Studio Shade

STUDIOSHADE - They'll take your deposit and run – We enquired about the installation of a motorised shade awning at our property in Prahran. We were visited by a man who called himself [Name Removed] from StudioShade Australia. [Name Removed] offered a vastly discounted price on a particular awning and told us there was only two left in stock at the discount price and we would need to be fast to secure the product so cheaply. He said if we were unsure, we could at least pay a simple, fully refundable $500 and that would secure the product. He explained we could change our mind at any time and the deposit would be refunded "no questions asked".

We naively believed that our deposit would be refunded if our circumstances changed or if we simply changed our mind. The receipt that we received even had a paragraph stating that we could cancel at any time prior to installation (see attachment).

A few days after paying the deposit, we realised that our bathroom renos were going to cost more than expected, so we contacted StudioShade Australia to cancel our order and request a refund of our deposit.

"No problem at all" was the response. (see attachment) Admin would process it. A few days passed and no refund, I enquired again...and again...and again...and again. Each time we were told that the refund would happen. Finally the admin staff ([Name Removed]) stopped replying. So I messaged the salesman [Name Removed]. [Name Removed] kept saying that the refund would happen. He would investigate. "The owner was sick", "the accounts lady was away" ... This went on for a few days and then he simply blocked me so I couldn't enquire about our refund any more. He had other potential customers to fleece of their $500 deposit.

I have called StudioShade Australia many times. They employ an answering service and the staff there always have an excuse why you can't speak to manager or anyone in the accounts department. They always take your contact details and say that someone will contact you. They don't.

AVOID STUDIOSHADE AUSTRALIA AT ALL COSTS.

If you look at the positive reviews found on the internet for this company, the vast majority of the profiles that have anything positive to say about StudioShade Australia are recently created profiles with just one review. In other words, they create fake profiles to keep their Google review rating above one star. That is all they deserve. In fact, if I could give them zero stars I would.

They have simply stolen our deposit and refuse to refund.

They are the very worst kind of business and cannot be trusted. Any company that makes it's money by promising a refundable deposit and then refusing to attend to the refund are effectually thieves.

Please note, these guys used to be called Shade Solutions but had to change their name because of improper dealings.