Block out blinds - really difficult to put up
I had previously bought black out blinds from BlocOut 10 years ago and they were really easy to fit and did the job, although it was before the current version which is truly blackout. So when I moved and needed blinds again, I didn't hesitate to go back to BlocOut.
This time I ordered two blackout blinds (recess type). This was 30 March. They arrived within about 2-3 weeks. I also bought the Measure Protect product (this is a must have, no matter how confident you are at measuring). I live in a house 30 years old so I don't even have bad walls.
When the blinds arrived, I started to put them up and quickly realised that they didn't fit. Too big. So emailed the team. They responded pretty quickly and after some weeks of back and forth and speaking to one of their technical people, I sent another set of measurements.
After a mix up with my email not being picked up, I eventually had my amended blinds delivered and started to put them up. Almost got to the end to find that, again I couldn't finish putting up the blinds. Back to Customer Service and they suggested something and sent me a different video. Eventually (28 June) I've managed to get the blinds up but not without significant damage to my window sill to get it to fit.
Why two starts? The reasons being
1. Measuring yourself is tricky. There is very very little give in these blinds so if you go too big (maybe too small too), there is not much you can do but send them back. This is why the Measure Protect is essential. Maybe they need to roll out a measuring service in Eng/Wales/Scotland, not just Ireland, even if it's paid - I would have paid for this service to make sure everything was OK from the start.
2. The How to Video on the website makes it look very very simple but I think it misses some crucial steps/tips on how to get the blinds up. This held me up by 2-3 weeks as I had to go back and forth to Customer Service. Incredibly frustrating for me and must be a pain for the Customer Service team. Ditch the videos on the website and link to the YouTube videos where all of them are or make the video on the website more detailed.
3. From order - 30 March - to installation - 28 June - is way too long. This cannot be an acceptable cycle to buy and fit blinds. I often had to chase for responses and that lost weeks. When I sent my remeasurements, the email was not picked up for 3-4 weeks. All my other emails were picked up and not that one, so that was very frustrating. Sometimes I took some days to come back as well as I could only do the work at the weekend so that lost days as well.
4. I will now have to spend additional money to repair my window sill to make good as I couldn't bare to go back to Customer Service again and I just forced the blinds to fit.
The good stuff
1. Delivery was prompt and good. And when I had to have the original blinds picked up, that was quick and simple as well
2. Despite taking too long to respond and me having to chase, the Customer Service team and the technical person I spoke to were very helpful and professional
3. The blinds do block out the light and are an improvement on the version I had 10 years ago. So I can sleep much better - job done in that respect.
However, overall, I probably wouldn't recommend (or add a lot of caveats if recommending) nor buy again. They do a great job but the measuring is like Russian roulette and fitting it was too much of a pain. I don't know what I would have done if they were the wrong size again, I doubt you would get a refund). The full cycle from order to installation was too long. There must be other products on the market that make this easier. A shame because I really believed in this product.
28 June 2025
Unprompted review