Anglian Windows

ruined my home

Updated Monday, 21st November 2005.  See below for further updates.

Why do I state that ?  If you wish to know, please read on.  

I contacted Anglian Windows during 2004 and was visited by the local area representative.  He was a lied to me, but as you'll find out later, that's not unusual for Anglian staff.

He said that a nice feature was the front door area of my house and it was important that this was preserved.  He recommended that the two windows either side of the door be retained and just the door and window glass be replaced.  I was in agreement with this.

We subsequently agreed on various handles etc and then came to choosing a door.  He produced a book which contained various pictures which, unfortunately were only the size of a matchbox.  He recommended one particular door and stated that I could get it at a discounted price because of the purchase of a large quantity of windows.  He stated that it was a high quality door which would compliment the front door area.  I agreed to that door because of what the salesman said.

I paid a deposit and was assured that I would not have to pay anything further until the windows were fitted to my satisfaction.  Hah, that's a laugh.

 Now we get to where things started to go wrong.

One, the salesman had lied, the door was a cheap piece of crap which looks like a piece of lego.  The paneling is cheap moulding which looks appalling.  Its pressed out of one sheet of plastic and looks really cheap.  This is the door that the salesman told me was high quality.

Would you buy a cheap crappy tacky looking door like that, neither would I if I'd known what it was like.

Two, the incompetent fitters that made Anglian's first visit to my home ripped out the two side windows that I had agreed with the salesman to retain. Not only that, but while pulling out the window frames which should have stayed in, they accidentally demolished the exterior wall beneath the window. 

Three, the incompetent fitters repaired the damaged external wall by squirting sealing foam onto the bricks and mortar and using it like a glue.

Four, after external pointing of the wall, there were several areas where the foam was still visible between the bricks.

Five, Anglian agreed to attend and complete the installation in 3 days.  I was promised that 2 teams of fitters would attend to ensure that the work was completed on schedule.  Anglian lied again, and sent only one team.  As a consequence, they failed to complete the work within the agreed time of 3 days.

Six, I had to take further time off work to facilitate a team to return to my home to complete the work.

Seven, the team failed to turn up on time despite me taking time off work and when they did finally arrive they hadn't enough time to complete the remaining work.

Eight, back to the two incompetent fitters who attended originally and knocked down the wall.  You would think that things could not get any worse would you ?  Well, how about being so stupid as to mix concrete upon someone's tarmac drive and then leave it to set.  What, you think no-one could be that stupid ?

Oh yes, Anglian fitters can.  Sure enough, they mixed concrete on my drive and left it to set.  Now you see the hosepipe in the picture, they'd actually asked me to make sure the pipe was working so that they could access water for mixing concrete and plaster.  But did they have enough common sense to use the hosepipe to wash away the cement before it set ?  No prizes for guessing the answer to that one.

So now we've established the competency of Anglian staff.  Could things get worse, you bet.  Not only do they mix concrete on my drive and leave it to set, they do it twice.  You don't believe me ?

Nine, yes, not only did they mix a further lot of cement on the drive right outside my front door, they also mixed it on the decorative concrete step leading to the door.

Ten, you would think that would be enough to contend with but no, they also spilt cement off their shovel and left that too.

Eleven, could they be any more incompetent ?  Oh yes, they left the skirting board projecting over one inch out from the wall.

Twelve, how about spilling sealant all over the floor and then treading in it and walking all over your hall carpet.  Oh yes, they did that too.

Thirteen, you wouldn't think that when they discovered sealant on their shoes they would use your garden wall to scrape it off and leave it stuck there would you ?  Well, Anglian can.

Fourteen, at the end of every window sill on the outside, they removed the little quarter brick and replaced it with a hugh dollop of cement.  Did it look pretty, did it not.

Fifteen, what about dropping keys to your new windows out in the street for anyone passing to pick up, Anglian can.

Sixteen, instead of carefully scoring wallpaper with a knife so things could be removed without necessitating redecoration is very careless.  They wouldn't do that would they ?

Oh yes they would.  In fact, they were very good at that.

I guess I won't get away without decorating there then !

Eventually, after numerous complaints I got a visit from a Mr Haycock, one of the firms management from their Sheffield depot.  He was appalled at the lousy workmanship.  Good on you Mr Haycock, but unfortunately at Anglian Windows no one else shares your views.

Seventeen, we now move into eight months of return visits by Anglian staff trying to put things right.  Eight months I hear you ask.  Yes, that's correct, that's how long it took the incompetent fitters at Anglian to get things finished.

Eighteen, now what did Anglian do while their staff are returning time after time to put things right ?  How about hassling me for payment ?  Yep, they did that sure enough.  Despite knowing that the salesman had said that I didn't have to pay until everything was finished to my satisfaction they hounded and harassed me for payment until I was ill.

Nineteen, but they wouldn't turn to deceit would they ?  Who, Anglian, said with shocked voice.  Sure they would.  One one occasion when the fitters came to do yet further repairs they conned my wife into signing a form stating that all the repairs had been completed satisfactorily.  And how did they do that ?  They told her that it was their time sheet.

Twenty, remember the wall they knocked down and patched up with foam ?  Well they eventually pulled it down and repaired it with mortar.  But is it OK now ?  Come on, we are talking about Anglian Windows here !  This little picture below shows the wall to the left of the door.  It was not pulled down by Anglian and looks in decent condition.

Now have a look at the wall to the right of the door.  This one was pulled down by Anglian.  Can you spot the difference ?

Obviously, Master Craftsmen at work.  I think not.  Just the usual incompetent Anglian staff.  The next picture was taken close up to show you that it wasn't just their pointing skills that were lacking.  They managed to chip the bricks in numerous places.  Despite the picture being slightly out of focus because the digital camera did not have any macro facilities you can clearly see three large chips to the bricks, one on the top right brick, one to the left of the centre brick and one to the top left corner of the bottom right brick.  This chip was so severe that it filled with mortar when the fitter was pointing the bricks.

The picture below shows another chip to the top right of the centre brick.  

The picture below shows further incompetence.

So, does it end there ?  Not on your Nelly, not with this incompetent cowboy outfit.  I received a visit from a Mr Hilson and his assistant (another member of Anglian management from Sheffield) who wanted to resolve matters.  Because I was outnumbered I asked him if he objected to me tape recording our conversation.  He stated that he did not object.  Add to this the fact that my son was working on college work upstairs and could hear the entire conversation.  We discussed the issues involved and he offered to ensure that the remaining outstanding pieces of work were completed promptly.  He then offered to deduct £500 off my £5000 bill because of the damage caused by Anglian to my property.  He admitted to me that £500 did not cover the damage caused but said that was all he was allowed to offer.  Despite this, we parted amicably and he assured me that he would arrange for the outstanding work to be completed.  He didn't.  Instead he returned to his bosses and lied.  He told them that I had refused to allow the outstanding work to be completed.  I am now being taken to Court.

Well, that about sums up my experience with Anglian Windows.  My advice to anyone who is thinking of having Anglian Windows fit replacement windows is, DON'T.

Update:

This week I had a visit from Steve Hoadley, the divisional operations manager at the Anglian head office in Norwich.

Did he come to offer an apology for the companies poor workmanship ?  NO.

Did he come to offer an apology for the inconvenience and upset his company has caused me and my family ?  NO.

Did he come to make a realistic offer to settle our ongoing dispute ?  NO.

So what did he trail all the way from Norwich for ?   TO BULLY ME.  Yes, that's right, he came to bully me.

He firstly told me that his solicitors had informed him that it was illegal for a serving police officer to have a debt and he was therefore going to report me to my Chief Constable.  Well Mr Hoadley, I think that everyone reading this knows exactly how good your customer care skills are.

But Mr Hoadley wasn't finished there.  He told me that his solicitors had also told him that my comments above are libelous.  So what is he going to do about it ?  He's going to write to the Chief Constable and complain about me again.

Well Mr Hoadley, can you ask your solicitors to tell me why telling the truth, and supporting that with photographs, is libelous ?

Oh, and one more thing Mr Hoadley, can you tell me why you didn't offer to pay the £9,500 that I am claiming from Anglian Windows in my Counter-Claim I have registered with the County Court ?  yet you can afford to drive a small red sports car that probably cost you a hundred grand ? 

So Mr Hoadley, what shall I do in response to your bullying ?  To begin with, I have fastened a notice to my shinny new door, the one the salesman said was high quality, remember ?  The notice states that the Anglian Windows salesman told me that the door was high quality.  It also states that the cement on my doorstep and drive was left there by Anglian fitters.  Now before you further complain of libel, I am only stating the truth.

Further update:

I thought that I'd post a few more pictures showing the quality of Anglian fitters skills.  The next 4 pictures show how they neatly cut the joints in my bay window, and lined them up with the window cill joints.  The last 2 pictures show you what they did to the bedroom.

I'll post a few more pictures later.  By the way, if anyone wants to ring Mr Steve Hoadley and ask him about the quality they will get from Anglian Windows, his mobile number is  07711 898845.

I'd like to thank everyone who has responded by posting their experiences of Anglian on my Guest Book.  They obviously have a lot to answer for, and I, for one, am not going to let go of this.

I want to create a portfolio of all the people I can find who have suffered at the hands of Anglian AND who are prepared to be included in my portfolio.  Once I have got sufficient damming evidence I intend to tout the portfolio round all the national newspapers and television companies I can find.  I want this to go public BIG TIME.

ps. Your email address isn't revealed but I do need it to contact you.

Well, today I had a second visit from Mr Hoadley at Anglian Windows.  He came to make a derogatory offer of compensation but also demanded the removal of Anglian Windows from this website so I sent him away.  Oh, by the way, he came all the way up from Norwich in his fancy little sports car again.

The hearing was held in County Court this week and I won on a number of counts, unfortunately compensation was less than expected.  This was a combination of 2 things, one, a judge who had no idea as to what it costs to put things right and two, a report from a loss adjuster paid for by Anglian who estimated repair costs at far less than realistic sums.  Well District Judge Glentworth, can you please tell me where I can get a tarmac company to repair 3 sections of my drive for £600 ?  

What was interesting though, somewhere above I make mention of a visit from a Mr Hilson from the Sheffield branch. Following his visit I received the below letter from Anglian's solicitors which alleges that I refused permission for Anglian to return to my home. In Court yesterday both Anglian's solicitors and Hilson stated categorically that he did not in fact say that to the solicitors. Now correct me if I am wrong, but the solicitors clearly state that in the letter. If Hilson did not say it, then have not the solicitors made it up ?  And if they have stated something not based upon true fact, then is it not a lie ?

Clearly then, Rogers and Norton solicitors in Norwich are prepared to write letters to customers containing untruths of their own fabrication in order to advantage Anglian Windows. If you are considering using Anglian Windows on your property, not only consider the damage you may well end up with, but also consider what their solicitors are prepared to do.

What about discrediting you in Court ?  Oh yes, they had a go at that too. Firstly, they suggested that I was taking the court action because I did not have funds to pay for the windows. Anyone with a reasonable amount of common sense would assume I was taking action because of all the damage caused by Anglian, wouldn't they ?  After that, they reverted back to the above mentioned visit from Hilson and alleged that I threw him off the premises. Well listen to the end of our conversation, does it sound like I threw him off the premises ?

Click here to hear the end of the conversation.

And finally, if we have any solicitors out there who have had a bad experience with a double glazing firm, can you please tell me if it is accepted practice for a solicitor to write letters they have made up, and if not, can the Law Society do anything about it. Also, is it acceptable for the solicitor and witnesses to speak with the judge privately before the court case commences ?

When we went in to court I was in front followed by the solicitor and then Hilson. As we walked in the room I presumed that Mrs Glentworth (the judge) did not know either of the other two, just as I did not know her. However, the very first words that she spoke to me as we walked into the room were, "It would be best if you sat there Mr Turton."  Now I know that she didn't know me, so I can only assume that she knew the other two. How come ?

Well, its now well over a month since I got my letter from Court stating that the outstanding balance I owed Anglian had been paid.

Have they contacted me to arrange the outstanding repair work that they are aware needs doing, NO.

Am I surprised, NO.

Have they sent me a receipt for the money, NO.

Have they sent me the relevant paper-work and guarantees they are obliged to send me, NO.

So, if you are thinking of using Anglian Windows on your property, here is what you should expect from them:

1. Their sales staff use high pressure sales techniques to push you into buying from them.

2. Their sales staff may lie to you, mine did.

3. They will likely use unskilled fitters on your property, they did with me.

4. There is every likelihood that they will cause severe damage to your property, they did to mine.

5. They will fight against compensating you for that damage.

6. They will happily pay vast amounts to Load Adjusters and Solicitors rather than pay a reasonable sum to yourself to compensate you for the damage they cause.

7. When you do eventually go to court their solicitors will lie.

8. Their solicitors will also do everything they can to discredit you in court.

9. After the matter has been dealt with in court they will refuse to comply with their obligations, they will fail to rectify outstanding faults that they are aware of and they will also fail to supply you with all the necessary paperwork.

I was just searching for more dirt on Anglian Windows and I discovered that someone has stolen my photographs and used them on their own site.  I don't know if the offender is another dissatisfied customer or maybe another double glazing fitter but whoever you are, you can have as many pictures as you want, free of charge.  If you want to see this site click on the link below . . . . .

www.doubleglazing.cowboys.co.uk

Update: November 2005.

Well, after waiting many months Anglian have finally put right the faults that were left over and they've even sent my guarantee. 

Now, when we went to court back in the summer Anglian windows chose to use Hilson, you remember, the one from Sheffield.  Well, they chose to use him as an expert witness.  Not about double glazing which is his job, no, they used him as en expert witness in concrete.  Yes, that's right, he stood up on oath and told the Judge that in his expert opinion the concrete that had been spilt on my step and drive would fade away within 12 to 18 months.  I presume that he meant that it would completely disappear or fade so much that it would be almost invisible..  How could he say this, because he's an expert on concrete.

Now Hilson, I somehow suspect you are a lying prat, why do I think that ?  Well you email me your qualifications in concrete and I'll retract what I've said and apologise into the bargain, but I bet you won't.  But in the meantime, I like most of the country think you are a f***ing big liar, not only that, you are a liar who lied in Court.  And why do I say this ?  Well, its now 21 months since your employees spilt concrete on my steps and path, and guess what,

It hasn't faded one little bit.

Hilson, you are a liar, and just to make sure that everyone who searches your name on the internet will find out that you are a liar, I've added your surname to the key words I submit on a regular basis to all the search engines. 

Update April 2007.

Guess what, just to prove how stupid they are at Anglian, one of their telesales staff rang me this week to ask if I wanted any more work doing.  Don't you just love it when useless companies make fools of themselves.  Well, to the jerk who rang me, thanks for making my day you idiot.

And if that's not funny enough, today I received the following poster ......

Back to my Homepage