Blinds direct -- pulling the wool

DirectBlinds have quite a nice website. But something is wrong with the website. I use Amazon all the time; I have never used that site before.

I ordered a blind a few weeks ago. I entered 106 cm width, or 3 feet+ in real money, expecting made to measure. So I was rather surprised to get a blind just over a foot wide.

Naturally I wondered whether I had had a "senior moment" and entered the wrong value. I did not think I could have done; but of course you doubt yourself under such circumstances.

But then I went to the site last week, entered those measurements again, pressed "Get price", then "Add item to shopping cart" and found that the site then altered the width down, silently, on the next page by a number of centimetres, although not to the same extent as in my first go!

This made me suppose that they must in fact be selling standard sizes. So I wrote to them asking for a refund (why not, if it is a standard size blind?)

They wrote back today, refusing, on the grounds that it was made to measure. So I tried again -- and today the widths remain exactly as I input them at 106 cm.

Indeed if I fiddle change "recess size" to "exact size", the width still remains exactly at 106cms (which sounds a little odd - aren't these supposed to change to allow some headroom in the former case?)

But I'm not barmy here. There's no way that I can use this site three times and get three different results, if the site is working correctly. I may not be quite certain about what I did a couple of weeks ago; but I am very certain that the site did one thing last week and a different thing today. I would imagine that the code that adjusts width for "recess size" and "exact size" is defective in some way.

Of course I can't prove any of this, and the sum of money is too small for me to spend a lot more time on it. They sent me a very nice blind, it is true. But because it is the wrong size -- and not, I am now sure, because of any error by me -- I shall have to consign it to landfill. Not a good experience.

Avoid these people. And if you do use them, check and recheck the measurements on the order after each click. Because sometimes ... they silently change them. I would never have bought a blind 43 cm wide -- but the order did say that was the width. Be alert ... or lose money.