Broken Venetian Blinds

flossie

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It looks like I am having a bad run of things consumer-wise!

I fitted my whole house out with venetial blinds form an on-line merchant who came around, measured, fitted etc. This was in December last year.

A couple of months ago i noticed that 2 of the slats on the sitting room blind were slightly warped at one edge, but didn't think anything of it. About 6 weeks ago a large 'splinter' broke off one of the warped pieces.

I contacted the retailer, explained and they were very flippant about it, saying that i must have broken it, the dog must have chewed it etc (no tooth marks whatsoever and have photos to prove this). I stood my place and said no, definately wasn't to which i was told "these things don't just breaks on their own" to which i replied "I hate to tell you, but yours have". Anyway, eventually they said they would send round somebody to take a look and the whole blind would have to go back to the manufacturer. Still, nobody has been around to take a look despite 3 phone calls now.

Yesterday, another piece broke off, effectively leaving me with a hole in my venetians about 6" x 3" and looks ridiculous. Tried calling this morning to get somebody around and am getting excuses "the guy was on holiday, has been ill" etc. I am about to email another set of photos over with the damage and have told the company i am getting very fed up.

Now, if they do visit and decide to send the blind off to the manufacturer, where does that leave me? I don't have curtains at the windows because i wanted venetians only, but from a security and energy perspective i don't want the window to be bare. In my post about my carpets it was mentioned my contract is with the retailer.....does that mean i should be pressing for immediate replacement of the blind? I don't want to result in my window being exposed (it's ground floor, about 6ft height) for all to see my possessions, plus coming into winter i don't want to be losing heat etc.

Hoping you can help, and appreciate the advice in advance.

Floss.
 
Here is the email I have sent today:

It appears that we got cut off on the phone earlier. I have taken photographs of the blind and attached them to this email. I am not impressed that another piece has come off the blind and I am now left with a reasonable sized hole in the blinds.

You said that somebody will be round to the house within 2 weeks, which would have been up until Friday last. If the person had been on holiday you should have mentioned this. I would like somebody to be round the house to take a look as soon as possible as I would like the blind replaced. I do not expect to see a product like this in such condition after 10 months of light (at best) use. I am not satisfied that the blind may have to be taken away to the manufacturer – under current consumer legislation my contract is with you, the seller, and if the product is faulty, or not fit for the purpose (which it falls into both of these categories) I am entitled to refund, repair or replace.

Please could you arrange for somebody to call around immediately to address this issue.
 
Sorry to see you have this on top of the carpet.

If this was from the same shop I'd be tempted to name names and perhaps the mods could comment on whether this is appropriate before you to - I have referred this post to them for comment so just wait until I hear back.

Fitness for purpose applies and I think you have had advice in the other thread on carpets that suggests your consumer rights afford some protection.

It is terrible to think some shops are supplying such sub-standard goods and claiming the householder is to blame!
 
No, this was a different supplier.

I wouldn't mind but i struggle to see how a venetian could be used inappropriately. A large crack now runs along half of the slat so waiting for it to fall off soon! Was delighted initially with the cost, fit, etc. but seems the cistomer service is letting them down!
 
Hi,

If you contact the Consumer Association they may be able to give you some advice. Quite often mentioning during the course of your discussions with the supplier that you have been in touch with the latter it can make them pay attention.

The Small Claims Court may be your only option in the long run.
 
The usual "inappropriate" use is peering through them.

1. Pushing them up or down to allow you a better view.

2. Pulling the blinds up too quickly - causing them to jam.

I've seen many venetian blinds wrecked through rough handling.
 
I can promise there has been no rough handling! The blinds in the office and bedrooms get used more and there are no issues.....the fact that 2 of the slats were warped leads me to think that there was an underlying issue with the materials used. Be interesting to see their response though.

On the other question, am i able to refuse them sending the blind away and leaving me without one in the front sitting room?
 
I don't think you can ask them to take it away and replace it without them actually taking it away - :)

Whether you can trust them to bring one is another thing.

Perhaps you could make it a condition that they replace it on the day and don't accept any waffle about "investigating it".

Mrs. Doyle's suggestions seems the way to go allied to the condition above.
 
Update:

Somebody from the company called out to me yesterday, agreed it was definately a problem with the blind, no fault of mine. I was given 2 options: either send back to manufacturer for a full overhaul, or we could order slats in and they would replace them. I went for the slats option (figured it was pretty much the same deal!). Company rep then took the affected slats (the physically broken ones and about 4 other warped ones) and moved them down the blind, swapping them out for ones form the bottom. At least it looks much better, and am on the way to getting it fixed!

Thanks for the advice!

Floss.
 
That sounds hugely together flossie.

Unless you got an unusually bad product, I think you're better off following this route.

It would be annoying to discover that a replacement showed exactly the same problems after a while, if you had taken the other option.
 
I had same problem with blinds that were only a year old, I rang a few companys for advice first, as company i bought them from are gone.
darcy blind cleaning in dublin sorted them out for me and changed all the cords to child safe system, as the other company had not done that, very bold . Darcys fixed the slats and cleaned them. I dont have kids but i still have kids about the house and the blinds should have been fitted with safety from new, all sorted now.I was happy i did not have to buy a new se
 
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