New windows - do we trust a random man that came knocking?

[Martiniolives]

I dont know if im being overly suspicious. We moved in 5 years ago and do plan to get new windows fitted one day. We mentioned it in passing then lo and behold last week we get a knock at the door from anglian windows. A cold call, we did not contact them for a quote which just doesnt sit right with me. He produced ID and my husband gave him his details to get a quote sorted one day. They call today and say theyll come at 12 to do the quote. At about 11 i happened to look out our front window and a guy is smoking looking at our house. Turns out it was the guy to give the quote, he was very early. Its our first house, fist life. Is this normal? Why would a reputable company be knocking on doors randomly? AIBU to be suspicious?

I wouldn't go with one quote regardless of whether it was cold calling. You need to get at least three.

Do not use these people.!
If they were genuine and reputable they wouldn't need to knock your door for work

He probably only gets paid on commision. Anglian are much more expensive I believe. They'll be pushy as well! You know the old time limited offer 🙄. Get the quote by all means but compare it to other local companies.

Honestly I’d get multiple quotes - check what style / colour you actually want etc and make sure they’re quoting for what you need / want, not what they want to sell.

No.

I understood that "cold calling" was now illegal. Don't use them anyway,look at the reviews!! Speak to neighbours,get first hand experience, from someone who has had a good experience with double glazing fitters.

Absolutely. Were not in a place to do the work yet, will be part of our remortgage reno. And ill be getting quotes from local businesses. But on the whole i just find it so odd. Im a bit sus but husband says its perfectly normal for them to be cold calling.. hm. The guy seemed decent enough, was honest about some windows being new and fine and we agreed only one is necessary for now. Its a bay window but 7.5k!! Will def be shopping around when ready

I would not buy anything from someone who cold called to me - particularly something as expensive as windows. I know a man who runs a window company, he has a waiting list a mile long. No need to knock on doors. Standing outside your house smoking is not really professional either. Do not leave this man unattended in your house.

Anglian Windows have a terrible reputation. As others have said - get a quote from them if you like but get a couple of others

Be suspicious. Cancel any arrangement you have made.
'Anglian Windows' (name has been changed ) has a poor reputation anyway. Look on trustpilot at Anglian Home Improvements .

Lol yes exactly. Offered 3k off to book there and then - no thank you 🙄

No, I wouldn't use any company that still cold calls. I would also be very hesitant to use Anglian generally as they are known for hard sell tactics and misleading customers (and that goes for SafeStyle and Everest too which are part of the same group, although they won't make that clear).

Alternatively if you're suggesting the guy was only preteneding to be from Anglian then again, don't use him.

That's not necessarily true. We had a company knock on our door as they said they were putting new windows in locally. This is how some of the larger companies operate. I would say however that they can be very pushy and are expensive.

We didn't use the company but they were genuine.

I live in the NW which may be cheaper but I recently paid 8k for TWO huge bay windows which needed scaffolding, plus one small window.

Thats exactly my line of thinking

That's happened to me a couple of times, different companies knocking on the door, so I think it's normal.
We always get other quotes as well though. It's not just about the price - I'm also looking for the company that has what I want (some just try to sell you what they have) and who don't mind answering my questions.

personally I’d go local, and get reviews from people on your local area Facebook or neighbour app.

About 25 years ago I had a guy from a windows company come into my home, I literally couldn’t get rid of him, he kept saying he’d nearly finished but was there for two hours!! He was pushy to get me to sign, I said no I wasn’t signing anything before he left and the cheeky fucker told me I needed to get my husband back as he’d need to ask him to sign then if I wasn’t going to! I told him to leave at this point as I was going to call the police

We are south coast and it would need scaffolding too but thats good to know, thanks!

when we got ours DH wanted lots of quotes so he got Anglican.
I said the moment he made a phone call for a special deal but only if you signed there and then, I was done. He did exactly that.
Id get a recommendation.

No. If they’re looking for business, they’re probably not great. The good ones are always busy through referrals.

(Ditto builders who respond to posts on local Facebook pages, where poster says “can anyone recommend a builder” , and they jump in with “happy to pop round and give you a quote”. And everyone who actually is local knows not to touch them with a barge pole, but also knows they can’t write that online or the dodgy builder will find some way of scratching your car etc. or maybe that’s just our local twat. Also appreciate that is something unique to living in rural small town where everyone knows everyone. Except the newbies.)

Long story short - get a recommendation if possible. Or look for a local firm with a long trading history.

Anglian have always done door knocking. Get them to reduce quote by 50%.

Anglian is a legit company in the sense that he’s not trying to scam you. But the quote we had from them was very very expensive compared to the others we got.

No, I wouldn’t go with a big company that cold calls.

Ask for local recommendations from previous customers.

Get another few quotes, and research any company you plan to go with.

I wouldn't use a company that cold calls though, on the basis that good companies have enough business from word of mouth.

Go local 😊