To think Hilary's Blinds should offer a repair service?

[Hairydogmummy]

So if you moved in to a house with lots of Hilary's Blinds wooden shutters, you would expect to be able to call them and ask for someone to come out if a repair was needed. Apparently they don't offer this service unless you were the original purchaser. I wasn't asking for it to be done under guarantee and was happy to pay a call out and repair costs but they are refusing saying they can't access the account because of data protection. Seems crazy to me when I can call the manufacturer of any of my appliances, give them the address and they will come and repair at a price regardless of whether I bought it to begin with. They can't recommend another company that would come and I can't find anyone else to repair the thing. I'm guessing they would come and quote me for a new shutter though and would send someone who could repair this one easily to rip it out and charge me a grand for a new one. AIBU here?

I'm sure there will be somebody offering this servive. They were a bit unhelpful though not even being able to point you in the direction of a repair company. More money in persuading folk to buy new blinds than in repairing old ones.

@Viviennemary thanks. I'm hoping so but not been able to find someone so far. The house has got huge windows to the ground floor which are angled at the top and smaller angled ones upstairs. Bespoke shutters are the only option so I was pleased they were in when we came but if I can't get them fixed if there's a problem, I'm looking at an eye watering cost to replace them sooner rather than later.

I know they are very pricey so yes they should offer a repair service. They do last much longer than other blinds though.

Ask on Facebook local for any recommendations for someone to do a repair.
Hopefully someone can recommend a local company.

I really don't think m they're worth the premium

Are you able to contact the previous home owners?

@TempName01 unfortunately not...it's a bit of a weird one. The house was only renovated 3 years ago but was left empty for a year after tenants moved out. The owner lived down south, he died and we bought it off his son who lives in the USA! The tenant was the owner's daughter but she mistreated and neglected it. It's all v odd.

Sorry to hear of your problem HDM. The data protection thing sounds utterly ridiculous to me. You’re not asking that they pass on any information to you, just use what information they have to sort the problem in house. Goodness knows how that breaches any data legislation! I think it would be worth challenging them on this as it’s pretty clear they’re just trying to get you to buy new rather than enable a repair.

In my experience Hilary’s are bloomin’ useless. We had some shutters off them so we could match existing ones in the house we moved into. The sales guy put the order down incorrectly and after taking an age to check the call log and realise that yes it was their fault, Hilary’s fix was to put in a new order for the shutters which took an additional 3 months. No prioritisation because of their error or anything despite me pointing out repeatedly how utterly unreasonable this was. From order to installation took nearly 6 months!

Best of luck HDM! Dealing with their customer “service” is a right headache.

Hillarys’s are shit.

Their products are below par and their customer service is shocking.

I won’t go into the ins and outs of the problems I’ve had with them over the years or I’d be here all day. Suffice to say I would never ever buy from them again.

Sorry op - I’m ranting and I haven’t really answered your question!

Can you try another local blind/repair shop that might be able to fix the problem?

Sorry to hear this OP.

Hillary’s advertise a five year peace of mind guarantee - google it for details.

You could get in touch again asking then to honour it by transferring it to you.If they refuse you could take to Twitter etc & warn it’s not worth the paper it’s written on.

Any competent joiner should be able to repair the shutters if necessary.

a rant really. We were in a new house and got a Hillarys rep along to see what was what with some blinds. he measured up and gave a price. We said we'd think about it and get back to him. Didn't realise he was a salesman first and foremost. He got very aggresive, then said he wouldn't have wasted his time if he knew we weren't going to order there and then. So much for customer service.

15 years ago I bought 2 huge wooden blinds from an expensive local company.They cost £900 each which seemed like a fortune at the time. They gave them additional fixing points and have fixed them for free when there's been minor problems.You didn't make the purchase but good local companies are always best.

@streamside yes I agree with buying local. We do where ever we can. Same with self employed people - only on recommendation though.