When we moved into our new house, one of the first things that needed doing was replacing the rotten windows with lovely shiny new double-glazed ones. Being a bit skint after buying a house, we tried to shop around for a good deal. We got quotes from a few companies and eventually decided on Anglian Windows. We got a very good deal from them, including a large show home discount. We were confident that the product would be good, as the in laws had had them fitted twice, and my df had once worked in the factory. I’ll warn you now this next part is a bit of a saga!
The salesman firstly visited us. He was a very pleasant man, who roughly measured up the windows, noted what styles and types of glass we wanted, and gave us a quote. He explained their credit agreement to us, and we signed up. The next day we went through and did the maths our selves. The final amount was not quite as rosy as the salesman had made out (fair enough – that is the mans job, and we did expect it, hence getting the
calculator out!) so we called up and cancelled our order. The company were very pleasant about it. A few days later we got a phone call from them, asking if we would consider using their company if they added a further discount. As is turns out, another home in the area, which was meant to be a show home, had fallen through due to planning restrictions. We happily said yes, as we were getting ourselves a bit of a bargain.
So then our next visit was the surveyor, who did fine measurements, and planned out the job. We were told that it would take 4-5 weeks for the windows to be made, and then we would be contacted about an appointment for them to be fitted. So we waited. And waited. About 8 weeks down the line we called the company, who apologised that we hadn’t been contacted previously, and were fixed up with an appointment a few weeks from then.
On the appointed day, I waited in. And waited, and waited (this is a bit of an on going theme!). We called the company around lunchtime
to see if the
fitters were actually coming that day, and they were unable to contact them. So I waited some more! Around 1.30 they turned up and left the windows in our garage, and disappeared off, apparently to find some parts and tools they needed. Eventually they reappeared and started work at about 3.30 pm. In January this doesn’t leave much time left in the light for working, but thankfully they bought a halogen lamp with them so they could work till about 7. They left that night promising to return at 7.30 – 7.40 the following morning. Can you guess what happens next? That’s right – I waited and waited! I got a bit fed up and contacted the company, and again the fitters were unreachable. They turned up at
long last, at around 11am. They again worked well into the evening, which was something of a pain, as we had a very over tired and over excited toddler to work around, but as long as our windows were getting done we didn’t mind. But were they finished on the second day, as we were lead to expect? Nope. They left on the second day, saying they would defiantly be there the following morning at 10, and that they would ring if they would be late. They also promised that the work would be finished.
So at 11.30 the next day, the fitters turned up (only 1 and a half hours late – they were getting better!) and set to work. They managed to get all the windows in by about 9 that night. By this stage our nerves were a bit ragged, and we were glad to see the back of them so we could put our curtains up and get some peace and quiet.
The next day we looked at our new windows. They were all fitted, and we were very happy with the quality of the product, but the standard of the fitting left much to be desired. There were large holes in the plaster on two of the windows. The house was fairly covered with broken glass and dirt, and out side there were large amounts of glass, and splinter of wood. There was even broken glass left out side on the pavement. Part of one of the old windows was also left behind in an upstairs bedroom. This was not what we had expected from
Anglian windows. Other people we had spoken to, who had had their windows fitted by Anglian and similar companies had been left with clean and
tidy homes and
gardens. Certainly not with shards of glass liberally spread about for our little boy, or our neighbours’ children to injure themselves on.
We spoke to the company, and voiced our complaints. They explained that the fitters were a new subcontractor, and offered to send them back to make good the plaster. We declined, on the grounds that we could do it ourselves, and that we’d seen enough of those fitters to last a lifetime! We are still waiting for a manager to call us with an apology. Interestingly, the fitters had told my partner that they were planning to leave Anglian as they expected too much work to be done!
The windows we chose were white PVC ones. They come with K glass (what ever that is - I think its a good thing as its mentioned on the ads!) fitted. The windows are designed and made to your specifications (within
fire safety laws of course). There is a wide choise of designs of patterned glass, for
bathroom windows. We chose 'oak' which is very pretty. The windows come with locks, and lock into a slightly open position, which is great for airing your house while you are out.
All in all, we are happy with our windows, but would advise any one considering Anglian to check how good the local fitters are!
