Thomas Sanderson

busterpem

I think its commission simply..When i work in a high street shop( many years ago) i was on commission but the rates were low so say if you were looking for a new tv, and say you would like to spend £500. if i sold you the tv at £500 i may get £5 commission or if i sold you one say £550 i may get £10 commission.. but if were are selling direct to the public with no middleman the commission most be alot higher...so making the price look a great deal and making people (customers) think they are getting great one off deal most get them more deals over all....

trisontana

So it's a form of dishonesty.

marleyboy

I hardly think this site cost you any money, as ultimately you chose Hilary's yourself, I dont think anybody on here has said "buy from Hilary's", it is quite possible Hilary's are just another shoddy company that has not been addressed on MSE, but lets be realistic here, Sanderson and Hilary's are not the only companies out there that deal with blinds, I would class £2000 as too much money for blinds, but then I am the sort of person who would rather buy them made to measure and install them myself.

Just like the OP on this thread, someone got stung by a blind company and a discussion about it was born. So maybe a new thread about getting stung by Hilary's would suffice. The fact is, nobody on this thread suggested Hilary's, or any other blinds company, whether reputable or extortionate, that would go against the rules of MSE as subliminal advertising.

In fact, had you done your homework and Googled them first, you might have found quite a few unhappy customers......

Warning....Hillarys Blinds is very expensive.
Review of Hillarys Blinds by geoffoclock
Advantages: None ....be warned
Disadvantages: Cost Cost and Cost

Hillarys blinds - DONT DO IT!!! worst service ever!
Review of Hillarys Blinds by baronvonblondle Advantages: quick to take your money and leave you alone with your broken blinds
Disadvantages: awful customer service and very low quality goods as opposed to pre sale samples

Hillarys Blinds - DO NOT BOTHER
Review of Hillarys Blinds by sugababy123 Advantages: Two blinds are still up after 4 weeks
Disadvantages: Too many to mention, 'in my opinion!' and 'black out' aren't blacking much out!

HILLARYS HORRIFIC BLINDS - DON'T GIVE THEM A PENNY!
Review of Hillarys Blinds by LucieLu16 Advantages: None to speak of at all
Disadvantages: SEE ABOVE

To say this company is an absolute con is an understatement. DO NOT TOUCH THEM WITH A BARGEPOLE. Or any other pole for that matter. They are liars, incompetent, expensive, and don't deliver.

.....and thats just the first page.

So in effect, you cannot blame this thread for not checking them out first, because nobody on here suggested you should use them.

themacster

shady99 wrote: »

Hi all

Looking for your advice in respect of the conservatory blinds we had fitted in December 2006.

We had around 16 blinds fitted at a cost of around £2400 and found last year that a couple of blinds had started to 'go' at the bottom. By this I mean the tensioned cord had pulled through the side of the thin plastic strip at the bottom of the blind, which cannot be reseated. I called Thomas Sanderson and they have said they can get somebody out to take a look - but a call out charge of around £50.

Now, surely this thin plastic strip has given up in the heat, where it has become liable and the tension in the cord has allowed this to be pulled along the side of the strip. With this in mind would this not be a case of the product not being up to the job in hand ? I would say nothing if this was one or two blinds, but to have seven blinds all now hanging at a crazy angle - is detracting from the image we expected when signing up for a 'premium' product. They are also barely three years old (3 years 4 months to be exact), and so the promise of half the price back towards a new set in 10 years time (part of the buying decision) is looking a little desparate given that I don't believe they will make it that long.

What are my options ? Do I stand my ground, do I have any legal recourse ?


Cheers

We have a similar problem. Paid just over £2,000 in December 2006 for 34 conservatory window blinds - we had already had a couple of other quotes, so I made the salesman choke a bit when I told him the figures I already had - I think he started off around the £6K mark, but we were happy with the £2K because we far preferred the Sanderson product.

Anyway, their 5 year guarantee is fine, but you have to pay a £50 callout charge after the first two years. We now have one blind with the cord pulled through the edge of the plastic. I am tempted to leave things until near the end of the 5 years and see if we get any more problem blinds - one is drooping on one side - then maybe call them out. Otherwise I will ring their customer service and see if I get anywhere with them.

Did you get any resolution?

Moneybot

Thomas Sanderson are recruiting for sales people in my area - part of the design team going in to homes after appointments have been made by telesales. It would be on a commission only basis.

Worried having read this thread I would either have to use heavy sales techniques or risk having no income.

marleyboy

Moneybot wrote: »

Thomas Sanderson are recruiting for sales people in my area - part of the design team going in to homes after appointments have been made by telesales. It would be on a commission only basis.

Worried having read this thread I would either have to use heavy sales techniques or risk having no income.

The only advice I can offer is to expect to use heavy sales techniques and expect a rather stern knockback, moreso be prepared for the occasional "Fork Off!".

Oh and with the greatest respect, dont even think about donning my door for a sale, my bite is a lot worse than my bark. .

Sales

I have just left Thomas Sanderson. It is a high-pressure commission-only job. I would have to spend a minimum of 2 hours in your home to make sure you felt pressured into buying. The idea is to pretend you are their friend and then get as much money out of them as possible. What they buy is irrelevent, all that matters is selling you something. I was trained to build up the price as high as possible so that when I finally gave you the selling price, it seemed reasonable by comparison. It is self-employed and I was amazed at the big commissions I made on the few sales I did. I had to call my Manager during the appointment to ask for a fake discount that had to be taken by the customer immediately. I had to sell finance on every visit or face severe reprimand. The products are pretty good, to be fair, but don't subject yourself to a visit from a rep from Thomas Sanderson unless you have a lot of money and no idea what to do with it. We were called Designers and the idea is to pretend we are Interior Designers, but all the time focussing on getting big money. The Managers are blood-thirsty for money money money. It's actually quite sad to see how driven by money these managers are, constantly comparing income to see who can afford the biggest cars. And you should see the cars! They meet in 5 star hotels around the world for their monthly meetings. The top guys are earning over £100K per year and the company proudly boast this at their meetings. Shameful. People actually laughing at how much they managed to take off people and then seeming proud of it!! I also used to work for Hillarys and they are okay, but they pay badly. At least Thomas Sanderson pay well. Very well. I don't know how Thomas Sanderson have not been uncovered on one of those Channel 4 undercover programmes. I am amazed that what they do is legal. But I am guessing it must be, or they would have been closed down by now.

bstannard

I recently ordered some shutters from Thomas Sanderson which weren't cheap at £2,500. After paying my £100 deposit I found out several of the details of the order were incorrect - the price, the colour, the actual shape of the shutters themselves. The sales guy was totally unhelpful quoting me random prices and not giving me any faith that I was being charged correctly or that my order was right. Similar story from the sales manager who was put on the case to rectify it - he was 45 minutes late and then did nothing for over 6 weeks and even then I didn't know if what i was being charged was correct.
When I felt I had lost all faith with Thomas Sanderson I rang to cancel my order only to be told that the £100 is never returned to customers no matter what the situation (i.e. even if they mess up at every stage). If I wasn't absolutely sure I was cancelling that really put the nail in the coffin. I was strongly urge anyone considering ordering with them to be very careful.

wealdroam

bstannard wrote: »

I recently ordered some shutters from Thomas Sanderson which weren't cheap at £2,500. After paying my £100 deposit I found out several of the details of the order were incorrect - the price, the colour, the actual shape of the shutters themselves. The sales guy was totally unhelpful quoting me random prices and not giving me any faith that I was being charged correctly or that my order was right. Similar story from the sales manager who was put on the case to rectify it - he was 45 minutes late and then did nothing for over 6 weeks and even then I didn't know if what i was being charged was correct.
When I felt I had lost all faith with Thomas Sanderson I rang to cancel my order only to be told that the £100 is never returned to customers no matter what the situation (i.e. even if they mess up at every stage). If I wasn't absolutely sure I was cancelling that really put the nail in the coffin. I was strongly urge anyone considering ordering with them to be very careful.

Did you pay that deposit by credit card?

If so, read about Section 75 refunds.

ruddoug09

Thanks for the info, I had them booked to come and fit out our new orangery. Appointment now cancelled!