I have had much the same experiance. I refuse to give up and this letter is STEP 1 TO MY MASTER PLAN! THE CUSTOMER MUST BE TREATED RIGHT AND FAIRLY!
Hilarys Blinds
Colwick Business Park
Private Road No 2
Colwick
Nottinghamshire
NG4 2JR
Cc: The Trading Standards Institute
1 Sylvan Court
Sylvan Way
Southfields Business Park
Basildon
Essex
SS15 6TH
To whom it may concern,
RE: Account number _______ Complaint
This is a letter of complaint. My compliant is not with the product itself, I am incredibly impressed with the quality of the blinds, my qualm is with the installation and your Hilary blind fitter. In summary, the blinds are currently not fitted to the length of the windows; they are uneven with one another and blinds which are lopsided.
Your Hilary blind adviser arrived on 7th August 2009 to provide us with a quote of our 5 bay window. He showed us an array of different blinds, measured up and inspected the bay. We agreed to the wooden Venetian and paid a £200 deposit from my debit card given his assurance that would be no problems with the installation. An appointment was made and the blinds were fitted on 17th August 2009. The fitter arrived at 9am. After he fitted the blinds, I paid the remaining £210.
Unfortunately, by inspection, both close and far, the blinds were not in line with one another, they were uneven with the windows and did not look like ‘custom fitted’ blinds. The fitter returned the next day (18th August 2009) and I expressed my concerns regarding the length of the blinds (they sit on the window sill with too many slats) and the fact that the blinds “look wonky”. He dismissed the issue regarding the fit of the blinds saying they should look like that and dismissed the fact the blinds were not level. I naively believed what your ‘experienced’ fitter deemed correct in terms of fit, but could not accept the latter. I reiterated that they were uneven, but he continued to disbelieve it. When I opened the blinds to reveal the horizontal (and level) window panes he finally agreed that they were not level and said “you won’t notice it in two weeks time”. This was an insensitive and unprofessional response, given that I am the one living day-in-day-out with this unacceptable installation. The fitter then continued to say it was due to my uneven ceiling that the blinds “look wonky”. This infuriated me. It was not brought to my attention during the quote nor during/before the installation that my ceiling is uneven. Your advisor inspected the bay for a lengthy period of time, measuring and inspecting, before giving his assurance that there would be no problem with installation. If I was told prior to the, I would have rectified the ceiling level before getting the blinds fitted. I now have paid £400 for 5 bay blinds which all out of line with one another and look unacceptable.
On 18th August 2009 at approximately 5pm, I contacted your customer services on [protected] and eventually spoke to a customer relations advisor, Sylvia . I explained the situation. I had checked images of Venetian blinds from Hilarys websites, brochures and leaflets (and compared with other reputable companies) and found that the length of the blinds are incorrect. During the conversation, I was told: it is not the fitters responsibility to ensure the ceiling is level; the length of the blinds are correct and it is upto the customer if additional slats would like to be removed (at an extra charge of £20 per blind); and finally, she would speak to her manager and the fitter and call me back.
Approximately 30 minutes later she called me back, whereby she said there is nothing the company can do. I could not get a refund with a return of the product; the length of the blinds are correct and if I wanted them ‘fitted’ then that would be at a charge; and finally repeated that it is not the responsibility of the fitter to check if the ceiling is level.
During the conversation, I regularly posed the questions “What is the point of paying £400 for fitted blinds which are not fitted (I will have to pay extra for that!)? What is the point of paying for blinds which are not straight (because your experienced and trained fitter does not ensure that the surface at which the product is attached is appropriate)?” In response, I was told “it’s not our fault that the blinds don’t meet your expectations!”. This was outrageous! I simply expect “quality, value and outstanding service, all in the comfort of my own home” (sound familiar? ) and, of course, blinds that sit straight with one another.
To quote the Sales of Goods act 1979:-
“Satisfactory quality is defined as what a ‘reasonable person’ would regard as acceptable, and takes into account factors such as price paid, fitness for purpose specified, appearance and finish, freedom from minor blemishes, safety and durability. If it becomes apparent that an item is not of the quality you were led to expect, you were not aware of any such defect when you bought it, and you bought from a seller acting ‘in the course of a business”, you are quite within your rights to go back to the retailer, even after some months of use.”
I hope to hear from you within the next 14 days regarding this matter with offers of reconciliation, whether it be in the form of rectifying, refunding (with a full return of your product), replacement or reduction.
Yours sincerely,
