Hillarys Blinds
Reviews and Complaints

Ordered blinds paid £600 Deposit arranged fitting contacted fitter gone AWOL rang head office 3 times today and once yesterday supposed to turn up yesterday [protected] no show no call to cancel took day off work wasted tried contacting fitter could not get hold of him rang office they could not get hold of him. Hilary's Hilary birds tried to contact him no joy probably in a ditch in Wales pissed up tried to speak to his manager oh guess what he is on leave until Monday - warning avoid this company at all costs unless you want to be [censored]ed around and ripped off. Reporting to Trading standards to get my deposit back and also Financial ombudsman for compensation. Avoid like COVID.

On December, 7th, I had shutters fitted. I was charged £1500 but had been told the second payment would be £1200. Please would you investigate this matter for me?

I love the blinds but the fitter threw ten boxes, polystyrene, screws and a can of Decorators Caulk into my back garden although I asked him not to! I am a 74 year old widow, living alone and what should have been a pleasurable experience was completely ruined.

Kitchen blind installed for account 9454142. CR4 1XR.

The rotating mechanism of the rod that rotates the vertical blind in my kitchen has broken. After several emails, in which I made it clear that I would pay for an installer to fix it, I received a barely literate response from customer services (5 grammar/spelling mistakes in the only sentence!) Finally someone else sent a spare replacement part. No instructions at all, not even a letter, and to top it all, it's not the right part. So I'm left with a blind permanently open, a useless spare part, and no professional to help me.

A subsequent reply simply reiterated the conditions of the guarantee, which I already understood; that's why I said I'd pay. They haven't addressed that I'm more than willing to pay for the repair, nor have they addressed that the wrong part was sent, and they don't seem to realise that I have no idea what to do with the part even if it was the correct one.

In 2017 I had Vertical Blinds fitted costing £1,500 in total - I paid the full amount straight away.

In early 2023 the vertical blind slats began to fall from the rail. I contacted Hillary Blinds customer service in August 2023 to tell them that they needed repairing. I left 2 messages for the local fitter but received no response. I then emailed [protected]@hillaryblinds to tell them the slats were no longer fit for purpose and that under the consumer rights act, which states that you can ask for refund within 6 years. I received a reply that I was out of warranty for the blinds (3 years) and that I had no recourse. I then wrote to the CEO of Hillary Blinds and received the same response via the local account manager.

Vertical Blinds normally last between 10 and 15 years but Hillary's only lasted 6 years.

All I am looking is to replace the pull chain for my blinds.

Where can I buy a new one from or can you give me an estimate?

My details are R.Patel contact me on [protected]

Origan invoice No [protected], 11/5/2012(Long time ago)

Order No EQ2839, Customer No 6434520.

The chain I am looking for is full length 200mm.

Looking for a quick reply, thanks

I first confirmed my order with Hillarys on 31.03.23 and was advised that 2 sets of curtains would be fitted 12.05.23.

On this date the fitter came but both sets of curtains were the incorrect length for the windows (measurements taken by Hillarys advisor).

Hillarys advisor came to view the error and assured us that this would be rectified ASAP. In the following weeks we had to spend a lot of time trying to contact the advisor and was eventually told that another fitting had been arranged on 22.06.23.

On 20.06.23 the fitter called to request that he came that day instead. Luckily my husband was able to get home to let him in. Alas, the curtains were again the wrong size. I immediately contacted the sales advisor who again said he would contact head office to get this resolved. I have heard nothing further from him (apart from when I have instigated communication and he has been unable to provide me with any details).

I have phoned the head office number twice, both times to be told this needed to be escalated to management and someone would call back. There has been no return call.

I have emailed twice, setting out the chain of events. I have not received a reply.

I am appalled by the level of customer care and due diligence here. I would not recommend Hillarys to anyone and on the contrary I would tell people to avoid them.

I telephoned Hilarys a couple of days ago to ask if someone could call to repair the broken pull on the blind.

So far I have not received a call back.

The blind was bought in March of this year so its not old.

I have always used Hilarys but I am not happy with the sub standard product.

I would appreciate it if someone would call me to make an appointment.

My land line number is [protected]. My mobile is [protected].

Thank you,

Kind regards,

Barbara Stucken Simpson.

We have used you since 2007 having last dealt with on a considerable scale with Michael Gwilliams.

Our bedroom blind this year has developed a hole which light in now coming through. I contact Michael to learn that he now only does an admin role with you but he referred me on to customer service and assured me that they would sort it out.

Having informed them of the issue I was told of your 3 year guarantee, something that had not appeared to be an issue when I contacted Michael. I am disappointed with this given the thousands of pounds that we have spent with you over the year and expect this to be dealt with.

Can I ask that you get back to me with a solution to sort this please as a valued and loyal customer.

I had blinds fitted on the 4/5/23 by advisor Gary, code 118443. There were two blinds missing, which he was confused about. The blind In the bathroom is too much to one side catching the cord holder and not central, furthermore it's catching when lowered which is only going to cause damage to the blind The one placed on my back door has movement in it where it's not fitted correctly.

I was advised by him to make contact with yourselves to request a refund. This has been a breach of contract due to losing the blinds and not being fitted as agreed. I do not wish to proceed with the other two blinds that are currently missing, I want a full refund of the goods brought. I have lost all trust in your company and wish no further dealings with you. Please contact me for video or evidence of movement on [protected] as your system will not accept more than one photo

Regards

Mr B Sandy

I had my initial consultation in July 2022, the salesman seemed rushed and I felt pressured into making a purchase, (an offer was made and when I asked how long the offer would be available I was told "It will be gone by the time I return to my car"!) I believe this kind of selling is not legal and have previously complained to you about this.

In October I had to call the salesman/rep/fitter out as two sets of blinds were "sticking" and would not close. At the time I queried whether it would be possible to "swap" the open/close rod to the other side but was told it would be too much trouble!
Just after Christmas 2022 I noticed the blind had pulled away from the wall and is now hanging, we are now unable to use this blind at all. We live in a park home and the rep was aware of the hollow walls and told me that special screws were used to combat hollow walls.

I emailed Hillarys last week and explained that this is not satisfactory and that I wanted the blind fitted properly but have not received any answer from them,
I find this level of customer care and aftercare dreadful. I at least expect an acknowledgement of my concerns and a plan of what action will be taken to remedy this.
Please do not send the original salesman to my home, I no longer have any faith in him.

Lynn Perrin

Invoice date [protected]. On this day we had 14 pleated blinds fitted to our conservatory roof, We were pleased with the end result, we had used Hillarys on several previous occasions and again were pleased. over time there became a need to clean our roof blinds with insect build up,dust etc I am in my 70's and not able to carry out this task so I rang Hillarys and was told it is not a service you provide. I began to look online and could find no one to undertake this job despite several phone calls. I then had two possibles call at our house sadly they could not help either principally because of the height involve. In between times I had rung Hillarys again to ask if the fitter could contact me to discuss and that of course I would pay for any work undertaken by him. That was many weeks ago to date I have received no contact from him. We payed over £2900 for these blinds and am now at a loss to know what I can do.

After looking through several companies I decided to order blinds for my new windows through Hillary’s, I had a consultation with a Hillary’s rep who came to my house on the 20th January and spoke through the options that were available to my window style.

The initial query form I completed was my strong interest in Venetian Style blinds as Hillary's had previously fitted my old blinds in this style with no issues. When the sales rep came, he provided a quote for this style blind of £293.62. I was then strongly discouraged from ordering these blinds as the rep advised they would not be suitable for my window style as you would have to drill into the frame. The company that installed my windows just days earlier informed me that there would be no issues if the frame was to be drilled into by a professional.

As such, the sales rep strongly encouraged the Perfect Fit blinds was the best option for the style windows I have (of which I’d never heard of) the quote he supplied for this was £600.00, double the quote of my preferred option. The dimensions/appearance of the Perfect Fit frame within the PVC frame were not shown. Nor were any photos of finished products from the outside shown.

I paid in full on point of order in my house as he had a card machine and stated the order need to be paid in full before production begins. I paid based on the information the sales rep gave.

When the rep came back to fit the blinds on the 11th February, they looked completely different to what I was advised in the consultation. The width of the Perfect Fit blind frame is a lot more visible than I was led to believe from the outside. I was particularly disappointed as the blinds that are now on my windows were not the ones I initially enquired about. The only statement that they made regarding the exterior look of these blinds was that 'they would not be visible' no marketing material was shown at the time nor is there any external photos on their website.

My 1st email was sent on the 17th February to Hillary's expressing my disappointment at the blinds, to receive a response from the company on the 18th February who had spoken to the sales rep who said I was happy with the blinds and signed a satisfactory note (of which I did not sign) I then sent several emails chasing them for a response to be only met with rude customer service from the sales team dismissing my claims completely. I raised the first complaint with Hillary’s regarding the poor fitting of the blinds on the 24th February and sent several chases. I then received a call from Hillary’s advising they would send another fitter out to assess the blinds and compile a report.

A fitter visited my property on the 14th March and advised he would submit a report to head office regarding the fitting of the blinds, and they would investigate it. Around the 24th March, I received a voicemail from their head office advising there is nothing wrong with the blinds and they are fitted exactly how they should be. They had no explanation for the gap at the bottom of the blinds that clearly show the inner workings of the spring.

I raised the issue with Hillary’s regarding the poor fitting as soon as I noticed and have been chasing them but received no response or admission of the problem at hand. This company has a full 12-month warranty stated boldly on their website, of which I am still left with faulty goods 9 months down the line, with no offer or repair or replacement of the blinds. I feel I've exhausted every avenue to get a response from this company, or them to even acknowledge that the blinds are not correctly fitted.

I have recently spoken to someone from Hillary's on the phone who confirmed 'you will not be able to see any mechanism or cords as they are all hidden within the frame, the only cord you will be able to see is the cord that runs up the blinds which enables them to tilt' I have requested the transcript of this conversation twice, of which they have not supplied.

The only response I have received from this company is them saying they have looked at all the photos provided, and they cannot see an issue. The images I have sent them you can clearly see the spring is visible at the bottom, so I struggle to understand how they are unable to see this.

I wish I'd never used Hillary's and will never recommend them to anyone in the future!

I had Four Blackout Roller Blinds 'put up' NOT FITTED 25/10/22.

The so called 'Fitter' arrived a couple of hours late. And made an absolute hash of the job.

He also did not point out; or notice that the blinds had imperfections.

(I had to show him the holes on one blind. At that time, it was agreed that, that particular blind would be replaced in a couple of weeks' time).

Then he left.

End result.

a) Two blinds have 1-2 pin [censored] holes along the bottom.

b) The other two each have 5-7 tiny holes again at the bottom.

c) Two blinds are not wide enough.

d) One blind does not even fit into the window recess. It is short by a couple of

inches.

I contacted Hillary's over the weekend - but nobody has had the courtesy to reply to my emails.

I had some shutters fitted 4 years ago. The downstairs shutters have fallen apart. On 26th October I paid £75 for Trevor to come and mend them. He took one look at the blinds and was disgusted with the way they were put in. He said things were missing, which is how it is falling apart. Two people initially came to fit the blinds. Upstairs is perfect.

Thank you

Kathleen Marsh

I complained last week our blind are only over a month old I was pulling the ones upstairs up and the string in the toggle just came out and the toggle to pull them up came off they said they would send someone last week no one turned up I phoned this morning to see what happened and their was nothing in their notes I told the lady a few weeks ago about them the workmanship is really bad

I was supposed to have my Venetian blinds in my front room and two bedrooms fitted on 23rd August 2022 from 3pm - 6pm. I emailed the fitter, Tony Gumb on 22nd August to check in with him as I hadn't heard from him since 30th July when the came to measure the windows and subsequently, the appointment was made to install the Venetian blinds.

Tony emailed me back on the morning of my appointment and informed me he couldn't do my appointment as he had his mother's funeral the next day and was overwhelmed with preparations which I can sympathise with. We agreed by email he will come the following Wednesday on the 31st August to do the fitting. He informed me he would contact me today (Friday 26th August) to confirm the time of the appointment to fit my blinds but I did not hear from him.

I spoke to a customer service agent called Tutu on Friday 26th August to find out what was going on and he said he also tried to contact Tony and left a message to call me back. I logged a complaint with customer care on the same day and Debbie Crichton, Core Account Manager emailed me back on Sunday 28th August and advised that she also left a message for Tony to contact me to confirm the time of appointment for Wednesday 31st August. I have spoken to Babbette today (30th August) who like Tutu didn't seem bothered at all and made no effort to resolve the issue. In parallel, I have also emailed Tony directly to seek an update but two emails later, I am none the wiser if or when Tony is coming!

I am very disappointed at the severe lack of customer care and communications from Hilarys Blinds to their customers. You took my payment with lightning speed but failed to deliver the service in a timely manner.

I understand a family bereavement is unavoidable and a very distressing time for anyone but Hilarys Blinds as an organisation has to let the customer know if they are somewhat impacted by this which I have in this instance. I have to take time off work to ensure I am at home for the fitter which impacts me financially.

There seems to be a recurring theme with Hilarys Blinds after reading the complaints from other customers. It is a shame that the company has accepted this lack of customer care as the company's culture and value.

I do not recommend Hilarys Blinds to anyone - don't be fooled by the offers and cheap prices. The service is shambles and absolutely disgusting!

I have ordered some shutter back in Feb this year. Customer number [protected].

I was expecting them to be fitting in May/June. I emailed 3rd June to enquire when they will be arriving to which I had no response.

I then had a call on the 14th July to say that they are ready and the fitter will be in touch to arrange a day to fit them.

The fitter did get in touch and it was arrange for today 25th July 2022. However the fitter then called me yesterday 24th July to say that he has a deliver note but not my shutters.

I was hoping someone from your team would be in touch with me this morning but I have had to ring you to find out what is going on. I spoke your advisor Chris and he said he will email someone to find out what is happening and the fitting won't go ahead today. No apology, no sense of urgency! and he wouldn't put me through to someone else!

I have taken a day off work to be in for the fitter and as I am self employed this is at my cost! This will also mean I will have to take another day off when this is rearranged. I am not happy with your service, no one has advised me of the delay and now the shutters have been lost. I would like someone to call me today to get this sorted out please.

Ruth Patterson

I sent a complaint about 2 weeks ago and i have had no acknowledgement to this,... just goes to show you just dont listen or care.