Is it unreasonable to expect vertical window blinds to last more than 5 years?

Well, if you use that facility at least once every day, more likely at least twice, that's quite a lot of wear and tear over 5 years.

I think that's bad service. But are you sure you can't fix it yourself?

We had this recently ExDancer but ours were just in the 1 year guarantee, not Hilary’s.
They replaced the track only, the faulty part.

Sadly I find nothing lasts now. They bang on about saving the planet and create less waste but because manufacturers want the money, everything is made so you have to change it every few years. They cannot have it all ways.

Have you tried going online to see if you can just purchase the tilt n turn part from another company? Some companies do offer replica parts for Hilarys who as you have found will only replace the whole thing. I got replacement pulls in this way. Worth a try.

I've had this with two Roman blinds. The mechanism broke that pulls them up, nothing wrong with the material at all. The company that made them have gone bust! I tried quite a few places to see if I could have had a new mechanism only to be told to go online and do it yourself or we will have to do a whole new blind with fittings.
DH although a reasonable handyman doesn't have the ..equipment to cut metal.
I finally found someone local who works from home she was willing to come and measure and do them and checked my others and two more needed replacing.
I was so pleased that I got her to replace a roller blind with a Roman. She said that new regulations have come in for lengths of pulleys etc. and big companies do not want to be bothered with small jobs.
See if you can find a local blind fitter and what their policy is.

Thanks Avalon, I have tried online but didn't specify that they were Hilary blinds. I also tried the local Seek and Sell with no results.
DH is an enthusiastic DIY person, with a 'big hammer' approach bless him, and I think this needs a gentle touch. Hence I'm looking for a professional.
I won't recommend Hillary's again.

Yes it's unreasonable of Hillary's, my verticals in my bedrooms have been up 20 years and still look and work like new. They were from a local blind company and the one in my sons bedroom broke an interior part and they replaced the whole thing free of charge.

My patio door vertical blinds have been up nearly 20 years I’ve replaced the bottom chains as they kept breaking but otherwise they are still fine. Local tradesman not Hillarys.

I don't think YABU. I have Sanderson cellular blinds fitted in my patio doors. They are south facing and get a lot of sun. During lockdown we discovered the glue had dried on two of them and they were starting to fall apart. I phoned Sanderson and we were just (by about two weeks) outside the 5 year warranty period but because of lockdown they had extended the period by 3 months so we were able to get them replaced. No arguing, all we had to do was send them a photo of the areas on the blind that were damaged and they just sent out new blinds with a fitter two weeks later. They were expensive but that doesn't aways mean you get good customer service and I was very impressed.

Hillary's don't seem to have a very good reputation, as far as I can make out (and I've been "researching" for about 20 years before committing to blinds)

I'm sure you'll be able to find another company to repair the blinds, though.

The vertical blinds that my mum had in the front room are still going strong, they have been up about 10, 15 years, when the plastic bit snapped at the top of each strip ( only on 1 or 2 ) i just inserted a cocktail stick and positioned the strip back up.

When we moved in about 4 years ago we had some put up in the back room on 2 huge windows, those are like new still, mind you, they need to be with the price of em !!!!!

I certainly expect my blinds to last longer than five years.

They are about 10 years old and still functioning perfectly.

ExDancer
I know you said your husband is a bit heavy handed but this explanation might help.

www.kingstonblinds.net/news/blinds-get-stuck/

Is this what you need, ExDancer?

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/164614865453

Gosh, I would expect them to last longer than 5 years.
We had some installed around 2003, and only replaced them last summer. Stingy, moi?

Can you find the parts you need online, then fix them yourself?
While on this matter, a few years ago I was visiting a friend and commented on her pretty vertical blinds. She told me to take a closer look. Haha, marvellous ingenuity! She couldn't afford the ones she wanted for her whole house, so had bought the tracks and fittings, then cut up strips of wallpaper, glued them together and they were the blinds!!
That way you can co-ordinate to different rooms, have both sides the same or mix & match etc.
And be totally different from your neighbours, too!

20 years and still going strong. From a local company.

How are you going to use them? If one bachelor, they will serve for 10 years, and if a family of 7 people, then they will not serve you even for 2 years!

I’ve had mine for over 20 years , from a local company , and are still working perfectly .

Pepper59

Sadly I find nothing lasts now. They bang on about saving the planet and create less waste but because manufacturers want the money, everything is made so you have to change it every few years. They cannot have it all ways.

Totally agree. I'm clearing out my mum's house at the moment and the amount of stuff you cannot give away. Charity shops can't take anything electrical, and many of them no longer take books or dvds. Young couples don't seem to be interested in second hand furniture or patterned crockery or TVs that are more than a couple of years old. Jumble sales are a thing of the past.

Sorry I'll leave now and stop derailing the thread.

Yet we're mea

I've had my vertical blinds up in three rooms for seven years and - touch wood - they are wearing well. I used a local company to provide and fit them.

Beswitched

Jumble sales....oh what fun they used to be!!

Same here - vertical blinds for the past 14 years. The chain at the bottom had to be replaced once, and I did myself quite easily. Bought the replacement links from Amazon.