BraunAbility Outrageous replacement parts Winamac Indiana
We purchased a van with a new BraunAbility Under Vehicle Lift (UVL). There is a box on the side of the van which has a corded handheld remote to operate the lift. It is a coiled cord with six colored wires very similar to landline telephone wiring. Each end of the coiled cord has a clear plastic clip, looks just like the clip which connects landline telephones. The coiled cord can be detached from both ends.
Over time, at one end of the cord, it has developed a short. All that really needs to be done is to clip off about 1" to eliminate the short and reinsert the wires into a new plastic clip. I purchased two types of standard clips at the hardware store - neither types slides in correctly. I called Braun - the clip is a proprietary clip made just slightly different shape than off the shelf clips.
Furthermore, Braun only sells spare parts through dealerships. The dealership reports that it only can you not buy just the clip (worth only a few cents), you also cannot buy just the cord (a few dollars). You have to buy the complete assembly including the hand held remote and it costs $400! Absolutely outrageous business practice to make a replacement part so slightly different that you have to buy it from them and then only offer the entire very expensive assemble rather than the simple part which is the only thing needed to be replaced.
Essentially stealing and gouging from families who are already dealing with a handicapped member. Shameful!