Hillarys Blinds Rubbish Customer Service

texaco1

I decided to use Hilary’s blinds because I trusted the company to supply and fit the blinds to a standard expected from a company as big as Hilary’s.
The sales rep arrive on time to take the measurements and the order, I found it difficult to choose the bedroom blinds because the choice of colours and designs were limited and one in particular had been discontinued, there was only one design each that would be suitable for the lounge and the bathroom. I compromised on both and placed the order.
The rep contacted me two weeks later to come and fit the blinds, we arranged a time and day, on the day when he was 40 minutes late I called his mobile got the answer phone and left a message confirming I had got the right day and time. He called back to say that he had had to fit another blind on his way to us which had made him late. As the client I feel that a phone call to explain this should have been part of his responsibility.
All the blinds were fitted without incident apart from one that had been ordered incorrectly the rep put this blind up temporarily and duly reordered that blind. The rest were perfect, the colours and the look, all that I had expected. Until on day two pulling the bedroom blind down at 10pm to go to bed, the whole blind dropped like a stone making me jump, looking at the back of the blind where all the cords and holders are I saw that the cords had come out of the holders and the ball on the end of the cord was half way up the blind leaving the bottom half of the blind unsupported. I tried to clip the cord back into place but the blind was too heavy. We decided to leave until the next day. That morning the same thing happened to the blind in the lounge and then to all the blinds, even the small bathroom blind. In the first 6 days of having the blinds in place they were popped back into place/repaired 8-10 times.
I called customer services and explained how disappointed I was with them and I was told that the rep would be informed and we could sort the whole thing out when he came to replace the incorrectly ordered blind.
The replacement blind was fitted by the rep and I was told that no further order could be made unless I paid the outstanding balance as it would void the guarantee on the original blinds, I reluctantly paid the balance and we reordered the upgraded blinds. The rep contacted me a week later to say the blinds had arrived and we made arrangements for him to come and fit them. This again was a trial in itself, I called the rep on several occasions and got his answer phone and he never retuned my calls, I text him to confirm dates and times and eventually he would text back, but his real failing is that he was late for every appointment apart from the first, it was as if he got the order and then relaxed.
On the day that the second lot of blinds were to be fitted he was 45 minutes late, I called customer services to find out where he was and the call operator offered to call the rep, I did stat that ‘you will only get the answer phone as I have tried already’ which he did and told me that he had left a message with the rep he also stated that there is a three hour window that the reps have to arrive at the client’s house, my rep never mentioned this he gave me specific times at which I should expect him.
Eventually the rep turned up without an apology for being 45 minutes late, he duly unpacked and started to fit the replacement blinds. He had fitted a small blind in the lounge and because I was concerned about them, I checked this blind letting it down and raising it up, it collapsed flopping at angle where some of the clips had come out of their housing and some hadn’t. Looking at the back of the blind I could see three or four of the cord holders had slid down the cord and were resting on one of the bars, I tried to replace one of the but couldn’t work out how to get the holder back into its housing.
I went upstairs to spoke to the rep explaining that the blind had failed; he was shocked and came to have a look. As he started to try to put it together, I felt completely at the end of my tether with these blinds, the thought of having to put up with blinds that could possibly fall apart at any time filled me with dread and so I told him to take them all down as they are not fit for purpose.
The rep was told to take all the blinds away and to get us a full refund
I spoke to customer services the next day and talk to Colin who confirmed that the refund was being raised and should be with me in 10 days.
I am saddened and shocked at this whole episode, what should have been a straight forward experience has turned out to be nightmare. The blinds themselves were lovely and looked great but the mechanism used to pull the blinds up & down was weak and badly designed. They were noisy; the cord too short and it took 10-12 pulls to get them all the way up.
I am so disappointed that the blinds were not fit for purpose and am now going to have to start from scratch to find suitable curtains – we can’t stand the thought of blinds again.
Thankfully after numerous phonecalls to customer services i have got a full refund.

Perceptive_Pete

Hillarys Blinds rep came round to quote for new business but ended up damaging existing installation. Rang Hillarys Customer Service to report it and ask that they made good the damage. They refused point blank so am resorting to the small claims court.

AVOID HILLARYS BLINDS LIKE THE PLAGUE!

TomEGLF

I ordered shutters from Hillarys for the bedroom in May this year, and was given a fitting date in August which was already 2 weeks longer than the salesman quoted during the consultation.


The night before the fitter was due to install them, I had a voicemail left telling me that one box from the three that made up the order had not been delivered to the fitter and they didn't know where it was and so they wouldn't be able to install.


Since they left this message at exactly 5pm, and their call centre closes at exactly 5pm, I had to wait until morning to get the full story. The only offer they could make was to re-order the missing parts but that would incur another 6 weeks wait, making a total wait of around 20 weeks just for one window!


Given the extra wait, and inconvenience of having lost a days work through being in for the fitter and now having to loose a 2nd day when they do eventually come to fit the shutters, I didn't think it unreasonable that some form of discount should be offered as a good will gesture, but I was bluntly told that because they are air freighting the replacement parts over, it would be costing them extra and so they would not offer any discount!


Throughout my dealings with the "Customer Services" department, I was left with the distinct feeling that they really didn't believe they had any responsibility for the loss of the parts and so they didn't feel obliged to do anything about it other than re-order them. I was offered the option to cancel but re-ordering from another supplier would have resulted in an even longer wait.


I did have another £2500 worth of shutters I'd had quoted, but will now look elsewhere as it appears Hillarys are neither capable of delivering what they promise or interested in their customers when things go wrong.


A thoroughly unpleasant experience!

wr1ght

hmmm got an advisor coming on monday may look elsewhere

Aussie_girl

Ordered 4 blinds after a visit from a Hillarys blinds rep, all seemed fine until the day of the agreed fitting came and the guy never showed up or called. On calling him he gave some half hearted excuse he was unwell and could he come the next week to which we agreed however when the agreed day came he never showed again and neither did he call.
At this point we were so fed up so contacted Hillarys and asked for our deposit back to which without hesitation they agreed, they offered no apology or explanation at all in fact their customer care is none existent.
We still cannot figure what went on with our order,perhaps they forgot to order them we don't know but one thing is for sure for anyone considering using Hillarys Blinds then I would think very carefully about doing so unless you want a load of grief!

MR_GREEDY

:mad:
We spent £1840 on vertical blinds with hillarys and the blinds in the bedroom were cut too short. After 11 months and 4 visits by the fitter to measure up the blinds are still too short and are now refusing to rectify the problem.we have made countless phone calls to them and we just get excuses like the fitter is on holiday,the fitter is off sick,the manufacturer is on holiday or the fitter just fails to turn up and each visit we have to wait six weeks and they will only communicate by text.
Shortly after they fitted the blinds some of the slats became brittle and broke at the the fixings, this also proved to be an almost impossible task to get them to fix it .we got through to the manager/teem leader of hillarys who was rude and blamed the fault on my daughter who is only 3 and cant reach the blind.we were also refused a refund.
At this moment we are waiting for someone who is high up at hillarys to contact us regarding replacement slats for the bedroom but we are still waiting.
I think they are not following the sales of goods act by refusing to rectify they'r work and not doing it in a reasonable amount of time.

Not sure what i can do now.

mrp21

We had blinds fitted by Hillary that after a couple of months looked as if the moths had been at them - even their own fitter said that.
We opted for curtains and 11 months after fitting they're all over the place - dont even sit on the bay window allowing draft in.
Complete waste of money and now Hillary say theres nothing they can do.
If anyone has any contacts or knows of anyone we can call or email please let me know.
They're driving me mad :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

CutTheJargon

I am worried now! had a miserable guy in from Hillarys. Ordered and paid 50% deposit. We said we would not want them fitting until December due to decorator being in, but he pushed us to give an earlier date saying they would then get them in before the Christmas rush. As expected, we had to call and put it off for 2 weeks. He complained it was messing up his diary and still has not given us a new date despite calling twice. Will report back on outcome

Newtrons

Ok so I will try keep this short. Over 7 years ago I had my blinds fitted by Hillarys. The staff they employ at the time where hopeless. Nearly all of my blinds fell down within week one of fitting. Eventually this got sorted out via an on site Manager visit to my home. At this stage they didn't have any paper trail to my £2800 for 15 basic blinds. 7 years on they are starting to fall away from the walls again. This resulted in hot red wax from a burning candle bleaching the blind window ledge and carpet. Unfortunate I thought! I also had just bought a lamp for the living room and that also got smashed too. I contacted Hillarys customer service and although polite told me they had no record of my purchase and no record of my original purchase and original issues. Their products maybe every bit as good as everybody else's but I could clearly never use this company again based on my experience. I was told after my original dramas they would never fall down again! They have! buy wisely everyone! I hope this helps others and ask the company you choose to use to make sure they are fitted correctly. Don't let them fob you off.

lonebear

I booked an appointment early in January for today as I work in education and was told I would get a phone call before the salesman came. Been sitting here from 12:00-15:00 only to get a call at 14:40 asking if I'd like to reschedule? The salesman had been, not got a response and left. I specifically asked for the phone call because I know my bell doesn't work. Hillarys response was that most of their salespeople will call but not all will as they are not employed by Hillarys or some other lame excuse...not sure if it's worthwhile booking another appointment as another review that I've read says that their 50% sale off is still expensive. The number they gave me to call back on doesn't even work, forcing me to call their 0800 premium rate number. (I don't have a land-line) Maybe local is best...?