Hi there,
Hubby is really getting weaker on his legs and walking up our stairs watching him frightens me.
Do you have a stairlift brought by yourself?
Is it better to pay outright or rent one?
Your thoughts would greatly help.
Thanks
Caz
Hi Caz, I have had my stairlift for about 6 years now and wouldn’t be able to manage without it. The MS Society (local branch) paid for mine to be installed. We are going to be moving in the near future as we have a three bedroomed house which is just too big for us now our children have left home. We have sold our house but the people buying it are still waiting for a buyer. We plan to move to a bungalow or ground floor flat so will no longer need the stairlift. I have emailed my local ms branch twice with this in mind asking if they would like the stairlift for somebody else as they were the ones who kindly paid for it to be installed but nobody has bothered to reply. When I have more definite moving dates I will post on here and if anybody can collect it they are welcome to it as we cannot take it with us and it would be a shame if somebody else couldn’t make use of it. Anne x.
Caz: Have you asked Social Services about having one installed?
Anne: I had the same problem with a scooter. No one was interested, despite all it needing was a puncture fixed. It had to go to the dump in the end. What a waste 
Karen x
Hi Karen, what a waste. The stairlift is in excellent condition and they are so expensive to buy. Hopefully somebody on here would be glad of it. It would be absolutely criminal if it had to be dumped. Anne x.
Hi Caz
Had my stairlift 6 weeks (bought it myself) and could not do without it. It was taking me almost 5 minutes to get up the stairs.
The usual choice is put one in, or move to a bungalow.
If you have straight stairs, it might be much better to rent - you can work out how long you expect to stay in the house.
If you need a curved lift (a bend at top or bottom), it is rent for a short time, or buy for a long time)
Some makers/suppliers will move a lift (like the one from Anne) to a new site - and give a new warranty as well - if it will fit.
Some councils are good - some are not - you must ask them (but don’t be surprised if they suggest that they can do it in 2015).
Ask your local MS Society branch.
Your local Mobility Shop will offer stairlifts - but they will probably be Acorn agents.
It could be better to contact Acorn direct (and haggle on the price is they do not have to pay an agent).
There are an awful lot of things to think about first - so if you have a straight stair, renting just to “try it out” could be your best bet.
Geoff
When I was living in a house I applied to adult services for a stair lift. The OT that came to see me said that they do not approve them for people with MS as they are a safety issue and that a through the floor lift should be installed instead. I didn’t have room for a lift and there were lots of other problems with the house so I moved. I don’t know if anyone else has experienced this.
Jane
Thanks all for your help. I know the local branch helped hubby just recently with something so that isnt a possibility.
The Council said we have to pay and also said they thought a through lift a better option even though hubby said No to it…
NANNY McPhee…Unfortunately our stairs have a bend in the middle so yours dont seem appropriate for us.
Caz
Hi Caz, Before I got my stairlift I was also assessed by the council who advised me to have a through lift and I was also told I would have to pay. We decided against this as we thought if we ever wanted to sell the house this would probably put a lot of people off. We are now moving so glad we made this decision. The stairlift I have is a straight one and can easily be taken out to replace stair carpet etc. It has never broken down in the six years I have had it and I have never had to call an engineer. I would definitely recommend it. Anne x.
Hi, we had my mum in law living with us some years ago and got a stairlift fitted for her. Our stairs have a bend, so we had to have one specially made for our house. The council paid for it. When mum moved out, they didnt want to know about taking it back. Hubby had to disamantle it and take it to the supplier himself.
I know a few people who have asked the council to put a stair lift in and they advised a thru floor lift instead. A lift takes up a lot of room and is an obvious alteration to anyone`s home.
if you ask your council, you will have to be means tested and may have to pay towards the cost.
I didnt know stair lifts could be rented.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
luv Pollx
Hi Caz I had a stairlift installed over a year ago. I had to sell my car to pay for it but as I cannot drive anymore the car was surplus to requirements anyway! It was a sad day when it was installed, and I cried a lot at the time. I was refused a grant by Norwich City Council. I presume they thought I should carry on crawling up the stairs on all fours… I was also refused a grant for a wet room so now they have to pay for a daily carer to come in and help me shower instead. So f…k them…
i have had one fit a few months ago,i had to pay £1500 for mine,because SS said they wouldnt fund one,they said i needed a through floor lift which i didnt want,it would put people off buying if i wanted to sell,i wouldnt be without mine.
f…k `em indeed!
luv Pollx
Our staircase is curved, so we had no choice but to buy as the rail had to be made bespoke. Got a reconditioned chair, though. Still cost £5,500 in total! In our area, Social Services will pay for either a stair lift or a through floor lift, but not both, so most people tend to sort their own stair lift out incase they end up needing a through floor lift as it’s cheaper. Heather
My first stairlift was second-hand. Sadly it belonged to a friend - who died of Motorneurone disease. lt was supplied to them by the social services. But they refused to come and take it away after he had died - and his wife just got so upset seeing it. We had it fitted by a local family firm and it lasted me 20yrs. Then when we had our house extended and doors in the hall altered we had a another stairlift fitted - it cost us £850 - 5yrs ago. We already had the electrics in for it. There are some good reliable independant firms about - who do sell different makes and many second-hand reconditioned lifts. The stairlift seat does have a seatbelt for security if needed. When l fractured my ankle - l was able to get to the stairlift on my wheelchair and transfer to the stairlift seat - then at the top of the stairs l had another wheelchair [borrowed from Red Cross] to transfer to and get to my bedroom. Now l use a rollator - and l do the same - leave one upstairs.
l love my stairlift - l can carry all the washing down on it - and take the clean laundry back up. lt has only broken down twice in 25yrs. Which is amazing. Mines a Stannah. But if l had bought it from Stannah it would have cost me much more. There callout fee for repair is extortionate. Find an independant firm.
F.
Hi Hyder,
Yes they said the same to us so hubby can barely walk the stairs and now we know we will have to pay for one.
Also when we asked for the wet room we were told we would have to pay for that too…So now he too has a carer to assist him in the mornings in our non wet room shower.
I feel the same as you but won’t let it get us down.
Thanks
Caz
Finally hubby has given in and we will be have a quote from a strlift compnay tomorrow…I hope they are not pushy like double glazing people.
Caz
Caz,
lts been my experience that it is best to look for a independant company who do all makes of stairlifts - not a company who do just their own. ie Acorn or Stannah. My first stairlift was secondhand -Stannah- and was fitted and serviced by a family business - l had it 20yrs before changing it to another secondhand one from the same people. The only reason l changed it was because we had an extension built on the back of the house and the door in the hall was repositioned which meant l needed a new ‘track’ to allow the stairlift to come down lower for me to get on. The ‘new’ one is now 6yrs old.And it cost me £850 -[electrics already in place] ln all these years- 26- it has only broken down twice and they have come out the same day to fix it. l rarely have it serviced. A friend visited me this morning - and l was still upstairs - so she came up on the stairlift as she is very disabled - it was the first time she had been on one - and she was very impressed. She sleeps downstairs in her cottage as she cannot manage her winding staircase. And she is thinking of moving to somewhere more managable then her cottage which has a very large garden. As she does not like bungalows - she is now happy to look at houses where she could have a stairlift fitted. My stairlift - like my Tramper scooter - are my best friends. lts easy enough to leave a wheelchair or rollator at the top of the stairs to use when you get up there - and leave the other at the bottom. There is a seatbelt on it for safety if needed - and it does turn you round to face away from the top of the stairs when you ‘dismount’.
Fx
Thank you for this Campion,
Unfortunately we have started with Stannah only because a friend of ours got a re-con one for striaght stairs at aprox £2000.
Where is best to look for the independants?
Thanks
Caz
Look in your local yellow pages or on the web. These companies will cover quite a large area. The one l use is called Central Stairlifts based in Droitwich Worcs. They supply and repair scooters as well. l know they are Stannah trained. They always fit a brand new ‘track’ - and often - where possible use secondhand seats. Mine looked brand new - you would never have known it was pre-used. lts always a good idea to get more then one quote. The modern ones are worked from a battery - which is charged every time you go up and down the stairs. This is a big improvement on the original one l had as it means that when we have a power cut the lift will still work.
Caz,
Just picked up a Daily Mail - left here by a friend on Saturday - was about to start making firelighters for the wood-burner! when l came across several adverts for Stairlifts. Now - l know nothing about these companies but l will pass the details on to you in case you want to investigate.
AGE UK - low price guarantee - 0800 270 7021
Associated Stairlifts 0800 015 0249 recon £895
StayHome Stairlifts Family run British Company 0800 652 9562 - www.stayhomestairlifts.co.uk
Easystair Stairlifts 0800 083 2674 www.easystairmobility.co.uk recon straight stair from £900
lts worth trying.