A1 Stairlifts in Keighley

We purchased a stairlift from A1 in January 2014. the quality was good and it was the right stairlift for our needs. In Jan 2015, a sock got caught between the chair and the rail. As soon as we realised there was an issue, we stopped the stairlift and cut the material out. We were then able to guide the chair downstairs so that my wife wasn't stranded. It came down safely, but then did not operate, obviously there was an issue and the chair would not respond to the controls.

As their website says, "We’re big enough to respond within 24 hours for repair and maintenance but small enough to be on first name terms with our customers." So I called A1 to explain what had happened and to see if I could get an engineer out to repair the stairlift. My initial call was at 9:30 in the morning and I was promised a call back. I emailed to ensure that details were sent in writing. By 10:30 am, I had received no response, so I called again. This time I was told by the lady on the phone that she was discussing the issue with an engineer and she would call me back shortly.

We waited patiently until 14:30, at which point I had to call again. At this point I was told that it would be a WEEK before they would send anyone out. Without seeing the chair, they had diagnosed that it needed a carriage replacement, but they didn't have parts. they had left me until mid-afternoon on a Friday knowing that they had no intention of getting anyone out to look at the problem.

I was staggered that they were happy to leave someone who couldn't walk, with no access to either the bathroom or bedroom for seven days and feel that it was perfectly acceptable.

When I challenged them and asked how they could possibly diagnose the issue over the phone and be so sure that they wouldn't send anyone out, I was essentially treated as stupid - and was told that, as I had described the incident, it was the only likely issue.

So we were left with on way of getting the unit repaired.

I frantically called every stairlift supplier in the area, but had also put a call in to the original manufacturer of the stairlift. The manufacturer really came through and was able to get someone out to us within two hours and by 17:30, he had left, leaving us with a fully working stairlift. It just needed a small plastic plate that is part of the charging unit. Full cost for the call out and replacement part - £150.

A1 then called me today (Tuesday), trying to arrange a time. They told me that they now had the carriage unit. Before revealing that I had already had the unit repaired, I ask what the charge would be.. £95 for the call out and £1295 for the replacement carriage!!!!

I don't know the details of each of these parts (I'm a IT specialist, not a stairlift engineer), I wouldn't know any better if I was told that this needed to be replaced. The fact that I already new what the repair should cost exposed a massive scam. If this is how they try to treat me, how are they going to treat more vulnerable customers.

Please think very carefully about dealing with this company. As I said, they stairlift was good quality and right for us - but do NOT rely on them to look after you if anything goes wrong.