Acorn Stairlifts

About 3-4 years ago, we bought an Acorn exterior Stairlift for a vacation rental house that we own in North Carolina. Acorn was the only company that we could find that would install an exterior unit here. Nothing fancy, our installation was straightforward with no turns. We bought it primarily to allow our aging mothers to visit the house; they have both passed now. We also thought it a benefit to allow our disabled guests access to our home which is ten feet off the ground to protect it from flooding. It is imperative that it work flawlessly ALL THE TIME! It has NEVER worked flawlessly.

The Acorn Stairlift has made a real difference in our lives, especially my husband's life. He is now able to mobilize down the stairs in the garage to his vehicle without the worry of a fall. Because of this, he now leaves the house more often and can really enjoy life again and not feel so confined to our home. I can see the difference in his disposition and outlook on life. This is all because of his Acorn Stairlift. There is not a day that goes by that he does not express how thankful he is and how much better he feels! He exclaims that it is one of the best purchases we have ever made! Thank you, Acorn Stairlift!!!

Warning: DO NOT BUY THIS CHAIRLIFT. I would never recommend Acorn Stairlifts to anyone. Our chair stopped halfway upstairs with my 92 yr old father on it. When I called was told they sell, but have no service department. The customer (Dis)service department has to email the installation team not call over to them to see if they will send someone out, but they typically don’t have a service crew. If there is an installation crew in the area they may be able to come by, “but they typically don’t do repairs”. I had to call the fire department to rescue my dad. The chair was intended that he could spend his last days in his house, now he is prisoner, he can’t go up or down, just needs to stay on one floor. How do you explain that to a person with dementia? And the caregiver I was trying to hire now doesn’t want the job because there is no way to move him from bedroom to the main floor.

Both of my parents are in their 80s and my father uses a walker to get around. He can't climb stairs so we get an Acorn Stairlift installed. When it works it's a great device. It allows both of my parents to stay in their 2 story home. But that's where the issue comes in. The unit has been unreliable for the under 3 years it has been installed. The first year it was under warranty and had to be serviced a couple of times. It stopped just before the top or bottom of the stairs and wouldn't move.

GOOD GRIEF... We have practically nothing but trouble since we bought it in 2015. Currently it is in pieces in the spare bedroom. I had recent knee surgery and hip replacement. My mother is 88 years old and had recent hip replacement. We bought it because we needed it to do something other than sit in pieces and having to wait 5 days pending for anyone to come fix it. We've had so many service calls since we bought it that I believe we have a novel started. This is unacceptable. We should have shopped around first...

Each time the stairlift starts, there is a loud, high-pitched whistle which can be heard for about 20 feet away. This lasts for 2 seconds, which is enough to waken anyone trying to sleep. This partially negates the benefits of this stairlift. We did contact Acorn, and they did send a technician. He said there was nothing he could do to silence the whistle. My feeling is that there is some connection that needs to be cut to cancel the whistle.

We installed an Acorn stairlift in July, 2017. Just before the one year warranty was up, the lift stopped halfway up the stairs with my son on it. We were able to get it restarted, and called for service right away. A technician came out and checked the parts and told us our unit was in good shape. In the last few weeks this has happened twice more. The warranty has expired and the company is trying to sell us a one year extended warranty for $800. This is ridiculous. The unit cost $7,000. I would think it should last longer than a year. We will not be buying the warranty and would like to sell it back to the company. The quality of this product is a major disappointment. Frustrated in PA.

Do not buy a chair from this company. We paid them $11,000 for a lift for my 87 year old mother so she could stay in her house. Her bedroom is upstairs. Her kitchen and living space are downstairs. The lift is about 6 months old and today, Thursday her lift completely stopped working while she was upstairs in her bedroom. We called Acorn and they told us they could not send anyone out until Thursday. We explained that our 87 year old mom was stuck upstairs in her bedroom with her kitchen being downstairs. Their answer was that they are not an emergency service and that our mom will have to wait upstairs for 5 days until they can get to her house.

I paid $800 for their PREMIUM maintenance agreement. This guarantees me 24-48 hr to get a tech to the house. NOT! It's Thursday today and they said someone will be out in 8 days. Are they crazy?! I had to remind them I bought the highest level of service agreement. "Ok, we can have someone out on Tuesday". What?! That is 5 days from now. You can plead, argue, beg and it won't do a darn bit of good. They told me today there is a disclosure in the agreement that says "or soonest availability". Shame on your Acorn Stairlift. Shame on you!

As a health care provider, I have referred 6 people to Acorn. All 6 people have gotten an Acorn Stairlift and could not be happier. I also had an Acorn 180 installed for my husband who is suffering with M.S. My parents had an Acorn Stairlift installed about 20 years ago. They have since passed, however, the stairlift remains in their home and functional as I know the new owners. As I read some of these reviews, I am wondering how many are factual. I have been dealing with Acorn for a very long time and I have never had an issue whatsoever. I remember my parents having a service issue, but was resolved within a day and a half. I highly recommend this company.

This is NOT a company you want to buy a stairlift from. From the moment it was installed we had to modify the staircase (at our expense) and the company wanted the entire cost immediately. They will service the unit after one year for $0, BUT wait when they are done they'll do their best to sell you an annual service agreement. This agreement will run you $595.00 per year for a $0 unscheduled call out and includes very little. Their customer service is great, if you're giving them money, but otherwise this company could care less if your loved one can get up and down the steps. Please read some of the other reviews. There are other companies out there that can and will install a chairlift.

Do you want to experience the worst customer service? Use Acorn! Acorn doesn't provide service and "customer service" is not something they believe in. I signed up for a promotion and was assured 5 times I qualified and would receive my promotional bonus and two months later they state I am not eligible and will do nothing to work with me. They reiterate their policy, which states it isn't guaranteed, but had not communicated anything to me and I am beyond unsatisfied with the company.

Acorn Stairlifts can install a new chairlift tomorrow! But when it breaks, they can't fix it for a week. PLEASE! Do yourself and your loved ones a favor - DON'T BUY AN ACORN STAIRLIFT! It is not at all the solution it was promised to be. The company will tell you that they are the largest supplier of stairlifts in the country. That may be true, but all that means is that there are a LOT of suckers out there with stairlifts that may or may not work. Because of our situation, we settle for what we are told is "the best". The "best" is so far below "acceptable" that I can't even believe that this company is still in business. I guess we will settle for anything when it comes to our loved ones. But it is so frustrating to be the sucker who fell for this scam - at my age. I am just a family caregiver, and I want the "best" for my loved one. Acorn Stairlifts professes to provide an essential service for which there is no substitution, and when service is required, they do not provide it.

It will be 1 year since we had the straight stairlift installed (July 4, 2017) and already I have had at least 2 annoying phone calls from what sounded like a hard-selling car salesperson - selling us to buy service/maintenance service for the stair lift. We clean the railings periodically regularly, it is used once a day - going up at night and going down in the morning. I was 'warned' that if I do not buy into the service (not clearly identified as an annual service maintenance fee) we will lose warranty on all of its parts! The woman salesperson tried to impress me that there are ** number of moving parts comprising a stairlift and was really giving me a very hard sell (she reminded me of car salespersons) to buy the service contract. Eventually, I blocked her from my landline and my cellphone... as I cannot deal with the pressure of her sales talk.

First off don't ever buy when they come to your home, they will call you the next day and offer you the same product for thousands less. If you don't buy they will call you constantly for years!! How is this legal? Even when you ask them to stop, they keep calling. The "warranty" is a joke. It's only lifetime if you pay for a $250 annual inspection plus labor, and other charges. Very deceptive business practices, stay away.

Worst decision ever, installing an Acorn Stairlift! Unless you pay for the YEARLY $750 maintenance plan, you will pay $250 up front for them just to come over, and then I think $250 hourly after that. We are on our third set of batteries in three years - They should last at least that long to begin with! We just had new ones installed in December, and here we are five months later with dead batteries again and my 93 year old deaf/blind mother stuck upstairs!

I purchased the Acorn Stairlift approximately two years ago. We asked the installer that we wanted it installed on the other side of the stairs, but installer insisted that it would not work on that side of the stairs which it was a straight stairs with no turns, this did not make sense to me but had to accept his position. About a month ago, the seat cracked and I called Acorn and wanted to order a replacement seat due to this one was cracked on the edge. Acorn advised that they could not sell me a seat directly due to a liability problem they would have if it was not replaced by an Acorn installer. I asked what liability problem they have had. I did not get an answer, but Acorn would not sell me a replacement seat that has five screws holding it to the frame. I can't see paying Acorn $150.00 for a service call and the cost of the seat, that would take approximately 5 minutes to change. Very sad Company.

After 4 months, the stairlift installed in my friend's home is still not approved by the inspector. Appointments are constantly changed and delayed. The price was substantially higher than what was advertised. Because there were two turns in the staircase, I thought the price was probably ok. I could have lived with the overcharge on the price if the installation had been accomplished and my friend could use it. The sales person came out in mid-December. I got a call at the beginning of January to set up the installation, but installation wasn't scheduled until February. I was told that we had to wait for the inspector, but the first inspection appointment was scheduled out almost 5 weeks. Then it was cancelled 5 minutes before the inspector was supposed to be there. Acorn blamed the state inspector, but when the inspection was rescheduled 3 weeks later, the inspector actually had no record of a prior service call.

I bought a lift for my mom. First the price is unreal, way too high. Talked me into buying a extended warranty. Was told it would only take 2-3 hours to install. They sent an guy from sales to install. It took him 7 hours to install. Less then two months after it was installed it stopped working. I called Acorn, was told I had to pay $500 out of pocket up front before the would sent out someone to look at the chair. He would look at the lift and order parts. Then I would have to pay another $500 for him to come back out and fix the chair lift. That the warranty just paid for parts. The $500 service fee plus the fee to work on the chair lift was not covered. And had to be paid up front.

Last January I referred a friend of mine to buy Acorn stairlift, after she bought it, I called for my referral check of $200 and was told it would take 4 to 7 weeks. It has been over 2 months, so I called again and they are giving me the runaround telling me they tried to contact the person I recommended, but are unable to reach her to confirm my referral. I doubt they ever intended to pay me.

My husband was having ankle surgery and had a heart attack a couple years ago so we decided to have a stairlift installed so he would eventually be able to get to his office downstairs. A lady from Acorn Stair Lifts came and measured and led us to believe the track would be not flush but close to the wall so others could walk up and down the stairs without concern. We had to put five hundred dollars down for this and did while trusting this woman's evaluation for us. A guy came to install it and informed us it would have to come further out practically to the middle of the stair. No way!!! So we did not let him install it and told him we wanted our five hundred dollars back.

These guys are sweetest salespeople before they sell you the chairlift which is generally priced minimum twice (They claim they are the best and therefore sell the most). Don't get taken for that sales jargon. Once you bought it forget about everything. Be prepared to open your wallet for everything. Carefully evaluate the contract before you purchase and if you do end up paying anything more than $3K even for 2 90 degree bends in your chair rail make sure you ask them to provide PM contract for minimum 5 years preferably 10 years (for both parts and labor) otherwise be prepared to fork out as much as 10%+ purchase price for annual maintenance contract.

My mother originally scheduled an appointment with Acorn Stairlifts to install a stairlift system for my ailing father. The appointment was scheduled for 4:30PM so she had time to get home from work to meet with the consultant as my dad had been very unwell and not in a state to make financial decisions and she made it clear when scheduling the appointment that both of them would be there. The day of the appointment, she ran about 15 minutes behind because of a delay picking up a prescription for my dad from the pharmacy, and in the 15 minutes it took her to get home by 4:45PM the consultant Mike ** had already completed a contract with my dad and processed their credit card.

These people do a bait and switch. We told them we only needed the stairlift for a few months and were told they would be happy to buy it back. When the person needing the stairlift died BEFORE it was ever used they refused to take it back. They lied. We have a witness that was present when the salesman was in the house and said they would buy it back. BEWARE. These are dishonest people.

Bought an Acorn Stairlift Sept 2017. Cost $9000. Relative passed away in Oct 2017. Used 4 times. Tried to get a buyback, they don't do it. They know of someone that buys them very cheap to take it off hands. Told me to call other companies. But they won't give rights for other companies to fix it.

My elderly mother has dementia and is becoming housebound. She had a bit of a fall on the stairs and scared my stepfather into wanting a stairlift NOW. He called the first ad he saw, Acorn. BIG MISTAKE. My daughter is a doctor of physical therapy and recommended another company for us after we saw the horrible reviews. When Acorn came for the estimate, they were told we had another estimate scheduled and no decision would be made that day. My mother's caregiver was there and heard the rep agree to that.

We bought an Acorn Stairlift on Craigslist for $1,000, and hired Acorn to pick it up from the seller and deliver to us, the buyer, and install it. The installation charge of $400 included transportation within 30 miles. Our distance was 40 miles so they charged us an additional $250, and would charge us for any additional required parts. In fact what they did was say we needed a rail with a "hinge" to clear the bottom step.

Acorn sells some parts directly, other parts are available only from a service technician. My stairlift is only a few month out of their one year warranty. I am not the user of this lift, so I did not notice the broken plastic arm cover until after the warranty had expired. The cover is held on by two Philips sheet metal screws inserted from the bottom. It appears that when this lift was assembled, one of the screws was screwed in too tight. Over time the screw eventually broke off the bottom of the cover and left a hole, and the cover lifted up from the arm.

The Model 5 boards (Says Bison 80) eat batteries every year. Acorn - with some persuasion sent a technician to supply missing pieces of rail I needed to install. All in, $3500 installed, which was good. 3 years in, the board went out, so I upgraded to the T565 board with Lithium Batteries for $1000 ($250 labor fee flat rate and $750 for the kit.). With the lithium batteries, it runs faster. No major trouble other than the batteries every year for the V5 board (NiCad), which are pretty expensive at $250 for parts. The lithium batteries should last longer, are more powerful and should be good. Battery cost is the same for the lithiums, and it goes MUCH faster with the upgrade kit. Techs are always nice, the home office staff are OK. It's kind of expensive, but with eBay pricing often under $2,000 shipped, it's a lot better than paying $12,000. Sure my out of pocket is now at $4500 for this, but it's worked ok. The seat is VERY uncomfortable, only big gripe.

Two years ago Acorn changed the batteries on my parents' Stairlift £250. Yesterday the stairlift didn't work so they phoned Acorn, £230 call out. They changed the batteries AGAIN and replaced the brushes in the motor. A further £250. Nearly £500. How can they justify that. Buying the batteries and a brand new motor wouldn't cost that. Total time on site 35 minutes. They spent longer sitting outside running the clock up to justify their charges. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE never buy a stairlift from these robbing con merchants and warn EVERYONE that you know.