windows .... everest vs anglian?

[inv...@invalid.invalid]

We're having new windows put in to our house. I've narrowed down the
choice to either Everest or Anglian. They are comparable in products
and cost.

Is there anything wrong with either of these two companies? Is one
generally preferable to the other?

Advice, please.

[Tim+]

Well, they're pretty well match when it comes to giving ridiculously
over-inflated quotes and using hard sell techniques I believe.

I've only once let an Everest salesman through my door. Never again.

Tim

--
Trolls AND TROLL FEEDERS all go in my kill file

[The Natural Philosopher]

The real question should be 'is there anything right with either of
these two companies?'


And the short answer is of course 'no'.

--
The theory of Communism may be summed up in one sentence: Abolish all
private property.

Karl Marx

[tabb...@gmail.com]

On Friday, 29 April 2016 15:16:42 UTC+1, Tim+ wrote:
> <inv...@invalid.invalid> wrote:

> > We're having new windows put in to our house. I've narrowed down the
> > choice to either Everest or Anglian. They are comparable in products
> > and cost.
> >
> > Is there anything wrong with either of these two companies? Is one
> > generally preferable to the other?
> >
> > Advice, please.
> >
>
> Well, they're pretty well match when it comes to giving ridiculously
> over-inflated quotes and using hard sell techniques I believe.

Go to a small local window company if you're not diying. Any company that advertises heavily will charge more, it's inevitable, and normally it's way more. How else do you think they can afford to open 100+ branches.


NT

[inv...@invalid.invalid]

On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 14:13:13 -0000 (UTC), Tim+ <tim.d...@gmail.com>
wrote:

We got quotes from two other firms, one a reputable local company. The
numbers were all in the same ball-park.

I have nothing against employing Anglian or Everest, it's whether they
do a good job, apart from the sales pitch.

[www.GymRatZ.co.uk]

Avoid BOTH !

We foolishly let Anglian into the house (as a benchmark price to compare
local companies with).
After the salesman completely ignored my request to cut the crap
doubleglazing "offers" and go straight for the final price of 50% less
than the fake "list" price we ended up kicking him out.
He played all the "let me make a phone call to my manager to see if
there are any offers left in your post code for show cases" cards.
I think 5 or 6 "special discounts" came out of the hat....

My advice is to go for a local family run business that's got nothing to
do with "Anglian Home Improvements" or any other national chain.
If they don't get the sale they appear to sell on all your details to
every "independent" Anglian affiliate in a 100 mile range.

There are local companies everywhere that manufacture windows using the
same window profile.

Ones I just fitted were from an established family run Bristol company
who used aluminium profile from "smart systems" (also a local company
but one that makes window profiles (aluminium and uPVC) for companies
all over the UK)

Be warned though, even local companies seem to sub-contract out the
fitting these days and a great install one day may be done by cowboys 6
months later.
As our neighbours found out recently when they recommended a local
company to their friends...

Cheers - Pete

[The Natural Philosopher]

On 29/04/16 15:32, www.GymRatZ.co.uk wrote:
> Be warned though, even local companies seem to sub-contract out the
> fitting these days and a great install one day may be done by cowboys 6
> months later.

Find the fitters. Let them tell you where to buy te products.


--
If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will
eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such
time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic
and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally
important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for
the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the
truth is the greatest enemy of the State.

Joseph Goebbels

[inv...@invalid.invalid]

On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 15:32:12 +0100, "www.GymRatZ.co.uk"
<0845.86...@GymRatZ.Gym.Equipment> wrote:

>On 29/04/2016 15:11, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:
>> We're having new windows put in to our house. I've narrowed down the
>> choice to either Everest or Anglian. They are comparable in products
>> and cost.
>>
>> Is there anything wrong with either of these two companies? Is one
>> generally preferable to the other?
>
>Avoid BOTH !

looking at;

http://www.everest.co.uk/about/reviews/

https://www.anglianhome.co.uk/customer-reviews

they seem to have a lot of happy customers, which is counter to what
people have said on this group.

Do you think the recommendations are staged, artificial?

I prefer a natonal firm with a ten year guarantee. As long as they
don't overcharge me massively, I see no advantage to a local firm.

[Muddymike]

On 29/04/2016 15:11, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:

On past quotes they have both been overpriced and bloody annoying. I've
used local companies which gave fair prices, good service, and quality
product.

Mike

[Andy Burns]

tabb...@gmail.com wrote:

> Go to a small local window company if you're not diying.

And if you are DIYing, give these a look ...

<http://windowsanddoors.co.uk>

[www.GymRatZ.co.uk]

On 29/04/2016 15:53, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:

> looking at;
>
> http://www.everest.co.uk/about/reviews/
>
> https://www.anglianhome.co.uk/customer-reviews
>
> they seem to have a lot of happy customers, which is counter to what
> people have said on this group.
>
> Do you think the recommendations are staged, artificial?

Look where those reviews are hosted.

Your money, your choice.

National companies are just as likely (or more so) to go into
receivership/liquidation than established local ones so a 10 year
warranty isn't worth paying 30% or more over the odds for as it's pretty
meaningless (in my view) but if it gives you peace of mind then it's
whatever works for you.

Throw a question out there and get personal thoughts. I've just gone
through the whole window palava. Starting off with a baseline quote from
Anglian (which they didn't ever provide as they could only give their
"standard" prices of £5000 for a front door worth about £500 for the spec.

[T i m]

Unfortunately I'm going to have to agree with the general suggestion
of staying away from the big boys and trying to find a good local
firm.

Some inlaws had a new uPVC downstairs bay fitted by a national and the
who job was a mess ... and because the couple were elderly and frail,
didn't want them back in the house to make the job right so got me to
do it instead.

There were gaps between the window frame and bay post you could see
the road though and the internal windowsill was held in place with
silicon and stacks of spacers (15 high) likes the leaning Tower of
Pizza. Plus of course, uPVC trim and silicon *everywhere*.

Anyone who has ever seen 'Watchdog' will have seen these 'sharks'' who
start off with one vastly inflated price and slowly come down to
nearer what it should have been in the first place. Anyone conducting
their business like that should be avoided at all cost IMHO.

Cheers, T i m

[Mr Pounder Esquire]

They will both ream your backside out.
Use local company. If there is a builder living near you, ask him for
recommendations.

[whisky-dave]

On Friday, 29 April 2016 15:16:42 UTC+1, Tim+ wrote:

I've had both through my door, the Anglian when asked decided to prove his windows were better by dropping a demo window on the floor waking and scaring my cat!, he said that Anglian windoes don't go yellow with age (the plastic) he kept going on about how bad other installers were. He worked out a price and handed me the paper to sign, and I said I only asked you for a quote why do I need to sign anything.
I made sure he saw my eyes go towards the floor under the video where I had a webcam recording the event he saw the flashing LED'.
Within a few minites he'd packed up and left grabbing his paperwork and mumbling and headed off, quicker than he arrived, and I thought nothing could travel faster than the speed of light ;-).

The Everest bloke was quite differnt he still had the fred moult guy on his laptop measered up went through all the options it was very expensive and I wasn;t impressed so he came up with a few discounts for paying and agreing to let them film the in stallation and another discount to put a board up outside.
I even offered to film for him and showed him my youtube vid that was shown in the USA TV animal planet. He also saw the flashing LED but it didn't seem to bother him.

Another local firm indian/asian asked me where I lived and said all the windows are the same in that area , we don;t need to come and measure it will be about £200 per window. Everest were near £1000. Even I measured the windows as being slightly differnt in size, and I told him he said OK and made an appointment to come and measure, he never turned up.

So decided to go with everest, who then sent a surveyor to measure up the windows, he measured in 3 places took his time over it and double checked.
Everest also said they take out all the old box wood that sash windows have
and that they fill any gaps with expanding foam something Anglia never mentioned or even commented on.

The installers were quick and effienct for the most part.
One piece they supplied had a bit of a scratch and dent asn they said we aren't installing that's it's damaged is it OK if we just put teh filler in and retun the next day with the replacement part which was OK by me.
But for others mightnhave meant taking another day off work.

Although still expensive I was pleased with the work and the workman 2 of them just got on and did the job, didn;t even hear any bad langauge or ladish behavour and left the place clean and tidy.

No one turned up to film and no advertising boards appeared but I still got the discounts. They took all the old windows and crap with them in the van, I think I had to arrange for a skip with Anglian who really just contract out to any window installer I think.

[Tim Watts]

Neither!

[bm]

"Andy Burns" <feb2017...@adslpipe.co.uk> wrote in message
news:dohcaa...@mid.individual.net...

Cheers Andy.

[bm]

<inv...@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:i0t6ibdv83v1l8tm3...@4ax.com...

> On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 15:32:12 +0100, "www.GymRatZ.co.uk"
> <0845.86...@GymRatZ.Gym.Equipment> wrote:
>
>>On 29/04/2016 15:11, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:
>>> We're having new windows put in to our house. I've narrowed down the
>>> choice to either Everest or Anglian. They are comparable in products
>>> and cost.
>>>
>>> Is there anything wrong with either of these two companies? Is one
>>> generally preferable to the other?
>>
>>Avoid BOTH !
>
> looking at;
>
> http://www.everest.co.uk/about/reviews/
>
> https://www.anglianhome.co.uk/customer-reviews
>
> they seem to have a lot of happy customers, which is counter to what
> people have said on this group.
>
> Do you think the recommendations are staged, artificial?

You're joking, right?
Swerve the bullshit.

[The Natural Philosopher]

On 29/04/16 15:53, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:
> they seem to have a lot of happy customers, which is counter to what
> people have said on this group.
>
> Do you think the recommendations are staged, artificial?

Yes.


--
If I had all the money I've spent on drink...
..I'd spend it on drink.

Sir Henry (at Rawlinson's End)

[F]

On 29/04/2016 15:11, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:

> We're having new windows put in to our house. I've narrowed down the
> choice to either Everest or Anglian. They are comparable in products
> and cost.
>
> Is there anything wrong with either of these two companies?

From experience of their sales practices: everything.

> Is one generally preferable to the other?

No, they're both as bad.

> Advice, please.

Ask around and go for the local guy. Visit his premises if you can.

--
F

[mail...@btinternet.com]

On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 14:13:13 -0000 (UTC), Tim+ <tim.d...@gmail.com>
wrote:

I totally agree with Tim and others here.

I have always obtained multiple quotes and the major players are
always much more expensive than reputable local people and my
experiences of installations by both of them are something that I do
not want have again.

For the King's Lynn area (which we moved to nearly 3 years ago) I
can't praise West Norfolk Glass highly enough. They will supply or
fit whole installations, replacement sealed units or just pieces of
glass cut to size. Their sales guy is old school with no attempt to
encourage more than you have asked for; indeed suggested something I
was perhaps over-specifying on. The surveyor is thorough and made some
suggestions on how a door installation could be improved and the folk
in the warehouse are very friendly and helpful. I am so pleased with
their price and work (by their own fitters) that I will probably not
bother with multiple quotes in the future. Blimey that sounds a bit
like an advert for them but I have nothing to do with them other than
being a very happy customer as a result of a recommendation.

They do run a guarantee scheme that I had never heard of before; it is
the Double Glazing and Conservatory Quality Assurance Ombudsman Scheme
(DGCOS). This not only insures your guarantee should the company go
bust but also insures a deposit and make the guarantee fully
transferable. So whoever you are going to engage I suggest you make
sure they are a DGCOS member.

Mike

[Bob Eager]

I wouldn't touch either. We are about to replace some Anglian windows
(fited before we moved in). The rest of the windows were from a local
company that isn't (sadly) around any more.

I wasn't impressed with the quality of Anglian stuff *in the showroom*,
even.

I didn't like Everest, but I forget why (apart from their dubious sales
techniques).

Look for a local firm.

[inv...@invalid.invalid]

On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 17:44:41 +0100, F <news@nowhere> wrote:

>> Is one generally preferable to the other?
>
>No, they're both as bad.
>
>> Advice, please.
>
>Ask around and go for the local guy. Visit his premises if you can.

The local guy is; http://albionwindows.co.uk/

albiion quoted approx 6,200, whereas Everest quoted approx 6,500

I suppose both of them are quite reputable.

What shall I do to decide, toss a coin? Is there really anything
between them? whisky-dave seems happy with Everest.

[inv...@invalid.invalid]

On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 18:05:49 +0100, Chris Hogg <m...@privacy.net> wrote:

>>The local guy is; http://albionwindows.co.uk/
>>
>>albiion quoted approx 6,200, whereas Everest quoted approx 6,500
>>
>>I suppose both of them are quite reputable.
>>
>>What shall I do to decide, toss a coin? Is there really anything
>>between them? whisky-dave seems happy with Everest.
>

>Have you seen actual installations of the local guy and Everest? If
>anything goes wrong after installations, I bet the local guy would
>give you better service.
>
>Lots more to choose from around Croydon http://tinyurl.com/hn89uw6

Yes, a family friend had albion install numerous windows, and she's
happy with them.

I suppose there's no harm in asking them for another quote. The one
above was from last year.

[RJH]

On 29/04/2016 16:52, T i m wrote:
> On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 16:25:55 +0100, "www.GymRatZ.co.uk"
> <0845.86...@GymRatZ.Gym.Equipment> wrote:
>
>> On 29/04/2016 15:53, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:
>>

snip

>
> Some inlaws had a new uPVC downstairs bay fitted by a national and the
> who job was a mess ... and because the couple were elderly and frail,
> didn't want them back in the house to make the job right so got me to
> do it instead.
>
> There were gaps between the window frame and bay post you could see
> the road though and the internal windowsill was held in place with
> silicon and stacks of spacers (15 high) likes the leaning Tower of
> Pizza. Plus of course, uPVC trim and silicon *everywhere*.
>

What I don't follow with these situations is why they paid for the job -
unless they paid up front?

> Anyone who has ever seen 'Watchdog' will have seen these 'sharks'' who
> start off with one vastly inflated price and slowly come down to
> nearer what it should have been in the first place. Anyone conducting
> their business like that should be avoided at all cost IMHO.
>

I had a DG quote once. A part of me died in those three hours. He ended
up stating that his children would go hungry if I didn't accept the job.

--
Cheers, Rob

[Bob Eager]

And lots of people say no.

[alan_m]

On 29/04/2016 15:11, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:

>

> Advice, please.
>


Get some quotes from local companies. My mother recently had some
quotes. The local company, I believe run by two brothers, was the
cheapest. The quotes from larger (national) companies were the dearest
by a factor of x2 to x3 but then reduced substantially when told that
their prices were unacceptable and another firm had been chosen. The
work done by the local company was to a high standard.

--
mailto: news {at} admac {dot] myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

[www.GymRatZ.co.uk]

On 29/04/2016 17:58, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:
>
> The local guy is; http://albionwindows.co.uk/
>
> albiion quoted approx 6,200, whereas Everest quoted approx 6,500
>
> I suppose both of them are quite reputable.
>
> What shall I do to decide, toss a coin? Is there really anything
> between them? whisky-dave seems happy with Everest.

Do some more digging.....

If I were looking I'd get a quote from
https://www.yell.com/biz/crystal-windows-and-doors-ltd-romford-3915733/#reviews
http://crystalwindows.co.uk/service/faq/
http://winsealwindows.co.uk/contact-us/about-us.html

First 2 that caught me eye.

Ask for local references.
Speak to them and get a feel for them on a personal scale, anything that
is a "familly run business" and has been established for 10 or more
years has to be worth checking out..

Albion, to me look like a company set up by an ex employee of one of the
nationals who know what they'd quote and have gone a shade under. Might
even have a source feeding them quotes for back handers as it's so close
to the original.

Re-read the advice from others here.
We have absolutely nothing to gain so why would the majority be in
agreement?

Enough from me.
I self-fitted my 6 windows as I'm incredibly finikity (and they were all
ground level and no existing windows to remove) and saved myself £500
for a weekends work plus I know they're fitted superbly.
;)

[alan_m]

On 29/04/2016 15:53, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:

>

> looking at;
>
> http://www.everest.co.uk/about/reviews/
>
> https://www.anglianhome.co.uk/customer-reviews
>

Without looking at their site, do they have any negative reviews? A lack
of a balance may indicate selective reviews.

With some companies, as a customer, it's impossible to put negative
feedback on the site.

With any product/service google 'company name problems' or 'product name
problems' and use your own judgement about the compalints

[Mr Pounder Esquire]

Ha!
One bloke quoted me £800 for a small front door many years ago. When I
laughed he said "Give us a tenner".

[www.GymRatZ.co.uk]

On 29/04/2016 17:58, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:

>

> The local guy is; http://albionwindows.co.uk/
>
> albiion quoted approx 6,200, whereas Everest quoted approx 6,500
>
> I suppose both of them are quite reputable.

This may or may not interest you...
http://www.nominet.uk/whois/?query=albionwindows.co.uk#whois-results

All Craftsmen Ltd (Dissolved)
https://companycheck.co.uk/company/06533042/ALL-CRAFTSMEN-LIMITED/summary

1 active director
https://companycheck.co.uk/company/06533042/ALL-CRAFTSMEN-LIMITED/directors-secretaries

Gregory Allen
https://companycheck.co.uk/director/910456443/MR-GREGORY-ALLEN/summary

Final piece of the puzzle....
Glowing reviews for Albion on allchecked.co.uk (who I've never heard of
but seem to be SEO'd to ) but.... look at this page:
http://www.allchecked.co.uk/about.php
"In 1989, when his parents suffered a bad experience at the hands of an
unscrupulous double glazing company, Greg Allen was determined to do
something about the sharp practises and shoddy workmanship that plagued
the home improvement industry"

There's Greg!
What a coincidence.
Just something of interest. I might be reading far too much into these
connections...
;)

[Theo]

inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:
> The local guy is; http://albionwindows.co.uk/
>
> albiion quoted approx 6,200, whereas Everest quoted approx 6,500
>
> I suppose both of them are quite reputable.
>
> What shall I do to decide, toss a coin? Is there really anything
> between them? whisky-dave seems happy with Everest.

Everest subcontract. That means it /is/ a local guy fitting your windows,
just you pay for the salesman and head office to waste your time. That
subcontractor is being paid a lot less.

Have you asked more than one local guy? There's likely to be a range in
pricing, and I would guess the one you have is at the top end.

My ballpark is a factor of 2 between Everest's initial quote and 'best'
price, and then 30% off down to the lowest 'local guy'.

Theo

[T i m]

On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 18:21:10 +0100, RJH <patch...@gmx.com> wrote:

>On 29/04/2016 16:52, T i m wrote:
>> On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 16:25:55 +0100, "www.GymRatZ.co.uk"
>> <0845.86...@GymRatZ.Gym.Equipment> wrote:
>>
>>> On 29/04/2016 15:53, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:
>>>
>snip
>>
>> Some inlaws had a new uPVC downstairs bay fitted by a national and the
>> who job was a mess ... and because the couple were elderly and frail,
>> didn't want them back in the house to make the job right so got me to
>> do it instead.
>>
>> There were gaps between the window frame and bay post you could see
>> the road though and the internal windowsill was held in place with
>> silicon and stacks of spacers (15 high) likes the leaning Tower of
>> Pizza. Plus of course, uPVC trim and silicon *everywhere*.
>>
>
>What I don't follow with these situations is why they paid for the job -
>unless they paid up front?

Yup. ;-(

>
>> Anyone who has ever seen 'Watchdog' will have seen these 'sharks'' who
>> start off with one vastly inflated price and slowly come down to
>> nearer what it should have been in the first place. Anyone conducting
>> their business like that should be avoided at all cost IMHO.
>>
>
>I had a DG quote once. A part of me died in those three hours. He ended
>up stating that his children would go hungry if I didn't accept the job.

Lovely.

Uncle had one where they did the 'usual' but over a matter of a few
weeks. 8k down to 4k because (they thought he was) he was hesitating
and at that point he told them to f off. ;-)

It wasn't that 4k wasn't a good deal at the time but purely because
they had proved they were willing to rip him off in the first place.

The Mrs is like that when I get any service supplier to reduce their
cost by 50%. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

p.s. A mate, just turning 60 got a letter with his (and his Mrs) life
insurance renewal saying it was going to have to go from 1 to 2k pa.

He phoned one other place, they offered it to them for 1k so he went
back to his original insurer and they matched it there and then! One
thousand pound reduction on the basis of one phone call?

[polygonum]

How about getting a quote from SafeStyle?

Then you'll win your round with three of a kind.

https://conversation.which.co.uk/home-energy/dont-fall-for-double-glazing-sales-tricks/

--
Rod

[charles]

In article <nq87ib5s4nmibe3ne...@4ax.com>,

Some years ago I answered an advert in a national paper to renew my drive.
I was visted, shown lots of photos and quoted a silly price. Some months
later I had a phone call "since we're doing work in the area and if you pay
cash there won't be any VAT" They quoted half the origal price. I said "I
don't do business that way" and put the phone down. I had a local firm do
something very much more attractive and costing even less |(and I paid VAT).

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England

[Phil L]

inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:
> We're having new windows put in to our house. I've narrowed down the
> choice to either Everest or Anglian. They are comparable in products
> and cost.
>

> Is there anything wrong with either of these two companies? Is one

> generally preferable to the other?
>

> Advice, please.

Neither.
If any of their fitters were competent, they'd be working for themselves
instead of doing the same job for a fraction of the money they could make

[T i m]

On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 20:01:21 +0100, charles <cha...@candehope.me.uk>
wrote:
<snip>

>Some years ago I answered an advert in a national paper to renew my drive.
>I was visted, shown lots of photos and quoted a silly price. Some months
>later I had a phone call "since we're doing work in the area and if you pay
>cash there won't be any VAT" They quoted half the origal price. I said "I
>don't do business that way" and put the phone down. I had a local firm do
>something very much more attractive and costing even less |(and I paid VAT).

<sigh>

The worrying thing about all this is there are so many people who do
just take them up on their first quotes. We do sometimes get to see
them and their 'efforts' on the likes of Rogue Traders, Dodgy Builders
and Watchdog ... and hear the sad tales of those who fell for it all
(who often really can't afford to and are embarrassed and often
traumatised by the whole sorry business). ;-(

Cheers, T i m

[tabb...@gmail.com]

On Friday, 29 April 2016 15:53:19 UTC+1, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:

> looking at;
>
> http://www.everest.co.uk/about/reviews/
>
> https://www.anglianhome.co.uk/customer-reviews
>

> they seem to have a lot of happy customers, which is counter to what
> people have said on this group.
>
> Do you think the recommendations are staged, artificial?

did you think they'd post negative reviews then?

> I prefer a natonal firm with a ten year guarantee.

worth almost nothing

> As long as they
> don't overcharge me massively, I see no advantage to a local firm.


NT

[Jeff Layman]

You should look here:
http://www.checkatrade.com/Search/?location=Croydon&cat=107

Albion Windows are listed by Checkatrade
(http://www.checkatrade.com/AlbionWindowsAndConservatories/), so should
be fine, but there are a lot of other companies listed as well. You
should get a couple of other quotes from them too.

--

Jeff

[tabb...@gmail.com]

On Friday, 29 April 2016 20:27:53 UTC+1, T i m wrote:

> <sigh>
>
> The worrying thing about all this is there are so many people who do
> just take them up on their first quotes. We do sometimes get to see
> them and their 'efforts' on the likes of Rogue Traders, Dodgy Builders
> and Watchdog ... and hear the sad tales of those who fell for it all
> (who often really can't afford to and are embarrassed and often
> traumatised by the whole sorry business). ;-(
>
> Cheers, T i m

That's why such companies exist, to harvest cash from the clueless. The OP is clearly one of those.


NT

[inv...@invalid.invalid]

On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 20:44:09 +0100, Jeff Layman
<JMLa...@invalid.invalid> wrote:

>You should look here:
>http://www.checkatrade.com/Search/?location=Croydon&cat=107
>
>Albion Windows are listed by Checkatrade
>(http://www.checkatrade.com/AlbionWindowsAndConservatories/), so should
>be fine, but there are a lot of other companies listed as well. You
>should get a couple of other quotes from them too.

Good.

Neither Everest nor Anglian have entries in checkatrade.com. Are they
afraid of negative feedback, or is there some other reason for their
exclusion?

[Bob Eager]

On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 19:16:09 +0100, Tim Streater wrote:

> In article <i0t6ibdv83v1l8tm3...@4ax.com>,
> <inv...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>
>>On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 15:32:12 +0100, "www.GymRatZ.co.uk"
>><0845.86...@GymRatZ.Gym.Equipment> wrote:

>>
>>>On 29/04/2016 15:11, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:
>>>> We're having new windows put in to our house. I've narrowed down the
>>>> choice to either Everest or Anglian. They are comparable in products
>>>> and cost.
>>>>
>>>> Is there anything wrong with either of these two companies? Is one
>>>> generally preferable to the other?
>>>

>>>Avoid BOTH !

>>
>>looking at;
>>
>>http://www.everest.co.uk/about/reviews/
>>
>>https://www.anglianhome.co.uk/customer-reviews
>>
>>they seem to have a lot of happy customers, which is counter to what
>>people have said on this group.
>>
>>Do you think the recommendations are staged, artificial?
>>

>>I prefer a natonal firm with a ten year guarantee. As long as they don't

>>overcharge me massively, I see no advantage to a local firm.
>

> Our local firm (East Kent) was Mark Russell Glazing who gave a 10 year
> warranty (which we've used a couple of times). As I said, they were also
> cheaper then the national chains.

Useful to know. I need a couple of those Anglian one replaced completely.

[inv...@invalid.invalid]

On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 12:45:49 -0700 (PDT), tabb...@gmail.com wrote:

>That's why such companies exist, to harvest cash from the clueless. The OP is clearly one of those.
>
>
>NT

Everest boasts "Over 2 million happy customers" and "Over 50 years
experience".

Anglian say "We've more than a million customers and are proud that
95% would recommend us to their friends and 42% of our weekly sales
are from returning customers buying more home improvements products
from us"

Hmmmm .... is everyone else "clueless", apart from you, of course?
These companies must be doing something right to get this volume of
sales.

[Bob Eager]

A long time ago, we got quotes from Anglian, a local guy and someone
else. The local guy quoted a final (good) price and stuck to it.

We had fun with them. We arranged the seating so that the salesman
couldn't look at us both at once. Then we made it clear by words and
actions that we had equal input into the final decision (or made it
unclear who was driving the deal). A lot of head swivelling.

We also (more recently) has British Gas quote for a replacement boiler
(they had maintained and broken the old one). This was more for sport
than anything else.

When the man arrived, I told him he had exactly half an hour (he said
"are you going out, then?" and I replied just that he had half an hour. I
also told him no decision would be made that day. I challenged his sizing
of the boiler (I had worked it out at 24kW, and he said 18kW). And a few
other things. After all the 'discounts', he quoted £3400 for flush,
boiler and some TRVs. I got an excellent job from the local man for £1900
(replaced all the valves, not just the TRVs); to be fair, I ended up
doing the sparks on that one to save time - it was cold!

[T i m]

On 29 Apr 2016 22:06:04 GMT, Bob Eager <news...@eager.cx> wrote:

<snip>

>A long time ago, we got quotes from Anglian, a local guy and someone
>else. The local guy quoted a final (good) price and stuck to it.
>
>We had fun with them. We arranged the seating so that the salesman
>couldn't look at us both at once. Then we made it clear by words and
>actions that we had equal input into the final decision (or made it
>unclear who was driving the deal). A lot of head swivelling.

That's a god idea, make a sport of it, like I do with the solar panel,
PPI and 'Microsoft Windows' companies who call. ;-)

>
>We also (more recently) has British Gas quote for a replacement boiler
>(they had maintained and broken the old one). This was more for sport
>than anything else.

;-)

>
>When the man arrived, I told him he had exactly half an hour (he said
>"are you going out, then?" and I replied just that he had half an hour.

<weg>

> I
>also told him no decision would be made that day.

More wind out of his sails.

>I challenged his sizing
>of the boiler (I had worked it out at 24kW, and he said 18kW).

(Probably to make the deal cheaper as he probably realised you weren't
a pushover?)

>And a few
>other things. After all the 'discounts', he quoted £3400 for flush,
>boiler and some TRVs. I got an excellent job from the local man for £1900
>(replaced all the valves, not just the TRVs); to be fair, I ended up
>doing the sparks on that one to save time - it was cold!

And at least you know that bit was done properly. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[Bob Eager]

To be honest, it looks as if you've already decided, and just want us to
validate your decision.

Which we haven't. Too bad.

[Rod Speed]

<inv...@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:i0t6ibdv83v1l8tm3...@4ax.com...

> On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 15:32:12 +0100, "www.GymRatZ.co.uk"
> <0845.86...@GymRatZ.Gym.Equipment> wrote:
>
>>On 29/04/2016 15:11, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:
>>> We're having new windows put in to our house. I've narrowed down the
>>> choice to either Everest or Anglian. They are comparable in products
>>> and cost.
>>>
>>> Is there anything wrong with either of these two companies? Is one
>>> generally preferable to the other?
>>
>>Avoid BOTH !
>
> looking at;
>
> http://www.everest.co.uk/about/reviews/
>
> https://www.anglianhome.co.uk/customer-reviews
>
> they seem to have a lot of happy customers, which is counter to what
> people have said on this group.
>
> Do you think the recommendations are staged, artificial?

Just easily conned and don't compare, just buy what
the goon that shows up at the door cons them into.

> I prefer a natonal firm with a ten year guarantee.

Sure, but that doesn't mean they wont go bust before that
and don't slither out of the guarantee when you need it.

[Steve Walker]

On 29/04/2016 16:25, www.GymRatZ.co.uk wrote:
> On 29/04/2016 15:53, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:
>

>> looking at;
>>
>> http://www.everest.co.uk/about/reviews/
>>
>> https://www.anglianhome.co.uk/customer-reviews
>>
>> they seem to have a lot of happy customers, which is counter to what
>> people have said on this group.
>>
>> Do you think the recommendations are staged, artificial?
>

> Look where those reviews are hosted.
>
> Your money, your choice.
>
> National companies are just as likely (or more so) to go into
> receivership/liquidation than established local ones so a 10 year
> warranty isn't worth paying 30% or more over the odds for as it's pretty
> meaningless (in my view) but if it gives you peace of mind then it's
> whatever works for you.

Years ago, a friend of mine used to assemble and sell computers. He
offered warranties that were insurance backed - ie it didn't matter if
he disappeared, stopped trading or whatever, as the warranty was with an
independent insurance company. I wonder if any of the windows companies
do something similar?

[tabb...@gmail.com]

On Friday, 29 April 2016 23:03:29 UTC+1, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:

> On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 12:45:49 -0700 (PDT), tabbypurr wrote:

> >That's why such companies exist, to harvest cash from the clueless. The OP is clearly one of those.

> Everest boasts "Over 2 million happy customers" and "Over 50 years
> experience".
>
> Anglian say "We've more than a million customers and are proud that
> 95% would recommend us to their friends and 42% of our weekly sales
> are from returning customers buying more home improvements products
> from us"
>
> Hmmmm .... is everyone else "clueless", apart from you, of course?
> These companies must be doing something right to get this volume of
> sales.

I see I was spot on about you.


NT

[tabb...@gmail.com]

What would a 10 year guarantee be useful for? The things that occasionally die between 1 & 10 years are low cost replaceables such as handles. So worth very little.


NT

[charles]

AFAFIn article <19fd331b-046b-457a...@googlegroups.com>,

Leaking seal allowing condensation inside the double glazing would be the
most likely.

[Bob Martin]

in 1480227 20160429 152746 inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:
>On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 14:13:13 -0000 (UTC), Tim+ <tim.d...@gmail.com>
>wrote:

>
>><inv...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>>> We're having new windows put in to our house. I've narrowed down the
>>> choice to either Everest or Anglian. They are comparable in products
>>> and cost.
>>>
>>> Is there anything wrong with either of these two companies? Is one
>>> generally preferable to the other?
>>>

>>> Advice, please.
>>>
>>
>>Well, they're pretty well match when it comes to giving ridiculously
>>over-inflated quotes and using hard sell techniques I believe.
>>
>>I've only once let an Everest salesman through my door. Never again.
>>
>>Tim
>
>We got quotes from two other firms, one a reputable local company. The
>numbers were all in the same ball-park.
>
>I have nothing against employing Anglian or Everest, it's whether they
>do a good job, apart from the sales pitch.

Everest quoted me over £8000 to replace our French doors, "but with our
promotional discounts we can reduce that to £5500".
I went to an outfit on the local trading estate who did an excellent job for £1400.

[alan_m]

On 29/04/2016 21:05, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:

>
> Neither Everest nor Anglian have entries in checkatrade.com. Are they
> afraid of negative feedback, or is there some other reason for their
> exclusion?
>

The MD of checkatrade was on the radio 4 yesterday defending his company
and why complaints from a customer using his service were dealt with in
an unsatisfactory way.

I had some sympathy with the MD in this case in that it was a no win
situation as the customer insisted that he didn't want the building firm
knowing who had complained but the process was to give the building firm
21 days to correct the faults before taking further action. No action
was taken and the high rating for the building firm was maintained.


What put me off from ever using this web site is that the MD agreed with
the statement from a representative of the building industry [I
paraphrase] that the man in the street couldn't judge good or bad
building work and negative comments from customers should be treated
with suspicion.

Surely if the average man in the street cannot judge good workmanship
the good reviews on that site should also be discarded!

The listeners were informed that checkatrade is not a charity or a
consumer orientated web site but is a commercial operation that
companies pay to be on.



The representative from the building industry (a buildings surveyor???)
suggested that a member of his organisation should be employed for all
home owner building work and the Government should legislate to make it so.

[alan_m]

On 29/04/2016 21:05, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:

>Or is there some other reason for their
> exclusion?
>

They don't pay to go on the site - nor do thousands of respected traders
in the windows and building industries. The reviews are only for
companies that have previously paid to be on the site and they don't
appear solely on a customer recommendation.

[Jeff Layman]

Who knows? Maybe they think they are too big to be the sort of
tradesperson that Checkatrade is set up for. In any case, they have to
apply to be members and they are vetted:
http://www.checkatrade.com/Join/FAQ.aspx#faq__question__howdoesthebackgroundcheckwork

Checkatrade note: "Not all trades and services are accepted as members.
Checkatrade is only as good as its worst member and we have suspended
members for poor service or/and workmanship."

--

Jeff

[Brian Gaff]

Also of course its often not the quality of the windows which is the issue,
its the reliability of the local contractor they both get to fit them. You
do hear of horror stories like bay windows where the support of the top bit
containing the roof tiles has not been held up during the install or even
the gap filled with foam resulting in collapses or leaks later on.

I will just say this, whoever fits them maake sure that any warranty on the
work is underwritten by a known company like an insurance company, not by
the fitting company etc, as they tend to not be worth the paper they are
written on.
Brian

--
----- -
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...
bri...@blueyonder.co.uk
Blind user, so no pictures please!
"Tim+" <tim.d...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:nfvq5p$dac$1...@dont-email.me...

> <inv...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>> We're having new windows put in to our house. I've narrowed down the
>> choice to either Everest or Anglian. They are comparable in products
>> and cost.
>>
>> Is there anything wrong with either of these two companies? Is one
>> generally preferable to the other?
>>
>> Advice, please.
>>
>
> Well, they're pretty well match when it comes to giving ridiculously
> over-inflated quotes and using hard sell techniques I believe.
>
> I've only once let an Everest salesman through my door. Never again.
>
> Tim
>

> --
> Trolls AND TROLL FEEDERS all go in my kill file

[The Natural Philosopher]

Lying, mostly.

I mean, look at how many people vote Labour and will vote EU....

--
If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will
eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such
time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic
and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally
important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for
the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the
truth is the greatest enemy of the State.

Joseph Goebbels

[Tim Watts]

On 30/04/16 08:22, alan_m wrote:
> On 29/04/2016 21:05, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:
>
>>
>> Neither Everest nor Anglian have entries in checkatrade.com. Are they
>> afraid of negative feedback, or is there some other reason for their
>> exclusion?
>>
>
> The MD of checkatrade was on the radio 4 yesterday defending his company
> and why complaints from a customer using his service were dealt with in
> an unsatisfactory way.
>
> I had some sympathy with the MD in this case in that it was a no win
> situation as the customer insisted that he didn't want the building firm
> knowing who had complained but the process was to give the building firm
> 21 days to correct the faults before taking further action. No action
> was taken and the high rating for the building firm was maintained.
>
>
> What put me off from ever using this web site is that the MD agreed with
> the statement from a representative of the building industry [I
> paraphrase] that the man in the street couldn't judge good or bad
> building work and negative comments from customers should be treated
> with suspicion.
>
> Surely if the average man in the street cannot judge good workmanship
> the good reviews on that site should also be discarded!
>

That is extremely disturbing. Checkatrade is already biases as their
revenue comes from the people who might get negative reviews. And all
this "give the trade 21 days blah blah" is bollocks.

We need a site like tripadvisor or amazon reviews, where you can say
what you like, good or bad.

[The Natural Philosopher]

On 30/04/16 09:08, Tim Watts wrote:

>
> We need a site like tripadvisor or amazon reviews, where you can say
> what you like, good or bad.
>

Its called uk.d-i-y



--
How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don't think.

Adolf Hitler

[RJH]

On 29/04/2016 23:03, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:
> On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 12:45:49 -0700 (PDT), tabb...@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> That's why such companies exist, to harvest cash from the clueless. The OP is clearly one of those.
>>
>>
>> NT
>
> Everest boasts "Over 2 million happy customers" and "Over 50 years
> experience".
>
> Anglian say "We've more than a million customers and are proud that
> 95% would recommend us to their friends and 42% of our weekly sales
> are from returning customers buying more home improvements products
> from us"
>

They'd hardly say otherwise :-) I'd wager a small sum that the
anonymised raw data is not forthcoming . . .

> Hmmmm .... is everyone else "clueless", apart from you, of course?
> These companies must be doing something right to get this volume of
> sales.
>

Funnily enough, the only experience of Everest is second hand - a house
on my street had some conservation grade sash windows. Look a load
better than a number of the other recent replacements, and they were in
and out in under 2 days. They seem to have fabricated the bay off-site
and just slotted it in.

A local firm took two weeks to do my neighbour's (bay and 2 first
floor), and IIRC Everest were a grand cheaper (£4k vs £5k - the quotes
are online on the planning portal).

All of that said, I'd ask one of the big companies for some local
examples of their work, and tap on the door and ask how it went. I don't
know how they operate but I'd think there's a degree of local variation.

--
Cheers, Rob

[F]

On 29/04/2016 17:58, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:

> On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 17:44:41 +0100, F <news@nowhere> wrote:
>
>>> Is one generally preferable to the other?
>>

>> No, they're both as bad.
>>
>>> Advice, please.
>>
>> Ask around and go for the local guy. Visit his premises if you can.

>
> The local guy is; http://albionwindows.co.uk/
>
> albiion quoted approx 6,200, whereas Everest quoted approx 6,500
>
> I suppose both of them are quite reputable.
>
> What shall I do to decide, toss a coin? Is there really anything
> between them? whisky-dave seems happy with Everest.

I don't know Albion but, if he's local, he's going to need to keep his
reputation. If Everest or Anglian screw up they have the rest of the
country as a source of business.

Save the £300 and avoid giving Everest and Anglian any more
opportunities to do what they do. Win-win!

--
F

[tabb...@gmail.com]

He should save way more than £300. But it seems he wants to be ripped off.


NT

[F]

I agree, the savings compared with those two outfits should be much
greater, but the choice seemed to be between the three.

--
F

[The Natural Philosopher]

> He should save way more than £300. But it seems he wants to be ripped off..
>

FUD

More people vote with their votes or their chequebooks - to avoid risk
stuff than to get good stuff.



Everest appear to have some sort of guarantee. They dont in reality,
buts that's how they try to appear.

>
> NT
>


--
No Apple devices were knowingly used in the preparation of this post.

[inv...@invalid.invalid]

On 29 Apr 2016 22:52:30 GMT, Bob Eager <news...@eager.cx> wrote:

>> Everest boasts "Over 2 million happy customers" and "Over 50 years
>> experience".
>>
>> Anglian say "We've more than a million customers and are proud that 95%
>> would recommend us to their friends and 42% of our weekly sales are from
>> returning customers buying more home improvements products from us"
>>
>> Hmmmm .... is everyone else "clueless", apart from you, of course? These
>> companies must be doing something right to get this volume of sales.
>
>To be honest, it looks as if you've already decided, and just want us to
>validate your decision.
>
>Which we haven't. Too bad.

Yes, I'm afraid you're right. I would choose the two big national
firms on the basis of "safety in numbers".

I am tempted by albion, who did a good job for a family friend. If
they were to reduce their prices (circa 6300) to significantly below
Everest (6600) then I think I would employ them.

I suppose I can ask their guy for another quote. They have a showroom
in Croydon, which I could visit.

[bm]

<inv...@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:fu89ib958jihhql4a...@4ax.com...

If you wanna be ripped off, go with the big boys. The ones who spend a
fortune of your money on advertising.
The ones who can magically find a 50% reduction, yea, right. I'm afraid
these boys rely on suckers.

[tim...]

"The Natural Philosopher" <t...@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:ng1ojp$3v1$2...@news.albasani.net...

> On 29/04/16 23:03, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:
>> On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 12:45:49 -0700 (PDT), tabb...@gmail.com wrote:
>>
>>> That's why such companies exist, to harvest cash from the clueless. The
>>> OP is clearly one of those.
>>>
>>>
>>> NT
>>
>> Everest boasts "Over 2 million happy customers" and "Over 50 years
>> experience".
>>
>> Anglian say "We've more than a million customers and are proud that
>> 95% would recommend us to their friends and 42% of our weekly sales
>> are from returning customers buying more home improvements products
>> from us"
>>
>> Hmmmm .... is everyone else "clueless", apart from you, of course?
>> These companies must be doing something right to get this volume of
>> sales.
>>
> Lying, mostly.
>
> I mean, look at how many people vote Labour

I think that's a little bit unfair

Many people vote labour because they do share the same ideology and TBH, if
you are are of that political persuasion what other choice do you have?

And I'm not talking about nutty lefties who go on marches, just normal
people who believe in "fairness for workers".

The fact that they are a shambles in office is just not part of the equation
when the policies of the only other alternative are abhorrent to you

tim

[tim...]

"Steve Walker" <st...@walker-family.me.uk> wrote in message
news:ng0rlo$gqj$1...@dont-email.me...

some do

some don't

doesn't always help - sometime it is the insurance co that goes bust!

tim


>
>

[tim...]

<inv...@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:cgf7ibdimjpu6lavu...@4ax.com...

> On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 20:44:09 +0100, Jeff Layman
> <JMLa...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>
>>You should look here:
>>http://www.checkatrade.com/Search/?location=Croydon&cat=107
>>
>>Albion Windows are listed by Checkatrade
>>(http://www.checkatrade.com/AlbionWindowsAndConservatories/), so should
>>be fine, but there are a lot of other companies listed as well. You
>>should get a couple of other quotes from them too.
>
> Good.
>

> Neither Everest nor Anglian have entries in checkatrade.com. Are they
> afraid of negative feedback, or is there some other reason for their
> exclusion?

Because, despite its pretence of being a helpful consumer aid, it's a
commercial organisation looking to turn itself into a billion pound 'net
company.

As you don't pay it a penny the turnover to achieve that must come from the
advertisers, and national companies with an established rep don't see the
need to pay tuppny-bit companies for leads.

tim

[The Natural Philosopher]

On 30/04/16 13:58, tim... wrote:
>
> "The Natural Philosopher" <t...@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
> news:ng1ojp$3v1$2...@news.albasani.net...
>> On 29/04/16 23:03, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:
>>> On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 12:45:49 -0700 (PDT), tabb...@gmail.com wrote:
>>>
>>>> That's why such companies exist, to harvest cash from the clueless.
>>>> The OP is clearly one of those.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> NT
>>>
>>> Everest boasts "Over 2 million happy customers" and "Over 50 years
>>> experience".
>>>
>>> Anglian say "We've more than a million customers and are proud that
>>> 95% would recommend us to their friends and 42% of our weekly sales
>>> are from returning customers buying more home improvements products
>>> from us"
>>>
>>> Hmmmm .... is everyone else "clueless", apart from you, of course?
>>> These companies must be doing something right to get this volume of
>>> sales.
>>>
>> Lying, mostly.
>>
>> I mean, look at how many people vote Labour
>
> I think that's a little bit unfair
>
> Many people vote labour because they do share the same ideology and TBH,
> if you are are of that political persuasion what other choice do you have?

They vote Labour because they fall for an ideology that can be shown to
never work in practice, and never has.

Who doesn't want peace on earth goodwill to all men, and equality
everywhere (apart from Plowman, who loves to hate).?

Wanting something is no reason to vote for someone else who says they
want it (unecessarily, because everyone does) but have never delivered
it in 100 years.

>
> And I'm not talking about nutty lefties who go on marches, just normal
> people who believe in "fairness for workers".
>

Which is, when you try and work out what it means, utter bollocks. Not
that there are any 'workers' left.


Yopu might as well vote for 'fairness for arseholes'. Why just workers?
Why not fairness for the idle rich, white men, and people with red hair?
Thats the intrinsic bigotry of Labour. To unfairly identify one 'class'
and set it against all the others.

> The fact that they are a shambles in office is just not part of the
> equation when the policies of the only other alternative are abhorrent
> to you
>

Well that's two parties, what about the other 4-5?


In the end its all negative marketing. Vote labour or let the tories in?

Crap.
> tim
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>


--
New Socialism consists essentially in being seen to have your heart in
the right place whilst your head is in the clouds and your hand is in
someone else's pocket.

[tim...]

"Phil L" <neverc...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:ZxOUy.331767$RV1....@fx46.am4...

> inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:
>> We're having new windows put in to our house. I've narrowed down the
>> choice to either Everest or Anglian. They are comparable in products
>> and cost.
>>

>> Is there anything wrong with either of these two companies? Is one

>> generally preferable to the other?
>>

>> Advice, please.
>
> Neither.
> If any of their fitters were competent, they'd be working for themselves
> instead of doing the same job for a fraction of the money they could make

It's not quite like that

To go from being a "fitter" to bidding for complete installations you have
to have the advertising budget/staff to attract/process leads, and you have
to have the cash flow to pay for the windows before the punter pays you.

As it is not uncommon for 15 quid an hour jobbing trades to live "hand to
mouth" they never manage to get themselves into a position where they can
become bigger.

Obviously that doesn't apply to all of them ;-)

tim

[Rod Speed]

"RJH" <patch...@gmx.com> wrote in message
news:ng1ue4$evo$1...@dont-email.me...

Problem with that approach is that they are hardly
likely to tell you about the ones they fucked up.

> I don't know how they operate but I'd think there's a degree of local
> variation.

It would be a lot more surprising if there wasn’t.

[Rod Speed]

<inv...@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:fu89ib958jihhql4a...@4ax.com...

> On 29 Apr 2016 22:52:30 GMT, Bob Eager <news...@eager.cx> wrote:
>
>>> Everest boasts "Over 2 million happy customers" and "Over 50 years
>>> experience".
>>>
>>> Anglian say "We've more than a million customers and are proud that 95%
>>> would recommend us to their friends and 42% of our weekly sales are from
>>> returning customers buying more home improvements products from us"
>>>
>>> Hmmmm .... is everyone else "clueless", apart from you, of course? These
>>> companies must be doing something right to get this volume of sales.
>>
>>To be honest, it looks as if you've already decided, and just want us to
>>validate your decision.
>>
>>Which we haven't. Too bad.
>
> Yes, I'm afraid you're right. I would choose the two big national
> firms on the basis of "safety in numbers".

Mad, tho it is certainly easier to see what they mostly deliver with those.

[Jack Brown]

"The Natural Philosopher" <t...@invalid.invalid> wrote in message

news:ng2ath$5qr$1...@news.albasani.net...

Worked fine for Norway with their oil and gas and power generation
industries.

And for France with their nukes too.

And for all of those with their health care systems, and for Britain too.

> Who doesn't want peace on earth goodwill to all men,

Bigots like harry.

> and equality everywhere

Plenty have enough of a clue to realise that isnt possible.

> (apart from Plowman, who loves to hate).?

Of course you never hate anything, eh ?

> Wanting something is no reason to vote for someone else who says they want
> it (unecessarily, because everyone does) but have never delivered it in
> 100 years.

But he does have a point that if you want say free
education right through to and including university
education, you aren't going to get that from the Torys.

>> And I'm not talking about nutty lefties who go on marches, just normal
>> people who believe in "fairness for workers".
>>
>
> Which is, when you try and work out what it means, utter bollocks. Not
> that there are any 'workers' left.

There are always hordes of workers, as opposed to bosses.

> Yopu might as well vote for 'fairness for arseholes'. Why just workers?

Because they consider themselves to be workers. And people like Dave the
sot are workers too in the sense that they aren't management or bosses.

> Why not fairness for the idle rich, white men, and people with red hair?
> Thats the intrinsic bigotry of Labour. To unfairly identify one 'class'
> and set it against all the others.

Or course you never do anything like that yourself with the left, eh ?

>> The fact that they are a shambles in office is just not part of the
>> equation when the policies of the only other alternative are abhorrent
>> to you
>>
>
> Well that's two parties, what about the other 4-5?

They have no possibility what so ever of being the govt and deciding what
happens.

[damdu...@yahoo.co.uk]

On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 14:13:13 -0000 (UTC), Tim+ <tim.d...@gmail.com>
wrote:

>Well, they're pretty well match when it comes to giving ridiculously
>over-inflated quotes and using hard sell techniques I believe.
>
>I've only once let an Everest salesman through my door. Never again.
>
>Tim

Did you let him out again?
It's illegal to release vermin you have trapped back into the wild.
You were obliged to humanely dispatch it.

G.Harman

[damdu...@yahoo.co.uk]

On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 16:52:11 +0100, T i m <ne...@spaced.me.uk> wrote:


>>
>Unfortunately I'm going to have to agree with the general suggestion
>of staying away from the big boys and trying to find a good local
>firm.
>

Even a local firm that goods at first glance should be checked
carefully.

This firm does a good job I'm sure . Lots of happy customers no doubt
as mentioned on the website.
http://www.applehomeimprovements.co.uk/?gclid=CIyV4IzluMwCFS8z0wodCFYJ8g

Not a mention of the recent closure of the Weymouth subsidiary
http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/14143456.UPDATED__Staff_locked_out_and_handed_shock_p45s_as_Weymouth_s_Larkin_Windows_enters_voluntary_liquidation/

Or the ruthlessness behind the respectable front.
http://www.tradingstandards.uk/extra/news-item.cfm/newsid/1428


G.Harman

[Dave Liquorice]

On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 15:11:58 +0100, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:

> Is there anything wrong with either of these two companies? Is one
> generally preferable to the other?

Anglian are a load of self employed window fitters working for the
local Anglian franchise who aren't good enough to get work fitting
windows any other way. When (not if) the installation is not of
standard suitable standard Anglian head office won't want to know and
only point you back at the franchise. It also says something when the
franchise has to have another team of fitters fully employed going
round corecting instalation problems.

Both Everest and Anglian employ dubious sales techniques. The
"discounts" are not really real, they fiddle the figures by have
stupidly high list prices, and sail very close to the wind on how
those list prices qualify for being used as the discount reference.

You'll get equally good prices, if not better, with a better
installation from a local installer. Ask around and see who has a
good reputation.

--
Cheers
Dave.

[Dave Liquorice]

On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 15:53:15 +0100, inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:

> looking at;
>
> http://www.everest.co.uk/about/reviews/
>
> https://www.anglianhome.co.uk/customer-reviews
>
> they seem to have a lot of happy customers, which is counter to what
> people have said on this group.

You trust the marketing content of a company website?

> Do you think the recommendations are staged, artificial?

Probably not but what precentage of total customers do those reviews
represent and what is the precentage of bad reviews?

> I prefer a natonal firm with a ten year guarantee.

Why? Small local firm has a reputation to maintain or they'll go
out of business as the word gets around. Any guarantee of that
duration isn't worth the paper it is written on unless insurance
backed, no matter the size of the company. Look at how many
apparently succesful big companies have gone bust recently. Anglian
and Everest will have spent a lot of money on lawyers writting the
small print of the "gaurantee" to minimise any claims. It may even
tie you into an annual "maintence check" that has to be done by a a
"qualified" entity at £50/window or similar catch...

> As long as they don't overcharge me massively,

Define "massively". Ignore any list prices from Anglian/Everest they
are just a sales scam. As a guess I'd expect a good local installer
to be 20 to 50% below A or E.

> I see no advantage to a local firm.

Local firm relies on reputation and word of mouth to stay in
business. Anglian/Everest spend a fortune on ads... Having has double
galzing installed by Anglian and a local firm you really, really, do
not want to use Anglian and Everest are in the same camp as far as
sales pitch is concerned. I did not like the abusive response I got
when I phoned to reject an Everest quote or the follow up calls
trying to make me change my mind.

--
Cheers
Dave.

[Dave Liquorice]

On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 17:40:47 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

>> they seem to have a lot of happy customers, which is counter to
what
>> people have said on this group.
>>

>> Do you think the recommendations are staged, artificial?
>

> Yes.

Making them up would be venturing into very grey area legally,
misrepresentation? fraud? advertsising standards? They probably are
genuine comments but selected comments...

--
Cheers
Dave.

[Dave Liquorice]

On Sat, 30 Apr 2016 10:41:38 +0100, RJH wrote:

>> Everest boasts "Over 2 million happy customers" and "Over 50 years
>> experience".

40,000 customers/year, maybe, that's 100 jobs on *every* day of the
year.

"50 years of experience" in what? High pressure sales techinques or
doing good installs of double glazing?

>> Anglian say "We've more than a million customers and are proud
that
>> 95% would recommend us to their friends

You may have guess I'm very firmly in the 5% group. An only a million
customers against Everest 2 million *happy* ones. Anglian stared in
1966, Everest in 1965.

>> ... and 42% of our weekly sales are from returning customers

buying
>> more home improvements products from us"

So the high pressure sales works in beating people into submission
and getting them to buy "extras" in follow up calls.

> They'd hardly say otherwise :-) I'd wager a small sum that the
> anonymised raw data is not forthcoming . . .

I'm sure it won't be.

--
Cheers
Dave.

[F]

On 02/05/2016 10:47, Dave Liquorice wrote:

> Both Everest and Anglian employ dubious sales techniques. The
> "discounts" are not really real, they fiddle the figures by have
> stupidly high list prices, and sail very close to the wind on how
> those list prices qualify for being used as the discount reference.

We had someone round a couple of years ago to quote for some blinds. He
came up with a price but as soon as I said they were too expensive he
was 'able to offer' a 30% reduction 'if you order today'. I told him to
go. If he wanted to rip me off to the extent of 30% then he wasn't going
to take up any more of my time.

Anglian and Everest had tried the same with me previously and got the
same response.

--
F

[charles]

In article <CvidnfILO5QOr7rK...@brightview.co.uk>,

and the point of the home visit is to assess how much you can afford to pay.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England

[bm]

"F" <news@nowhere> wrote in message
news:CvidnfILO5QOr7rK...@brightview.co.uk...

Yep, I also arsed them out.
When, as you say, they can offer you ~50% off just like that they're taking
the piss.
When you inform them of that they have no answer, still, maybe the OP should
just submit and be taken for a ride.

[moansalot2]

Had Albion do my windows a few years ago - afraid I could not recommend them
appalling job when i complained it turned out the installer had been made
customer relations/ supervisor - lot of help that was going to be !

Ended up short paying them



Regards,

Moansalot



"Theo" wrote in message news:5Nw*ZH...@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk...

inv...@invalid.invalid wrote:
> The local guy is; http://albionwindows.co.uk/
>
> albiion quoted approx 6,200, whereas Everest quoted approx 6,500
>
> I suppose both of them are quite reputable.
>
> What shall I do to decide, toss a coin? Is there really anything
> between them? whisky-dave seems happy with Everest.

Everest subcontract. That means it /is/ a local guy fitting your windows,
just you pay for the salesman and head office to waste your time. That
subcontractor is being paid a lot less.

Have you asked more than one local guy? There's likely to be a range in
pricing, and I would guess the one you have is at the top end.

My ballpark is a factor of 2 between Everest's initial quote and 'best'
price, and then 30% off down to the lowest 'local guy'.

Theo

[F]

And to measure.

I don't provide measurements for anything. That way, if it doesn't fit,
it's their fault not mine.

--
F

[tabb...@gmail.com]

Who's going to prove that made up comments were made up? How? I expect it's widespread in retail generally.

Anyway they're meaningless. Any going concern will have lots of customers, some of whom will be nice no matter how bad they typically are.

The op is just a Rodney.


NT

[tabb...@gmail.com]

On Monday, 2 May 2016 11:32:41 UTC+1, Dave Liquorice wrote:
> On Sat, 30 Apr 2016 10:41:38 +0100, RJH wrote:

> >> Everest boasts "Over 2 million happy customers" and "Over 50 years
> >> experience".

who says they're happy? the installers motivated to say so? the marketing dept?

> 40,000 customers/year, maybe, that's 100 jobs on *every* day of the
> year.
>
> "50 years of experience" in what? High pressure sales techinques or
> doing good installs of double glazing?
>
> >> Anglian say "We've more than a million customers and are proud
> that
> >> 95% would recommend us to their friends

says who?

> >> ... and 42% of our weekly sales are from returning customers
> buying
> >> more home improvements products from us"

does that mean the handles fail often?

Windows are normally for life. Yet 42% of customers are returners. What's going on with that?

> So the high pressure sales works in beating people into submission
> and getting them to buy "extras" in follow up calls.
>
> > They'd hardly say otherwise :-) I'd wager a small sum that the
> > anonymised raw data is not forthcoming . . .
>
> I'm sure it won't be.

If the data exists at all, what's the odds that companies are saying customers are happy when they're not?


NT

[0207]

replying to invalid, 0207 wrote:
Anglian Windows is the most unscrupulous firm ever! Avoid at all cost

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/uk-diy/windows-everest-vs-anglian-1125967-.htm

[Tim Watts]

On 05/03/17 01:14, 0207 wrote:
> replying to invalid, 0207 wrote:
> Anglian Windows is the most unscrupulous firm ever! Avoid at all cost
>

April 2016 - he's probably decided already.

Homeowners Hub - hijacking content from USENET since gawd knows when...

[tabb...@gmail.com]

On Sunday, 5 March 2017 01:14:04 UTC, 0207 wrote:
> replying to invalid, 0207 wrote:
> Anglian Windows is the most unscrupulous firm ever! Avoid at all cost

One could say something similar of the website you're using.

[Fredxxx]

On 05/03/2017 01:14, 0207 wrote:
> replying to invalid, 0207 wrote:
> Anglian Windows is the most unscrupulous firm ever! Avoid at all cost

This might assist you with posting to a newsgroup, albeit through a website:
https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1855

- If you are sending a reply to a message or a posting be sure you
summarize the original at the top of the message, or include just
enough text of the original to give a context.

[franz.s...@googlemail.com]

I hope you told them in advance that you will be filming or at least asked their permission on the day.

[Andrew]

On 31/12/2019 20:45, franz.s...@googlemail.com wrote:
> I hope you told them in advance that you will be filming or at least asked their permission on the day.
>

Filming what ?. Porn ??

[Brian Gaff (Sofa 2)]

These days its enough to ask before making public. Just like before you had
to have a bleep when calls were being recorded, not any more.
I record all my calls and simply delete the junk ones.
Brian

--
----- --
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...
bri...@blueyonder.co.uk
Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
<franz.s...@googlemail.com> wrote in message
news:059a4bd3-44f3-4992...@googlegroups.com...

[Brian Gaff (Sofa 2)]

Window Porn?
Hmm. I imagine most people these days will film some of what goes on at the
selling stage and when crucial work is going on for future ref purposes. Its
a whole new world out there and the folk trying to get the law to change
have an up hill struggle at the moment. It all hinges on what use is made of
any pictures or videos etc.

Brian

--
----- --
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...
bri...@blueyonder.co.uk
Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!

"Andrew" <Andrew9...@mybtinternet.com> wrote in message
news:qugda3$1h2j$1...@gioia.aioe.org...

[Brian Gaff (Sofa 2)]

All double glazing is a bit of a lottery, as the actual products mostly are
very good now, its the contractors who put them in who are often the
problem.

Brian

--
----- --
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...
bri...@blueyonder.co.uk
Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!

"Tim Streater" <timst...@greenbee.net> wrote in message
news:311220192251119297%timst...@greenbee.net...
>
> Why is anyone considering either of these outfits?
>
> --
> There's no obfuscated Perl contest because it's pointless.
>
> - Jeff Polk

[Bob Eager]

On Wed, 01 Jan 2020 11:29:11 +0000, Brian Gaff \(Sofa 2\) wrote:

> All double glazing is a bit of a lottery, as the actual products mostly
> are very good now, its the contractors who put them in who are often the
> problem.

That may be true, but...

I remember rejecting Anglia on the basis of a shoddy installation. In
their showroom.

--
My posts are my copyright and if @diy_forums or Home Owners' Hub
wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
*lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

[Roger Hayter]

Brian Gaff (Sofa 2) <bri...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:

> These days its enough to ask before making public. Just like before you had
> to have a bleep when calls were being recorded

This was purely because most implementations of recording devices were
made for the American market. There was no such rule here.

>, not any more.
> I record all my calls and simply delete the junk ones.
> Brian


--

Roger Hayter

[alan_m]

On 01/01/2020 11:29, Brian Gaff (Sofa 2) wrote:
> All double glazing is a bit of a lottery, as the actual products mostly are
> very good now, its the contractors who put them in who are often the
> problem.

+1
And its common to find a couple of double glazing vans parked in your
local "travellers" site overnight.


--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

[alan_m]

On 01/01/2020 14:06, Tim Streater wrote:

> We rejected them (and Everest) on the basis of their sales techniques
> and the poor range of offerings.

I too rejected one DG firm based on their sales method. Quote a high
price, then offer a discount if I signed within 24 hours followed by
daily phone calls sometimes offering further discounts. I also had some
negative selling where the salesman slags off the competition.

>
> Much better to find five or so local outfits, visit them all, select
> the three with whom you feel most comfortable to come and measure up
> and quote.
>

I was lucky, unbeknown to me my next door neighbour had employed a local
DG company the day I started looking for quotes. As my house is almost
identical to theirs I had a chance to watch them working and fully
inspect the finished product before I committed myself to employ the
same fensa accredited company.

With the bigger outfits you initially see a salesman who often just does
a rough measurement and shows the catalogues - perhaps with a few
representative samples. The detailed order comes after you have accepted
the quote when a "surveyor" does the real measurements and details which
glass/pattern/door furniture options. I got the impression that the big
outfits didn't want to waste too much time/money on the initial visit
knowing most people would go for 3 quotes especially if you give the
impression that you know something about what you are buying.



> Anyone seeking such improvements to their home should also do their
> homework, too.

[charles]

In article <h73pcv...@mid.individual.net>,
alan_m <ju...@admac.myzen.co.uk> wrote:

[Snip]

> knowing most people would go for 3 quotes

Following a burglary where my patio door was wrecked, I contacted a firm in
the local yellow pages who said they did repairs. Took one look and said
can't be repaired, we'll quote for a new one. I said fine, but my insurance
company need 3 quotes. No problem, they said, we can deal with that. A few
days later I received 3 quotes, all on different headed paper and all in
the same envelope. I found another firm who undercut all of their quotes,
by a significant margin.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England

"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle