.....clearly the OP does not know what one is .... so putting it across as a straightforward  task is wrong imho  . 

Ring your mums local social services. They will have contracted stairlift installers that are kosha.

If it’s a straight flight of stairs, a second hand lift that may be quite new is normally less than £1000. 
If the stairs has bends then considerably more.

Good idea, thanks, they would probably have some good contacts and step mum would probably be happier if I said they had been reccommended by social services, rather than they are a company I had found on google.

There is a 180 degree bend at the bottom then a 90 degree bend onto the main stair run, then another 90 degree bend at the top. So I understand that would add quite a lot to the complexity and cost of a replacement

You are right, I had no idea what one is. I'm happy to try and repair non critical things myself, especially if I think I might be able to save the best part of a grand.  But the idea of me trying to work this out myself, running out of skill/knowledge/tools and leaving the step mum in a worse and more stessed situation is not worth contemplating, when she can afford to pay it.

I wondered if you might be able to go and watch them replace the bearings, and see how it's done and ask any questions, so you could do it yourself another time?

'I find mechanical things interesting, how does that work?' 'What are you doing with that tool?'

£1000 sounds like a lot of money.

Potentially yes, but these companies remove lifts from those that don’t need them anymore, and they may have something suitable at a good price and you can trust them.

Good luck.

Hit the nail on the head.

Try any of the local disability shops near you ( ones selling beds, chairs  etc), they may know somebody who will do it for you.

When my Dad who ran his own engineering business was elderly ( he could easily do this sort of thing) he became stressed at the slightest thing. Just not worth the stress it imposes on you to sort out quickly.

So bite the bullet.