handicare.co.uk

It’s a shame there is not a zero rating. I’m having new carpeting fitted, I was told the stairlift

It’s a shame there is not a zero rating.

I’m having new carpeting fitted, I was told the stairlift needed to be removed so I contacted the supplier via their online form. I had previously tried the phone number displayed on the stairlift and discovered it had been disconnected . That did not stop me though, I used a little common sense, I made enquiries and used there listed number on the internet. It rang a very long time and as I was about to give up a young man answered. He was pleasant enough but explained it would take 5 to 10 days before the removal team would contact me !!! About arranging a removal date. He explained the cost would be £400. I had been pre-warned by others to expect that price.

After a week I gave them another call to see if I could speed things up. The carpet was paid for and the fitters were waiting to get to work.

I managed to arrange a date for the removal and agreed to call back once the carpet was installed. Everything seemed fine. The gentleman I spoke seemed quite efficient. I confirmed the price was £400 and was told no, it’s £500. That seemed to be rather. Lot of money to undo a few screws and disconnect it from the mains but I agreed.

I was then asked when I wanted my lift re-installed. ‘We can do it the same dy, if you want” he said. I explained I had no control over the time the fitters would be finished and we agreed I would call them to arrange a date once I had confirmed the details with the carpet company. It all sounds very amicable doesn’t it…wrong.

I spoke to the carpet company who gave me a suitable date for the fitting and I called Handicare straight away. What followed was/is quite unbelievable.

I explained my reason for calling and who I was. The opening remark was that this man had received the online I had completed but the phone number on my account was unobtainable. I confirmed that the number he had was in fact disconnected some years ago. He was noticeably unhappy. Exactly why he did not reply to my email address stating his problem I don’t know. He was clearly irritated that’s for sure. His next question was to question where I lived, my phone number and how much I was quoted. Surely if he remembered the form I had submitted perhaps two weeks earlier he would know the answer to most of those questions. I answered his questions and he told me that no such booking had been made and that in any case they wanted £800 to remove a few screws and unplug the power. I thought he was joking. He wasn’t. He then told me he was going to listen to the recording of my earlier phone call and put me on hold. He eventually returned and stated that not only was there no booking on the system but there was no recording of my previous conversation. In effect I was being called a liar. Using the call record from my mobile phone I gave him the precise time of my earlier call. He still insisted that there was no booking and no phone call from me

His attitude was wholly unacceptable and being unable to convince him that I had called, when I called and how much I was quoted, I asked to speak to his manager. This is a quite large company but he insisted that he was the manager. I was now convinced I was being deliberately wound up. Department managers in such a large company do not answer generally phone calls. Not being put off I insisted I be put in contact with a manager. His reply that the next person above him would be a Company director and that he would not allow me to speak to any of them.

Date of experience: Mar 04, 2026