Hunter Douglas BUYER BEWARE - Warrranty a Scam Pearl River, New York

Approximately 10 years ago we purchased $10,000.00 worth of Hunter Douglas blinds for a home with multiple tall windows.  We chose Hunter Douglas specifically because of their reputation and lifetime warranty.  What a huge mistake!!! Within the last few years they have started to break, oftentimes crashing to the ground with great force which is a real problem because of the height of them.  Eventually, someone is going to be hurt and that will be another problem.  When looking at the blind, it isn't difficult to see what is causing the problem - CHEAP PLASTIC PARTS in the headrail that snap off.  

We contacted Hunter Douglas about the problem, and they initially provided parts so we could repair the blinds ourselves.  After multiple problems, at one point they agreed to have the blind shipped to their headquarters so that they could inspect it.  We were told to write a description of the problem and that they would respond.  The blind was returned, repaired, but with no comment on the continuing problem.  It wasn't long before the problem happened again.  This time we shipped the blind in and they shipped it back, still broken, saying that they discontinued it, along with all of the parts to fix it. We spoke with Monica in their Colorado office, and she said she was very sorry but they discontinued the blind so there was nothing further they could do. When she was asked about the lifetime warranty, she said that if they discontinue the blind, the warranty is discontinued as well.  Of course they discontinued them, they were defective and they knew it!  I asked her what we should do with $10,000.00 worth of defective blinds to which of course she really didn't have an answer, only that they didn't have to warranty them anymore because they discontinued them.  

So we spent $10,000.00 and had not even 10 years worth of use out of them - more than $1,000.00 per year of use and now we are left with nothing usable.  And the worst part is, Hunter Douglas could easily remedy the problem. Instead of discontinuing the blinds and stiffing the customer, they could simply replace the headrails without having to replace the whole blind.  They choose not to - discontinuing them and the warranty was far more profitable to them than taking care of their customers and living up to their word. 

So BUYER BEWARE!!! Consider the fact that your lifetime warranty could be voided the minute you walk out of the store with your new blinds if unbeknownst to you they choose to discontinue them - and they will if they discover their design was faulty.  They are using cheap plastic parts, and this is more likely to happen than not.  Choose someone else to do business with if you don't want to end up in the same situation.