Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

so how did you go with the installations.

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

I have just read your comments regarding "Half Price Shutters".
I have just had my 2nd. shutter installed by this company and even though they started off at a price we were'nt happy with, they eventually gave us a very good deal and we agreed to have the shutters installed.
I do not agree with your comments about them not leaving without giving you a quote, as after all the longer you can keep the salesman trying to get you a good price,... the better off you'll be, because they have already spent a lot of time with you and the best way to negotiate a deal of any description , is to have the salesperson waste a lot of their time until they finally give you a good deal in order to make this "wasted time" pay!... So you see by kicking the sale sperson out the door, you might very well be missing out on a very good product, installed at a very good price!!
I think it is a well known fact, that all sales people are employed to do what they are called that is SELL THEIR PRODUCT !!!!

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

Do not hesitate to make direct email contact with me as regard what my experienced involved HALF PRICE SHUTTERS - presently going through Dept. Fair Trading, HIA and Australian Taxation Office not very impressed at all - nbrichards@dodo.com.au

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

Hi all
I agree with mike, my parents had them door knock at their place (just last week 9/7/08)and next thing you know the sales man wouldn't leave until he got them to sign the contract.
My dad kept on asking if he could leave the qoute with them until we came down on the weekend and we could have a look at the qoute for him, the sales man just kept on using the "BULLY BOY TRICK" on them and requesting they sigh up now at a better price.
They sighed up for it ! just to get him out off the house.
Thats not the problem but, the prolbem was the qoute it was for two window shutters with electric motors, the PRICE $8500. thats right $8500 and you know what my parents can't speak,read or understand english probably.
The pushy B@#tard got them too sigh up before with could get down to sydney and find out about this.
So first thing monday morning(the day the shutters was to be installed) i rang the shop and asked to put a hold on the job until this matter was sorted out and spoke to the manager and reminded him about the the sighing of contracts that the purchaser has to read and understand the TERMS AND CONDITIONS before sighing into this cntract WELL HELLO MY PARENTS CAN"T READ ENGLISH, so told him all about DEPARTMENT OF FAIR TRADING and how they'd like to hear about this stroy.
Well i got asked what price would it take for them to keep the job, i told him while i was in sydney i got a couple off qoutes and the dearest was $5800 for the same thing.
The price he came back with was $4500, $4000 off the qouted price, all because my parents could not understand english probably and was forced into sighing the contract, how many elderly people have they ripped off before they tried this on my parents and how many after that haven't got family to check this out for them
SORRY DOUG YOUR WRONG about most dealings this was a plain rip off on innocent people.
They should get their ASS kicked for this

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

We had the same problem with Half Price Shutters. We just wanted a quote so we could shop around and think about it. The salesman went from $6000 to $2400 in about 10 minutes and then said the deal was off the table once he walked out the door. It might have been a very good price but how can you work out what the product is worth if they can reduce the price like that in 10 minutes? We didn't like the pressure tactics so we let him walk. Now we are thinking about it again and have to start from scratch.

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

ThEY ARE SHONKY AS,
STEER CLEAR FROM THIS COMPANY!!!!!!!!!!!!,

they arent HALF PRICE, that in itself should be enough for most people.
to claim that they are HALF PRICE is absurd at best.
I dont believe Doug Hiscox, i think he works for HALF PRICE SHUTTERS, or is a lackey.
This is false advertising at its extreme!! & something should be done about this fake company.

other people scr3wed by HALF PRICE SHUTTERS www.oztion.com.au/Community/topic.aspx?t=garden&tid=315947

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

WOW thanks! I've just ripped up a flyer I got in the mail. Was going to call but decided to google them 1st and that's when I saw your blog... thanks much appreciated for the heads up.

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

Try These peole next time - Very Nice

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

When it is sounds too good to be true...it usually is...
I will certainly not be using this company....Thank you for this blog...

Half Price Shutters - conviction

This might tell you the kind of company this is.--

Issue Date: - Wednesday, 18 February 2004
Half Price Shutters Convicted

A false prize offer of a roller shutter give-a-way has landed Julian Kaplan (55) of Noranda the operator of Half Price Shutters in Malaga with a conviction today in the Perth Court of Petty Sessions.

His company Westbay Corporation Pty Ltd was fined $3,000 plus $392 in costs.

Mr. Kaplan was fined $600.

At a Home Show in June 2002 Mr Kaplan conducted a competition offering roller shutters as a prize with the value of $3,000.

Consumer Protection alleged that Mr Kaplan conducted the competition with the intention of not providing the $3,000 prize as offered.

Mr. Kaplan’s lawyer Mark Andrews asked that a spent conviction be recorded for his client, but the magistrate who noted that the penalty had to be seen as a deterrent did not uphold this request.

"Competitions are very popular at fairs and trade shows and consumers have a right to expect that prizes offered actually exist and will be issued in a legitimate manner", Consumer Protection Commissioner Patrick Walker said.

"I am very pleased with the result of this investigation and subsequent prosecution. The consumers who contacted us about this rort are to be commended for their part in bringing Mr Kaplan to book", he said.

The maximum penalty could have been $6,000 for Mr Kaplan and $30,000 for his company.

Consumer Protection can be contacted on telephone 1300 30 40 54.

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

Half Price Shutters is advertising a 40% off sale on one of the morning shows - It is FALSE ADVERTISING!!!!! We had a sales person come to our house and gave us a quote which he just seemed to pull out of air and when we asked about the 40% off sale he said that it was 40% off the retail price which was more than double the price he had just given us and nearly double the price per metre for shutters than other Australian made upmarket shutter companies. He said the 40% off applies only to the retail price....so what is the price that they are quoting then??
The GM bullies his sales people into performing all types of tricks and performances to the customers. We unfortunately fell for their tactics and feel really silly!

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

Just fell for the same, got 6 shutters for nearly $10000 he quoted $12000 then said he would do one windows for free, then he said he wanted to help us he would do 5 windows for 8000 but he knew i wanted all 6 done as the one not quoted for in the 8000 was in the front and it would look odd. I felt he presured us into buying and would not leave until we signed up on the interest free, He also told us it would be $70.00 a week but in actual fact to pay of the price in 2years is almost 120 a week.

If we cancel now we will have to pay 20% so i might aswell go ahead with it. Still cheaper than double glazed windows.

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

But what about their product? It is australian made....what's their product like? We have just been quoted and had none of the problems cited above...

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

We went through the same theatrics but got the price down from I think around $8,000 to $2,600...I did compare the quality with others and was satisfied that it was better than some.
My concern was for those that didn't query the price quoted, like the elderly or people with language difficulties.
I did have the advantage of discussing with a neighbour who had experienced their sales tactics and was forewarned...likewise when another neighbour was getting a quote, he informed the saleman what I had paid...the salesman told him that I had no right to tell him this info...Aaaahhh!!

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

well guys i am in the process of getting 4 windows done by half price shutters. I have used them in the past about 1 1/2 years ago. The best way to deal with any of these guys is call for three quotes i used to be involved in purchasing for 14 years basically my approach is tell them your getting three quotes. They will ask you who ellse your going to get quotes from or allready have make sure you know. Dont tell them the price they have to beat tell them you want it at the best possible price they can do. All i can say is i am getting 4 large windows all electric for 3780 dollars and thats installed and the next nearest quot allso was aware three others where quoting there price was 4693 dollars so that was a saving of 913 dollars plus these guys where trying to sell me somthing that wasnt hard wired. Where i had to bugger around with a battery pack and move it around to each window i wanted to wind up or down and i had to put on charge we all know batterys are good for 4 years if your lucky and whats the bet in that time you want to replace it it will be not availiable any way i cant complain about half price shutters like any thing its all a matter of negotiating the best price and if your not prepaired to play there game you end up with out what you want or paying way to much

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

I wished I read your blog before even looking around and called the bloody Half Price shutter. Exact thing had happened to us recently. Everything is exactly the same as you described above. My goodness, I just could not believe that they used the same trick. I surely regretted after we signed up with them. NO MORE HALF PRICE SHUTTER IN OUR HOME.
We're trapped in with the sales man as he did not want to leave the house until we signed up with them. It'd been a very very bad experience for us to have the shutters installed by half price shutter. I's a nightmare. well I should start with the story, should not I? My hubby organised a sale man to come in to give us a quote for the shutter to be put in. I did not think we needed to make any commitment from asking any quotes from anyone in the industries today. Well he started from a very high price $ 5500 and marked down to $3750 and went down to $2700 if we do a business on that day. He was on the phone with his boss and we thought he had really done his job and his boss seemed to shout at him on the phone. Of course, you kind of feeling bad about it and it sounded a good deal to us at that time from $5500 to $2700. and we'd done the deal as he became really pushy and annoyed that night. I think you know what is like when someone pushed you and did not want to leave the place. The variation of the prices that he'd given it to us was so ridiculous. We learned from it, we will never get trapped in anymore. If I have a choice again, I would never even think about to get Half price shutter to do anything. So please take the advice and go elsewhere and I would not like anyone to be in the same situation as us. It's a lesson for us for life and we will never forget.

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

I was fortunate - they made three bookings and didn't turn up for any of them. Seems this was a blessing in disguise.

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

Thanks for the info guys, for your info I got quotes of 3 companies including 1/2 price shutters.
So far they have been very helpfull over the phone.....even to the point of iving me a quote on the measurements I provided. They are coming around on Friday to do a final measure and quote so I will reply here on how I went.
Note: I am in Perth WA

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

Well it was too good to be true......after quoting me a price on the phone I thought 1/2 Price Shutters (Of Perth WA) were off to a good start BUT when I rang back with a price from OZShutters cheaper they told me they would not go down any further. I said I'd still go ahead with the measure & quote but when I rang up to see what time they were coming today they informed me they had cancelled the call-out - WTF? I hadn't signed with anyone!!!

FYI - I was getting 3 medium size windows done (electric) and 1/2 price shutters quoted $3300 with teh measurement I gave them over the phone. OzShutters beat the price so I had the measure & quote today (confirmed) and signed them up!

Point of note: OzShutter ALSO did the whole staged act on the phone to the boss.....EVEN after I had told him I had read about the who act and to save us both some thime (LoL). That said it didn't go hours, the guy was quite polite and gave an excellent presentation of their product.
Thanks again for all the info and thanks for the blog Mike!

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

i had similar experience today. I would like to thank you for giving inside into 1/2 price shutters. could someone tell me a company who is reliable and can do a quality job at reasonable price

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

Hello,i had 4 roller shutters installed by halfprice and the problem is not the facted you need a bat to get them to give a quote.(best off all the quotes i got). but the crapy product they have. 2 work fine one sticks sometimes and the other is jamed. all within 1 month. i called and they said they would come and cheak. they never came. i tryed and tryed again. this lasted about 1 year. and still not fixed or even come out to my house. after 1 year was up they said "im sorry your warrenty is up. your going to have to pay to have them fixed. i have all the records of the calls and mail so going to see what i can do. DONT USE THIS BAD COMPANY.

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

DDR - I would recommend Oz-Shutters!
As I mentioned in my previous post I had a quote from them back in November.

I ended up going with them and so far all seems well (fingers crossed).
They had them installed within 3 weeks, I got a price I was happy with (Considerably cheaper then 1/2 price shutters quote mentioned in my post above). I inspected the job yesterday as it was the first opportunity I had to check it and they are working well and nicely installed :)
Hope this helps
Regards Paul

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

I happen to work for a roller shutter company in perth. In fact i have worked for many of them. Im not a salesman however im a tradie. They ALL use the same product which comes from the eastern states. So you may as well get the best price you can from any of the companies because your only going to get the same product! As to the sales tactics, if your grown up and havnt figured out that salesmen are a pain in the ass then there is something wrong with you in the head. ITS THEIR JOB! If you simply measure the height of the window and the width of the window and tell them that you want electric or manual operation they will be able to give you a qoute over the phone. In my experience if the window is large go electric as the larger the window the heavier the shutter. It follows that the heavier the shutter isthe more often you are going to break the tape in the manual operated shutter, say every 5 yrs or so which will cost you more money in the long run. Anything Larger than 1.5m by 1.5m in my experience i would go for the electric even though it will cost you more at the start. Now you have the inside track i hope you will use the info to your benefit. AS ALWAYS DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST THEN YOU WILL GET WHAT YOU WANT. I hope this info has been of assistance.

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

I'd just like to say that they aren't the only ones who use this tactic. We got MODERN in for a quote on roller shutters. We only wanted a quote, I asked the guy when he came in how long it would take as we had other things to do, he told me half an hour. 3 HOURS LATER... We finally got it into his head that we were only getting a quote and did not want to buy. But he kept calling his boss etc.. Anyway, we were not going to pay $20000 for 9 windows... They are very unprofessional.

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

Honestly I think Half Price Shutters are very dishonest. We are building a new home and asked them to come out to give us a Measure & Quote after seeing their add on TV for 40% off. The sales guy that turned up- Robert- was extremely arrogant and spent most of the time bad mouthing other companies which was very unprofessional. As we have 12 windows that we require Shutters for we asked him what we were looking at as an approximate price. He told us $20,000 and when we seemed surprised he treated us like we were paupers and obviously couldn't afford it. That is not the case, we just weren't expecting it to be so high after receiving much cheaper quotes off other companies. I asked him what the price would be after the discount and he said it already included the discount!
I asked him about the different shutters available as he brought his sample case with him but he started going on about how people go for Bass Wood as it's cheap but that it was crap and we had to use their special product that only they supplied. By this stage me and my partner were getting quite frustrated as he still had not done any measuring. I explained to him that we both run businesses and were busy so could we get him to start measuring and then give us a quote. He then proceeded to tell us that he would start measuring if we could tell him that we'll sign up with them on the day. I said that we could not give him an answer until we had a quote in front of us. He then told us that he would do a measure and then when we were ready to have the windows installed in a few months we could ring the office and the girls would give us the quote, but he wouldn't give it to us today! Needless to say, my partner kicked him out. He tried to salvage the sale but it was too late, the damage had been done. I rang the company to inform them of our disappointment and was reassured that this is not how they do business and the GM would be calling us to appologise. He didn't!

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

Hi everyone

I just had another charming experience with half price shutters in Sydney. We have an existing electric shutter that we were having problems in raising.My husband rang and enquired about having a serviceman come out and what could possibly be wrong. He was informed in a worst case scenario the motor would need replacing at a price of $450. When the serviceman arrived he said that it was the motor and would cost $500 to replace. I then rang the company and was put onto the service manager who informed me in the most patronising of voices that "no - he had told me on the phone that the motor alone is $450 so if the serviceman was charging $500 then i should be happy because he should be telling him to charge more." I then told him that "he couldnt have told me that because in fact my husband had placed the call" and then he changed his story and insisted he had told him. Funny that.... because on later talking to my husband he informed me he had spoken to a woman and not a man so the arrogant condescending tone he gave me - all the time assuring me that HE had not told us $450 was definitely misplaced. When I pulled him up on the way he was speaking to me and especially the tone he was using he didnt even bat an eyelid.

We now have a new motor ..... mostly due to the fact that it basically took the serviceman less time than it took me on the phone to replace the motor. I can see why his arrogant service manager would be upset he didnt charge more for his time - NOT!!! So I just want to make the point that their service department management has the same work ethic as the sales department. I am more than aware that I recieved the - "No you are wrong mam" speech initially because I am a woman and then it continued because I pointed out that he was WRONG because he couldnt have said it to me as my husband had made the call. In the end I hung up because I could not listen to his rude attitude a second longer and unfortunately the job was basically done or I would have stopped the servcieman immediately and spent my money with someone else. What I should have done was put my husband on the phone (as he was at the front of the house with the serviceman) to see where he was going to go with his arrogance next when corrected again.

All in all I would not recommend this company AT ALL. They are definitely neither customer friendly or customer focussed in any way shape or form. In the same way they treat you as an idiot in the sales department they try to take you for a ride in the service department. I am sure it is a case of "tell them a price to get the to client to agree to the call out ..... and then up the price once you arrive in the hopes that they will agree seeing you are there and ready to do the job".

BE WARNED - THIS COMPANY HAS NO PROBLEM IN TELLING YOU OUT AND OUT LIES TO MAKE MORE MONEY FROM YOU!!!

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

This company is actually advertising a 40% summer discount. The (disinterested) salesman came and took measurements and wrote the figure down. He did not say, this is what the normal price is and this is the price with 40% discount. Straight away the alarm bells went off. That so-called 40% discounted price for 2 rooms ($2,865) turned out to be over $250 more than any other quote I received. So beware and do you research. When I said to the salesman, "so you're telling me that if got a quote from another company, their price would be 40% more?", and his answer was yes. I think he got the feel that we could not have the wool pulled over our eyes and we have had no follow up from the company. Whereas prior to the measurement, I was contacted by at least 5 people confirming the appointment. Go figure!!!

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

Modern are one of the biggest rip offs but in Melbourne beware of other supposed reputable ( according to their websites)companies.We got a number of quotes and yes Modern were the dearest but we also encountered some other companies that were pretty sleazy as well particually Protect,Rollertech and Oztech.All these companies lied about certain aspects of their quotes and Protect particually are to be watched as they dont even make the shutters themselves although they have a nonexistant showroom/ factory on their business cards.

We eventually went with AllSeasons Rollers Shutters from Hoppers crossing and got a great price and excellent service right fron the salesman to the fitters.

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

WOW!!!!!!

JUST HAD HALF PRICE SHUTTERS FIT 2 SHUTTERS TO MY FIANCE'S HOUSE. TALK ABOUT A SEEMLESS TRANSACTION. SALES LADY, KIM, WAS GREAT AS WAS THE INSTALLER. THE JOB WAS DONE IN 3 DAYS. THE INSTALLER CLEANED UP AFTER HIMSELF AND EVEN CLEARED THE GUTTER WHILST HE WAS THERE. QUOTE WAS $426 CHEAPER THAN MAVERICK AND A MASSIVE $1122 CHEAPER THAN BLOCKOUT.

COULD NOT SPEAK HIGHLY ENOUGH OF THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE. MOST OF THESE BLOGS YOU ONLY HEAR THE BAD STUFF NOT THE GOOD.

THANKS HALF PRICE SHUTTERS.

REGARDS

ALISTER AND MAGGIE

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

Call Shutter Repairs for NEW or broken shutters, the guy is great, you will speak to him not some girl who knows nothing. He will turn up when he says he will too..
www.fixmyshutter.com

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

Half price cold called me and when I said I would like a quote demanded that I have my husband there as well - in fact the phone cold caller demanded that we both be there. I said "No thanks, my husband hasn't got time for this!".

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

my house was broken into on a thursday 23/2/10, come friday morning i was on the phone asap calling roller shutter companies. Out of the 4 shutter companies that i called half price shutters where the only company that could come out and measure and quote that same day all the other companies told me 5-10 days before they could come out and measure and quote. i still went ahead with appointment times with the 3 other companies. when i spoke to half price shutters over the phone they were very understanding and very symphetic about my situation which i was so pleased with. when mark the salesman came out that same day he was great he was very well spoken, polite and understanding he spent an hour going over their product and how they could be installed within 3 working days and how other companies take weeks and weeks to install. my wife and i couldnt be happier with his presentation. so when it came down to talking about the price of 6 windows thats when the true salesman came out the price started at $16500!!!!! (in my head i was already kicking him out my front door) he said dont let that price scare you once he took the 40% off it was $9900(in my head he was still going head 1st out the front door) he then said if we can put their sign up on our front lawn for 12 wks he would take a futher $3000 off the total price came down to $6580 he said we couldnt find a better price. i told him that my wife and i would talk about it over the wkend. he had no problems with that at all he left his card and was off on his way. being it was the 1st time we had ever been broken into my wife was on edge plus we had a 1 yr old to protect so we decided to go ahead with half price shutters because of the fact they could be installed within 3 working days. i called mark the salesman up about 930am monday and he said he could be out our way with the contract that same afternoon which he was. i signed the contract he said someone will be in touch with the installment date. come tuesday i had a phone call from half price shutters informing me that the shutters would be installed the next day which was wednesday. the installer turned up on time 8am and was done by 2pm no fuss no mess a true professional he explained and went over everything with me he was great. the wife and i were happy with the whole experience. but later that week when the other copmpanies came out to measure and quote they were upset that we went with half price shutters all 3 companies under cut them by $2000-$2500 and told us how unprofessional they were and how they have bully tactics. the only thing i was upset with was how i was ripped off in the price, other than that i was happy with there service. you learn from your mistakes just make sure you do your research.

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

Organised for half price Shutters to get to my home and put up the shutters. They change the days or just turn up without calling and no one is home. Now when they call and say they will be out on saturday 8.30am and they don't show i call the guy and left a msg asking where he is, than calls me back when im on a call and leaves me a abusive msg and telling me im gutless cause i didnt pick up the phone. So i called him back and he started screaming at me when he is changing times not advising us of these changes. They garentee that the shutters are going to be up with in 5days of ordering. Well i can garentee they have been laying in my hall way longer than that.

This company is not good to deal with, they are changing the tradies everytime they call or just turn up. there is no communication. Half Price Shutters are hopeless and do not deal with them. They are rude and don't allow you to talk to a supervisor. I work in customer service and this is the worst i have even been treated and i get abused everyday and to top it off the guy hug up when my partner was talking to him the homophobic arsehole.

Never dealing with this company ever again.

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

Yes very much buyer beware.

I am a shutter installer and have been for 19 years. Half price are about $100 cheaper per unit than many other reputable companies but their product is the cheapest available. The paint finish has what they call orange peel, this is good for overseas places, not great in Australia.

Are they Australian made? Technically yes BUT they use imported products and simply cut and manufacture here.

The high pressure sales trick is used by several shutter companies including Modern, both use the display home sign gimmick.

Never ever buy from anybody without doing your research and never just accept the cheapest quote.

Half Price use Crochi product which is Italian based and not really great for Australian conditions

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

Just a hint for those who are after Timber shutters.
I have found 2 companies very pleasant and reliable to deal with. no sales bullshit trying to push a product down your throat that you don't want at an absurd price and, no pressure selling tactics :)
living in Melbourne we recently bought from "into blinds" www.intoblinds.com.au who were very good. In sydney (for an investment unit) we used woodnation.www.woodnation.com.au
Both these companies seem to have a no nonsense aproch and no "sudden" discount tactics. and ofcourse to top it off they sell a very good product.
I gor quotes from three different companies for each purchase and these guys came up trumps not just in pricing but also in presentation and profesionalism.

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

KNOW Y0UR RIGHTS - check the department of commerce's website...

i) they are not legally allowed to accept money from you within the 10 day cooling off period
ii) you are entitled to a 10 day cooling off period within which you are entitled to cancel without reason or penalty.
iii) check the contract document - the one we signed ILLEGALLY did not state the cooling off period.

if you feel you have been duped by these charlatans, contact the department of commerce. they will investigate.

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

I had the Modern group come out to me today and I was quoted $26000 to install these. He then said if I have the sign placed out the front this would then be $22000. He said how does that sound and I said $2000 a window that is a bit much I was expecting around $1000 a window. He then said righto if my boss agrees to $13000 will you sign up now. I said yes ok and he rung the boss and he ummed and arhed about the cost and said he would go down to $14500. I said no I would not pay that and then he was on the phone for around 2 or 3 minutes telling the boss about what a great deal they are giving me and he then came out with a price of $9500 only if I let them leave the sign out the front for 6 months.

I said I might have signed up if you originally said to me the price would have been around $14500 I may have signed up, but you came up with a figure of $22000, if I signed up for the first price I would have been ripped off because you are prepared to charge me only $9500. You would have been quite happy to have charged me nearly $12000 more than what the finale price would have been. I said on principle you tried to rip me off I do not want the shutters. He then left

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

Ohhh No! Too little too late - Got a resonable price to install plantation shutters and was told it would be 2-3 weeks from measuring to manufacture; this is because, the sales lady explained, the product is made in Australia and not off shore like most other companies. Made inAustralia is a major selling point for HalfPrice Shutters. Superior finnish/material the other. Same theatrics about cheapest price. Just had a call to tell me the shutters are at the manufacturers now - IN CHINA - and will be 5-6 weeks! I called the sales woman (in Sydney) on her mobile - she gave me the impression the "made in China" was news to her and came up with some rot "the only thing I can think of is the demand must be exceeding the company's abilty to supply, so they've outsourced". The sad thing is I don't trust these people at all now.She is going to "look into it and get back to" me. Stay tuned....I'm so cross and feeling ripped off.

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

In regards to Peter's Post on the 24/3 if are you to state facts make sure they are correct. i have been in the shutter industry for 13 years and the products are all pretty similar. none of the companies in WA make there own products they are all ordered from the eastern states. Croci and Ozroll are the 2 biggest brands and are used by the majority of the companys in perth including Moderns, Ozshut and Half price shutters.

i have used both products and both of them are good. in regards the the coating on the product, the slats are actually a baked enamel not a paint finish. this is great for australian climate...

my advise is when looking to buy shutters dont get to sucked into the sales talk about the product because most of then are using the same and there is NOT one company in perth that uses an unique or exclusive product but ask about what service they can provide and at what price u can get it for....

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

Called Half -price shutters this morning for a quote, they phoned me back , wanted to make an appointment for my partner and myself for a quote. I told them could they just measure and give me a quote please. No , special price , has to be signed up on that day. Very high pressure sales and told the girl so . I decided not to even bother to get a quote from them,looks like after reading these comments i was lucky.

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

I have had 3 quotes - Modern, Blockout and Half Price. Modern put on a show, were rude, pushy and sped off in his car when we said no. To the companies credit, they have had someone contact me after my complain and be extremely helpful since. They started with $10k, went to $6k when we said no, he 'ph'd his boss' dropped it to $3k, we said no on principle. Since saying no, and the service we have received from 'Tim' we are now considering them, with the Smart Drive system.

Half Price salesman was nice, though he hung about for far too long and ventured off track talking about dvd's etc all knowing that our dinner was cold and I was feeding our baby. They came back with a similar price to Blockout and Modern and are an option.

As the prices are all simiilar, my question relates to your opinions on the Smart Drive system (Modern), is it reliable? We were thinking maybe electric (half price) but it's $400 extra per window then Modern are, and the hand cranked would just be ugly.

Is anyone able to help me out? Electric or Smart Drive??

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

Well i didn't have a good experience with Modern this past weekend.
Had a appointment with them for Saturday morning 9am, confirmed this with them on the Friday before. Come sat, 10am and im still waiting. I called them up and asked "where are they" (It hear it gets funny)
Sales man had the hide to tell me i had the wrong day or time and this happens a lot where people get confused with appointment times. When I said i confirmed it with them on the Friday, he then said i might have the wrong company and do i want to book a time with them. I said i already done that.
He could send someone within the hour.. I told him where to stick it. Come this Monday morning, i had a sales man call me asking me if i wanted to make another appointment, (Year right, but not with your company. Within an hour of say "NO" i had a sales man turn up on my door step wanting to do the measure and quote. After again saying NO, he than had the hide to say i wasted him time, ETC,ETC.
I asked him to get off my property before i force him off. After a bit more yelling at each other he walked off.
Never ever used The MODERN group, for your shutters.

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

You can bet Half Price Blinds is the same company as Half Price Shutters.
They have the same name and possibly the same pushy tactics. Can they be trusted? Who knows? I wont be using Half Price Blinds just in case.

Made in China plantation shutters

I recently had a quote done by this mob, first off it was too expensive but after a little haggling we agreed on a price plus lunch for him at our restaurant.
He showed up at our restaurant with 2 of his mates and proceeded to order enough food for 6 people, I really copped a grilling off my misses.
The quote stated delivery 5 weeks. After 5 and a half weeks I rang, but nobody seemed to be able to give an answer, I left several messages but no one called back. Eventually I got onto the production manager and he kindly informed me that the shutters were not even in the country and would not arrive for another 2 - 3 weeks. I started complaining and basically told the the normal turnaround time for plantaion shutters is 8 weeks what the sales rep told me was wrong and what was written on the order was also incorrect. Bad luck.
I just had a delivery come from China by container ship, shipping time is 8 to 10 days. So it looks as though the shutters are not even made yet.
They sell plantation shutters at whatever price you want but they are made in China.
So my idea of trying to support an Australian Company was a complete waste of time.
Any one wanting to deal with this company should really be aware of who they are dealing with.
Ty Ward

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

I rang Half Price Shutters for a quote for 1 new shutter and 1 older Shutter of theirs to be convered to electric. All went wrong from the salesperson who only wrote the quote price on the back of his Business Card after I requested a price in writing. He only would write out a written quote if I signed up and gave him a deposit there and then we also haggled over the price. Then they took 6 weeks for and new shutter then it was the wrong colour, not only was I left exposed with no shutters to these two windows for seven weeks they held up my renovations, My builder had to start another job and I now have to wait for my kitchen to be finished. The company couldn't care less about their clients it's about signing up and getting the money. Beware!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

OMG had them round yesterday and I'm so stressed wish I read this earlier! Well the salesman came quoted and used the pressure tactics I said need to think about it and he said that I won't get the discount today which was 600 bucks then he said leave a 30% deposit tonight so u can still get the discount and I won't process till Monday and If you change your mind I won't processes it I will tear it up. He didn't leave me his number to call him so not even 30min after he left I called the office and left a message now I will be stressing all weekend. What if he doesn't cancel the card legal where do I stand? It was a verbal discussion.

Australian Online Roller Shutters Price and Order On-line

Price calculator and ordering available on-line
We supply Adelaide Canberra Brisbane Darwin Hobart Melbourne Perth Sydney and anywhere in between. rollershutters.com.au/quickprice.php

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

Here's a different perspecive for you guys - the perspective of a former employee ...

First off, half price shutters doesn't actually offer its shutters at "Half Price" ... in fact, even the fully-discouted price is often more expensive than some competitors.

Second, the sales reps are INSTRUCTED BY MANAGEMENT to use strong-arm tactics ... most of them WILL often refuse to give up till they've either made the sale, or offended the customer to the point of being kicked out of the house ... this despite the sales reps being paid a fair rate of retainer, although the higher-than-average commission rate they get paid may be a strong contributing factor to this.

Third, when the area manager calls you up to confirm your booking, some of you may have noticed a question of "will both you and your partner be at home at this time", or something along similar lines ... the point of this is to ensure both home owners are at home at the time the sales rep visits, so you won't be able to use the "I need to talk to my partner first" excuse ...

Fourth, the call centre is often unstaffed outside business hours, which makes things difficult for those customers who work irregular (or even just long) hours ... furthermore, while there is (an intermittent) answering service on the call centre line, these messages are NEVER checked, so leaving one is a waste of time ...

and to sum it all up ... the promotions reps will say whatever you want to hear, as long it gets you into agreeing to have a sales rep visit you at home for a "completely free, no obligation" quote ... the sales rep will then either use strong-arm tactics, or try to make you feel sorry for him ... ... ...

and the final analysis ... ? ... buyer beware ... be very very wary ...

PS. MAKE SURE to read all the fine print, especially the sections regarding the warranties ... what the sales/promotions reps told you about the warranty may be a fair bit longer than what you in actual fact got ...

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

Having read through some of the previous comments, here's a few more points to be pointed out:

1. Paul: You tell us HPSE offered you a quote over the phone ... are you absolutely certain you didn't confuse half price with a different company? Only as I KNOW FOR A FACT that company policy prohibits ANY indication of price to be given to potential clients unless it's from a salesman doing a home visit ...

2. So much for "Australian Made" ... all parts and components are manufactured in China; all that is done in the Sydney "factory" is that the slats for the shutters are chopped to the reuired lengths, and the components are assembled ...

3. Ang: You say you were guaranteed that the shutters would be up within 5 days? To me, that sounds someone was fibbing to you to rope you into allowing the sales rep to visit you ... the REAL guaranteed timeframe is 6 weeks!!!

4. The current offer is $600 for 3 or more shutters installed ... this is AN ON-GOING OFFER, and any sales rep who tries to tell you otherwise is feeding you a pile of crap ...

5. Beware the electric roller shutters, there have been many complaints regarding substandard parts used in the motors that run the shutters ... Also beware the manual roller shutters, since the straps used for the roller mechanism is a cheaper, sub-standard Chinese-made component, hence the shorter guarantee on parts since the start of this year, as compared to previous years, although the product has remained the same.

Re: Half Price Shutters - Buyer be very aware!!!! - Part 1

OMG, I read your blog after I had booked half price shutters in for a quote and thought oh no!! I decided I might as well meet them since I had arranged just to see what they were all about. Firstly the initial phone call was like talking to an alien, I had to repeat myself several times and literally spell my street name about 4 times. They then confirmed my appointment 3 times by phone which was very strange. On the day of my appointment 1 hour prior I had a phone another phone call from the saleman asking "what is the earliest you can meet me" I replied well I am on my home from work, how about 4pm instead of 4.30 if it is better for you. He replied ok will it be you and your husband? I replied no just me my husband is at work. He says OK see you soon. I got to the house at 3.55, waited until 4.15 and thought this isn't right... so I rang the office where they kept me on hold for 5 minutes. Eventually they advised me that the sales man was very busy and really tried to get to my appointment but wont be able to make it. I couldn't beleive it. I laughed at the lady and advised that their company was an absolute joke and that I had read several bad reviews, she then attempted to re-schedule an appointment. I just laughed at her and said no thanks I dont think i want to waste any more of my time with such a rediculous company and hung up. They will never get my business!!!!