To think John Lewis are trying to have me over?

Ex curtain factory seamstress here, they are taking the piss. For starters, the factory these were made in wouldn't do tacking stitches, it's not economical. Secondly, the thread always matches the fabric, unless it was part of a 'design statement'. They're talking BS because they really haven't seen up close. I'm surprised no one pointed out the error before they left the factory. Take them back to the store & kick up a big fuss for your time wasted.

Another one here who's not going to use JL for M2M curtains!

Even if, as a PP has said, blackout lining can potentially result in dark thread/holes showing, why is it only JL curtains that are having this issue?! And why is it not mentioned on their website? Others have mentioned their perfect Dunelm or other seamstress M2M curtains - wouldn't this be industry wide, or is this "expert" partner manufacturer actually not very expert at all??

I had cause to call JL customer services a couple of years ago when the Dell laptop I had bought through them died suddenly. It was 18 months old so outside of the Dell warranty, but within the JL one. They were excellent. Arranged for my laptop to be collected by courier, repaired and returned within 5 days.

That and the oven I bought from them that unexpectedly ended up £100 cheaper than I'd thought by the time it was delivered (someone, somewhere must have had a deal on it that they'd price matched).

I'd always thought of JL customer services as being very good, so hopefully this new CS agent is a bit more helpful!

with a 50% discount, I'd soon for get it. Who looks at the top of the curtains anyway.

This would annoy me every time i looked at them, there's no way the discount would be worth it. The header part of the curtains looks stupid - i'd think they were home made and the home owner had used the wrong thread.

no wonder the OP is unhappy.

'Nobody will notice' means people apart from OP. Of course OP has noticed them now. But with a 50% discount, I'd soon for get it. Who looks at the top of the curtains anyway.

I wouldn't notice

OP’s already noticed. Curtains costing £££ should be perfect, that’s what you pay all that money for.

From the first photo, it's the horizontal black lines that I think posters are suggesting might be tacking stitches. From using a magnifying glass, they look to me much smaller closer stitches than tacking.

But what about the vertical lines of small stitches along the pleats? Are they black thread too? It's not that clear. At some points along the line they do look dark, possibly black and at others, light.

JL customer service has gone to pot over the last several years since they outsourced it to some call centre instead of the traditional helpful and knowledgeable staff in the shops. I had a complete nightmare with them, twice, over a bed delivery. The first bed broke, hence two occasions of delivery and two nightmare experiences.

Good luck with customer services they are absolutely awful !! Take them down and take them back to the store, you will get nowhere via the phone unfortunately!

I wouldn't notice. I would happily take a 50% discount.

Of course they’ll notice. Even if nobody else does, they’ll irk @Allthefoodandwine every time she looks at them. Replacement or total refund is the way to go here.

I hope you get it sorted out. I wouldn’t accept these and would request a refund, on the grounds of them being faulty.

I think if you have bought online you have a 30 day right to reject an item as faulty, even it is a bespoke item. The onus during these 30 days is on the supplier to prove the item is NOT faulty. This might include sending someone round to inspect the curtains. You might have more luck that route.

I’ve got 2 sets made to measure curtains ( one from John Lewis and one from M&S), on both the thread matches the curtains absolutely.
I’ve got trouble with John Lewis about my watch and it’s a nightmare until I’ve got to a real person on the phone but then it was sorted straight away. Good luck.

Yes, just wanted to see if the OP had a sample sent at all during the process as that conveys more rights regarding ‘bespoke’ items.
ThalictrumDelavayi raises a very good point, what constitutes ‘bespoke’……..though I can guarantee JL will try to dispute this.

If the black stitching is part of the design it should have been clear on the website / brochure etc when ordering them. I make curtains, there is no way I would have used a black thread up there (and seemingly no where else?) without asking the client.
with regards to the hem stitch you can sometimes see it on the lining but it should be invisible on the right side of the fabric.

You might have some protections under Consumer Contract Law. If made to order (not bespoke) and ordered online you can return within 14 days for any reason at all. Made to order includes measurements selected from drop down menu options, fabrics from a range offered by the store. Stores often like to pretend that this type of choice from a preselected set of options means the items are bespoke but they aren't and the law is on your side in this.

If bespoke, this would be fabrics chosen from outside a standard range offered, or measurements taken by a John Lewis rep inside your home, or by you measuring with a tape and sending them the measurements.

However……what does this bit mean…..
We have even done a dummy order to check ?? I think OP means they went online and did the exact same process as if they were going to order them to see if the stitching came up anywhere.

It’s an absolute sewing basic that the thread would be matched to the fabric to be as invisible as possible unless specifically shown as a contrast detail.

That was literally the first lesson we had in sewing class 40 odd years ago. Teacher took us to the local fabric shop to pick out a fabric we liked and then we had to match the thread to the fabric. If you can't find the exactly colour you always go lighter rather than darker.

The first picture it looks terrible. I wouldn’t be happy with that! So obvious

Also, if you do have to make the journey into the store, I believe they will give you mileage money for what it's cost if they agree it's their fault. I only know this because I was earwigging at customer services once and they gave the man in front expenses as he had taken home a faulty light fitting and had to trek all the way back to the store for some reason (probably hadn't believed him either!)

It’s an absolute sewing basic that the thread would be matched to the fabric to be as invisible as possible unless specifically shown as a contrast detail.

As for it being the black out lining showing through… quite apart from the fact as you say it’s a cream black out lining, do they think you’re stupid? You can tell the difference between actual thread and looking through a whole 🙄

Twitter for sure.

Tbh, I’m gobsmacked that this isn’t a 100% vote.

I would angle for 50% off the price paid, and keep the curtains. No one will notice.

The person might well be helpful but, whatever the ‘supplier’ has to say is irrelevant. Your contract is with John Lewis alone.

ohmygoodness, it's looks like a work experience chap sewed those and put them in a parcel whilst the QC guy was on a coke break. It's not just the black thread, it's the pleating is well off kilter too.

John Lewis are usually outstanding when dealing with any issues
Not anymore they’re not, not for a long time. I mourn for the Johnny Lou Lou of old, I never use them now, after a particularly appalling example of customer service with a dishwasher that was faulty when they delivered it.

They keep saying they’re ‘not faulty’ because, unfortunately, as they’re made to measure your consumer rights are much less than for non bespoke goods. Being faulty is one of the only ways you could recoup your money and return them.

However……what does this bit mean…..
We have even done a dummy order to check ??

If this means they sent you fabric or a mock up then the finished 100% has to match what you were sent - and if it doesn’t you have the right to reject it, no question.

I sympathise, I've had problems with them before now and I think they have terrible customer service. Did you pay by card? If so can you take it up with the bank.