Home

Conservatories

Windows

Doors

Porches

Bi-fold Doors

Facias and Soffits

Double Glazing Repairs

BFRC Authorised Retailer

Garden Retreats

Finance

About us

Contact Us

Location

Gallery

Double-glazing sales tactics exposed.

Which? Probe finds false claims from big firms' reps

A new Which? report on sales techniques in the double-glazing industry claims some salespeople from the biggest names in double glazing are using misleading claims and hard-sell tactics to get home owners to sign up. Posing as a potential customer, Which? asked Anglian, Everest, Safestyle and Weatherseal/Zenith Staybrite to visit at least four addresses each accross Britain, and give them a quote for double glazing. Which?'s undercover investigation found that some salespeople in the industry were making dodgy claims - such as saying they were part of a government scrappage system that doesn't exist - and pressuring people with discounts into signing up. Which? experts were astounded by the tactics used by salespeople, which included:

Six out of 18 salespeople made misleading claims, such as:

- 'We've been tested by the government and were chosen for its scrappage scheme' by an Anglian salesperson.
- Seven out of the 18 salespeople offered a discount if the undercover researcher signed up immediately.
- Fifteen out of 18 offered significant savings, often half of the 'original' price - the biggest drop was £16,926 from an Everest salesperson.
- Many of the salespeople offered a lower price with a 'credit deal' but working out how much you'd pay was incredibly difficult.

Peter Vicary-Smith, Chief Executive of Which?, says: "As a homeowner, replacing your windows is one of the most expensive jobs you're likely to face, which is why we're so disappointed to discover salespeople from the biggest names in the double-glazing business making outlandish claims and using hard-sell tactics."Which? will follow up the investigation by reporting the findings to trading standards officers and the Office of Fair Trading. Which? also hoped that the introduction of the Double Glazing and Conservatory Ombudsman Scheme, launched in May, would help improve the industry.
Taken from Active Magazine July 2010 - The leading trade magazine for the window industry.

National Window Scrappage Scheme

There is no such thing as an Official or National Window Scrappage Scheme which receives government financial support. However 'put on to take off' discounters have now included the Scrappage scheme in their range of discounts. Buying from a local supplier is almost always cheaper than buying from a National Company even when all the Free Offers, Discounts and Scrappage Schemes are deducted, in many cases 30% cheaper!

Bogoff - Buy one get one free offers may work for supermarket goods but it is a joke in the window industry - don't be fooled by the 'Potty Put-on-to-Take-You Discounts' that take advantage of gullible consumers. The quality of the installation and service levels from a local company are much more likely to be better because installers spend less time travelling to site. It doesn't take a genius to work out which installer is likely to provide the best installation - the installer who collects the windows from the local depot and travels a few miles to the installation address or the installer who may live 20 miles from the regional depot and then travel another 50 miles to the installation address.

The National Window scrappage scheme which seeks to capatilise on the £2000 Government car scrappage scheme has all the potential to emulate the disasterous Hoover Flight Promotion.

Free Flights at the time of the Hoover Flight Promotion had been used by retailers as free offers to buy goods. Retailers paid between £5 & £50 for the flight coupons and offered the Flight as an incentive to buy their goods. The companies providing the voucher then placed so many obstacles in the way of redeeming the voucher that the customer gave up trying to redeem the voucher. Hoover offered the voucher to buy a low cost appliance, with the result that people bought the Hoover appliance to get the voucher in such large numbers that the 'con' was exposed and ruined Hoover's reputation.
The Window Scrappage Scheme promoted by some national companies runs the same risk as the Hoover Flight Voucher Promotion. Most consumers don't believe discounts are genuine so they are not to concerned by the discounts offered. The danger with the National Scrappage Scheme is that consumers think this is a genuine government promotion and financed discount that will lower the price that they have to pay for new double glazed windows. When this is exposed in national newspapers and Television programmes the reputation of companies that have used the Scrappage discounts will be damaged.

Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy | Contact us | Sitemap | All photos for artistic purposes only