7.4K views
New Reviewer
28 comments

We had an Acorn Stairlifts representative come out to our home, as we were thinking about getting a stairlift for my mother who lives with us. She is 80 years old, and suffers from breathing problems and can no longer walk up and down the stairs. Mom weighs slightly over 305 pounds.

We decided to buy the stairlift, but we were told that because my mom weighed more than 294 pounds, we would have to pay extra for a heavy duty model. The extra cost was $250.00. We agreed, and the representative wrote up the order.

When the installer was putting in the lift, I asked him what was the difference between a regular and heavy duty model. He laughed and said, "This sticker that I'm going to put on the unit"...At my amazement, I asked the installer if he was serious. he replied, "yes...it's a little known gimmick that Acorn uses to pad the cost of the stairlift..."

This is outright fraud, and done to a senior citizen. How can this company get away with this practice. They charge extra for a heavy duty model, and then install a regular unit with a sticker on it...they are selling a product that doesn't exist, and charging extra for it as well.

I can only hope that the Attorney General here in New Jersey ends this type of fraud and deception.

Location: South Lake Tahoe, California

Do You Have Something To Say ?
Write a review

Comments

chat-icon

Please avoid publishing any personal information and promotional content

You will be automatically registered on our site. Username and password will be sent to you via email.
Post Comment
Guest

There is a difference. Why he said that is beyond me.

The difference is the battery amps. A regular unit battery specs are 12volts 7amps and there are 2 and wired in series which ,makes it a 24volt system. Heavy duty is 12volts 7.5 amps.

1 full extra amp carries up to 350lbs. Acorn should not hire anyone without electrical experience.

Guest

hi I am front the uk where acorn are based and yes there is certainly a problem with the seat posts as over here there has been a few fatalities due to this problem

Guest

hi I am from the uk where acorn are based I also work in the stairlift sector seeing your review of acorn I can agree with your assumption of acorns dodge selling practices they have possibly the worst reputation within the uk stairlift industry not many people I have spoken to either customers or healthcare professionals have a good thing to say about acorn.

Guest

This company is a rip off. They claim some of their stair lifts are outdoor lifts but we do not see any difference between the indoor and outdoor.

We have been stranded so many times. They try to tell us it's from the weather.

They shouldn't sell outdoor lifts.

Their sales dept. is open on Sunday evenings but not technical support.

Guest

You all need to take a lesson cause every seat Acorn sells has an option to make it wider and 90% of the adapters get tossed cause the installers are so overworked doing 80 to 90 hours a week, they dont want to tell you cause they get rushed out the door to do the next job. As for the batterys thats the only difference in the heavy duty model 1.5 ah, thats all and if you weigh to much they install a quick charge charger on the unit.

They do have a quality product but some of the guys that put the lifts in are so rushed they dont have time to do a good job, all Florida Scheduling Fault. They need to really look at the way they treat the installation guys . Also there is no " deals" acorns distribution is in New Jersey with thousands of lifts at all times . As for the curve unit it is by far the most over priced lift with the worst ride ever , dont buy this over priced monstrosity, its not worth the $12, 000 they rob you for .

Guess what its not even an acorn product they bought the product from Bison, you got it not an acorn product at all and everything is made in England not the USA , so with my story , sad but true think again before your acorn salesman talks you into a $3000 lift cause you can get it for $2500 and dont forget to get your $300 off coupon in AARP Magazine , If the salesman and the installation guy make commission from the lift how much does it realy cost , "" overseas the lifts are free for every home to keep people in thier home "" znd the lifts come from England hmmmm are they all free and acorn makes a huge profit ? The things you learn from the internet , by the way nothing is wrong with the seat post one of the clueless installers didnt have enough time to do a good job and left the bolts loose and had the seat fall over , not even the managment knows that, So watch the Installer if he is done in 2 hours good luck something is wrong , it should take longer to do a quality job.

Guest

Honestly! Do you really believe people buy your nonsense?

Guest

My acorn broke on a weekend and I was trapped upstairs in my house. Acorn was really helpful, they scheduled an appointment for the middle of the following week. I couldn't speak to a manager over the weekend to get help.

By the time acorn came I ripped out my acorn and had installed a reliable brand with emergency service.

Guest

This information is incorrect. An Acorn Heavy Duty unit comes with both a wider seat and different batteries. This can be visibly seen by comparing a Heavy Duty to a Standard unit.

Guest

There is a large recall of Acorn Stairlifts manufactured between 2007-****, the part that is in recall is the seat post which has the potential of snapping or breaking due to its manufacturing. The company is well aware of the issue and they are secretly going around to customer’s homes replacing the seat post but not informing the customer why this is being done.

If you call the company they will tell you that they’re doing free check up but a technician just shows up to replace the seat post. I have been in contact with a dealer of Acorn who confirmed there is a recall on the seat post. Although there has been no accident with my 88 year old mother’s stairlift, the company recently called her to set up a “free check up” and replaced the seat post without informing her what was being done and just gave a blank work report without writing what they had done.

I feel that this is a very shady and deceptive practice and this company should be looked into. I have already contacted the CPSC to look into this matter and make it public so consumers know what they are getting themselves into when they purchase from Acorn Stairlifts.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-812960

Tim,

I just called the company earlier tonight and they said there was no recall on the Acorn Stairlift. I contacted an Acorn Dealer here in Virginia who told me Acorn was paying him to go around and replace the seat post because it can brake.

I cannot believe what this company is doing and how they can lie to their customers like that.

I have called a few investigative news reporters so they can report on this issue. I hope nobody buys from this company ever again!!

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-813368

I called Acorn and was given a date and time for consultation and estimate. The person I spoke (Ann) repeatedly advised me that they only take cash!

I live in Washington, DC and our OFFICE ON AGING has a Safe Stay @Home program. All of the complaints I've read are pretty bad. New at this, I'm trying to get a stairlift for my 85 year old father who has early stage Alzheimer.

My mother is bed ridden, but the house has four bedrooms and bathroom on the second floor. Any suggestions?

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1146774

Move. Be waay cheaper and DEFINATELY safer. More of a hassle up front, but way safer and cheaper in the long run.

Guest

My parents bought an Acorn last year cost them 3000 dollars. They both past away last year and we are now selling the house.

The stair lift is practically new. Called acorn to see if they would buy it back. 600 dollars but they are going to charge us 150 to come and uninstall it for us.

That's so nice of them. This company should be ashamed and shut down!!!

Guest

all the representatives are willing to work with you. The heavy duty seat comes with a larger seat...

so there is a cost and the heavy duty is UL rated for 350 lbs. Next time just ask for a fair price...and discounts

Guest

I wish people who post would learn to spell and type instead of making fun of other people's weight.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-734425

Your an ***;) :p

Guest

Anyone can price things the way they want complaining about it is a waste of time go get a used one of you are goimg to *** about .you people have no lives and maybe you need to worrt more about getting your mom on some kind of weight loss program;) Just a thought.

Guest

Yes this is true what u are paying for is a bit wider seat and the sticker. There mark up is really high.

Parts that cost them a bit under 50$ to get the mark it up to 560$ this company really does enjoy ripping off there customers often joking about t in the office. I worked for them and it is sad how they view there customers. I would stay away for them there is far better lofts out there .

Keep I. Mind if u buy from tem u have 3 das to hangs ur min and the surveyors often lie and make major errors

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-703793

You should slow down as you type and proof read your comments. Your entire point is lost as it is difficult to read with so many errors and no punctuation.

It really is aggravating to the reader. We can understand an error now and then, but gee whiz, every other word or two being misspelled causes one to lose interest in your post.

Guest

Its not true .I am a dealer. There is a few things that are different. Call Acorn Technical support in Florida and you will get a direct answer.

View more comments (8)

Acorn Stairlifts Reviews

  1. 15 reviews
  2. 14 reviews
  3. 2 reviews
  4. 1 review
  5. 1 review
Acorn Stairlifts reviews