Buyer Beware:
Double-glazing adverts in the UK

I need to be careful on this page and not to be too specific, just in case I rattle someone's cage and find myself under threat of litigation. For the same reason I should make it clear that the following includes hearsay and purely personal opinions. The success or otherwise of an advert and its message can be measured simply by how many 'leads' (enquiries) the advertiser gets from it and, as far as 'direct selling' operations are concerned, how many salesmen elbow their way into homes. The more leads pulled in and the salesmen in homes, the more sales made, simple!

There seems to be a trend in our industry at the moment for advertisers to shout increasingly louder and louder than their competitors in their quest for a larger share of the market and to satisfy their hunger for increased sales. This silly spiral has resulted in a rash of big, brash and often downright ridiculous (and often barely legal) variations on the theme, ‘We are the cheapest - so cheap in fact we are virtually giving it away, but only this week, offer ends...’. This sort of advertising message is designed to appeal to human greed, and in reality these advertisers don't necessarily offer the best or even among the best deals around, but the pitch does its job if it pulls in the leads . As long as the text in the advert is legal, it doesn’t matter to them what claims they make, as long as they get the volumes of leads and they have enough highly trained salesmen to persuade you to sign up. 

Here is a scam that a customer of mine told me about:
She replied to an advert for 'Seven windows, with as many openers as you like, fully fitted, for only £XXX'. The salesman arrived at the front door and my customer said something like, ‘Before you come in, what is the catch? Because if there is a catch I am not interested’, to which the salesman replied, ‘There is absolutely no catch whatsoever, madam’, and he was shown in. The salesman proceeded to explain how they beat competitors’ prices: the windows on this offer were made from recycled plastic, they would start to go discolour and go yellow in 4-5 years, the locks fitted were very basic and not at all secure, the double-glazing air gap was the narrowest, etc., etc.

My customer was horrified at this description and told me she would not have had the windows in her house if she were being given them free! When she said as much to the salesperson, his reply went something like, ‘Ah, if you are really looking for quality you will want our ‘premier’ range of windows. I will quote you for those, and they will be a lot more expensive of course, with all of their superior features, blah, blah, blah’.

So watch out for these sorts of scams, because the catch may be in what is not said in the advert as much as in what is said and how it is phrased. Same goes for being stopped by a canvasser in the street or in shops. Recently as I was leaving a DIY store and about to pass one such obstacle the lady in front of me glanced a flicker of interest at the canvasser and her little display. The canvasser pounced (very nicely) and the lady asked if the company would do just one window at a time, as that's what she wanted. I dragged my feet and listened in: an emphatic ‘YES, no problem’. Then, after the lady's name and address and details had been taken, the canvasser added, ‘Oh, I forgot, I think our minimum is two windows, and we have a special offer on at the moment where you buy two and get another two more free, but our rep. will explain all that.’

And pigs might fly! The canvasser will get his/her ‘tenner’ or so for getting that lead and for putting another salesperson’s bum on another punter’s seat. So, just how do you choose whom to have round to give you a quote? Well, be realistic and don't expect 'something for nothing', because it's almost a certainty that you won't get it! Top of my list would actually be a business of local repute, preferably one recommended to me by someone I know and whose judgment I trust and who vouches for having had genuine quality of product and service and overall real value for money. It is so easy to be taken for a ride and, remember, your cash is easier to spend than it was to save!

Further reading about buying double glazing:
Double-glazing salespeople - can I believe them?
Double glazing, the best and worst ways to pay for it
PVC-U double-glazing quality and strength - the ONE most important thing to look for