Double glazing company won't talk to wife unless husband is present?

[PrettyPickle]

Just been at my friends house and there was a knock at the door. It was a young lad canvassing for work for a double glazing firm. My mate is interested in having a couple of windows replaced and would be interested in a quote. The young lad asked when her husband would be home and she explained he worked away from home and she dealt with all stuff like this.

He explained that the husband had to be present. She asked why as the house is in her name only and has no mortgage and she would be paying for the windows in cash (not finance) from her money, not her husbands. She explained it was her 2nd marriage and he rented his home out. Well my mind was boggling about why she should have to share this info.

The young lad said he understood but his guidance was that the husband had to be present to allow it to progress. She asked why her husband, why not the three adult kids who also lived in the home and actually had a bigger stake in it as its their inheritance. He seemed perplexed but said that is how it works. My mate thanked him and said that she understood he had to follow the rules so thanks but no thanks.

Apparently this has happened before and whilst she would discuss it with her husband as part of their daily life, she didn't need him to be present, it was her decision, not his.

10 minutes later he returned saying he had explained to the office and they said it would be OK as it was all her property, so they agreed to ring at 4pm. My friend said if they brought up the subject of her husband needing to be present she would not be happy.

4pm came, someone rang and they said her husband had to be present. She explained the earlier conversation and that her husband had no say in the house (they have this legally tied up as they both have kids from a previous marriage) but he was adamant that they could not attend without her husband being present.

Now we both would get this to a certain extent if he was an owner of the property or was contributing to the home improvements but he is not.

Vote:

YANBU for refusing to have her husband present
YABU for her not understanding her husband needed to be present

I had this from a similar company, it’s so you don’t agree (when pressured by hard sale) then the other party comes home and says no as they weren’t present when it’s discussed. I told them they weren’t welcome to my business and found a local independent firm that were likely half the price.

Actually, even if you are both there they sometimes use other tac tics to discourage you from having thinking time.

We once arranged for someone to come in to discuss a new, double glazed patio door. We were both present. He explained what was available and what it might cost and we said we were interested but wanted to think about it. True. He then made up some cock and bull story about how much we could save if we had it done at the same time as someone else in the neighborhood, made a phone call and then said we were in luck as there was such a case and if we signed up today we could get the special price. We didn't believe him for a moment and ended the conversation.

I don't think it's a sexist husband thing, it's a partner thing. We had a national company round for a quote once and I said I had an hour and then I had to go out as I had an appointment. After the hour, we were still going and I said I needed to leave but my husband would carry on and sign the paperwork. The salesperson then got really weird and wouldn't deal with my husband on his own. He kept saying he needed both of us there or he couldn't proceed with the deal he'd offered us. He almost wouldn't let me out of my own door and he made it really awkward.
In the end we told him he'd lost a £10k sale and to bugger off. We used a local company instead and they were great (and cheaper).

This happened to me. I own my own house outright. I married my ex after I bought it and he had no legal or financial interest in the property because subsequently made a will leaving it to my children. I needed a new front door and they refused to visit unless my husband was present. I kept explaining I was sole legal owner and decision maker and all the bills were in my name! They said “but the man of the house still has to agree he likes what you’ve chosen and the price!”

I told them to eff off back to the 1950s and found another local firm who didn’t behave like this.

I’d only use a company that was recommended and not someone who knocks on the door. It’s a good way to sack this sales men off anyway.

Of the things that never happened, this never happened the most.

They ideally want both people present. Otherwise they can just say after a long spiel that they want to speak to the other. It's not just 'husband' I don't think?

I'd just say what makes you think I have one? God knows why she gave so much personal info to this unfortunate. Who's clearly somewhat slow witted.

Your “friend” sounds pretty daft. Who in their right mind even entertains a conversation after statements like that are made. It’s 2026 - not every woman has a husband - some of them have a wife. Then what - would they have spoken with her if her wife was present. What if she was single, would they not want to speak to her at all ? How utterly ridiculous.

Plenty of businesses out there who don’t have ridiculous policies like this.

Asking for all the owners being present is ok-ish. But specifying husband and wife, nope.

I've had this twice recently, once was yesterday in fact, and the guy was very down to earth so I asked why this was.

He explained it is down to new rules/legislation when door to door canvassing and that both homeowners need to be there in-person when going ahead with quotes or proceeding with work over £39 (I'm sure he said!) to protect people from being bullied into big ticket purchases by unscrupulous/rogue companies. I did say that these unscrupulous companies would just ignore these rules and continue regardless but he said that's what sets them apart and stops them getting complaints to Trading Standards etc and stopped from being able to go round the doors, as they are a big company. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Ask the company to put it in writing then sue them for sex discrimination

What do they do if you don't have a husband?

To be fair, I had this when I was quoting for loft insulation (didn't realise it was spray foam until the 'surveyor' arrived). He insisted my husband be home - I told him I had a Wife, not a Husband and I pay the mortgage and I'll be paying for the works. He still insisted both parties be present.... Well, until he legged it once I mentioned I was an actual surveyor and spray foam isn't coming anywhere near my house.
*ended up doing the job myself anyway because I couldn't be arsed with that nonsense again.

I wouldn’t engage with this company and tell them I’m not interested.

Anglian windows rep spent over 5 hours in our house. We now use a small local company. They come in, send us a quote, we say yes or no, job done. Any company that told me my husband had to be present can piss off.

Also, your friend has given away an awful amount of information about herself 😧

Don't buy at the door and find a company that doesn't play silly selling games!

What happens if there is no husband? They won't be able to sell anything! For goodness sake.

Just wierd. She started talking about all her private financial stuff with a cold caller?

I know that some glazing companies use cold call tactics. But who actually starts telling a 'young lad' all that information?

I’d ask around local companies. If they have salesmen, they might do a heavy sell. We had that once. Replaced windows twice and went with a local company who was a lot cheaper and not pushy at all.

I would have told him to feck the feck off with his bull shite out of date polices, fine elsewhere and rated them for this on social media.
It absolutely boils my piss.
Once when one of my children was in A&E the consultant (male) turned his back on me and spoke directly to my husband- my husband told him he should really involve me in the conversation as I am a medic and he wasn't and doesn't understand the jargon.
He got short shift from me.

It's a sexist husband thing because they assumed
a) she had a partner
b) the partner was a man
c) they were married
d) that he co-owned the house

As pps have said, it's a bullying sales technique either way but the only part they actually need the answer to is d) so they should reframe the question and ask what they actually need to know, something like "are you the sole owner or is there a joint tenant, if so we need them to be available when we provide our quote."

Rather than putting people's backs up asking invasive questions that aren't relevant.

And, of course, when someone says "no" (including "no, i dont need to ask anyone else because ill be the sole person paying for it") they should accept it!

So just say you don’t have a husband

This happened to me to. A fella from the local glazing office knocked the door. We had been discussing getting a quote so I told him I was interested etc and the fella said he wanted to arrange for a time when my husband was home. I told him I didn’t know but was happy for him to give me a quote. He refused. I took offence and told him I’d look elsewhere and laughed him out the door. It was obvious he didn’t think I could make a decision alone. His loss

I had the same issue with Hilary’s blinds a few years ago. I used a lovely local company in the end.

If this actually happened, why would your friend a) engage with a cold caller and b) give a complete stranger so much information about herself/husband/finances?