Help 2 Buy Windows Anybody?

[Choccy21]

I came across a company called Help 2 Buy Windows. Basically you put a few details online to see if you qualify for free new Windows. All they asked for was a postcode and area. Not my personal circumstances such as income , date of birth etc.
Anyway, they emailed back to expect a call from them to ask a few more questions.
I’ve received a few calls that I’ve missed from them over the last week or so.

Is this a con? Our house is over 20 years old and does need new double glazing but we can’t afford it right now.
We’re a working family that own a house. Surely were not entitled to free new windows?!
I don’t want to return their calls to get pushed into having a double glazing salesman come over to try to sell us new windows.
I’ve read a few reviews that seem rather mixed on trust pilot.
They claim this isn’t a government backed scheme , so who would pay for it?

I suspect they use this strategy to get people to contact them. Details are very light on where the fund comes from and how big it is.

Expect the hard sell and always get three like-for-like quotes before you go ahead.

Take a look at their Trustpilot reviews.

A lot of suspiciously similar 5 star ones and the 1 star ones make interesting reading.

Yes, I’d always get three quotes for a big job for multiple windows and doors. The house is only 20 odd years old but a lot of the windows need replacing. We expect to live here for another five years atleast, so might have to look into it.
I wouldn’t bother going to the big companies like Everest or Anglian, however Safestyle say they beat any written quote. I did see some bad press with them however.

There are lots of local companies, although many of them probably wouldn’t offer finance.

Again, I’m suspicious that any company would offer free windows to people who are in full time employment and own their own property.

Safe style are awful. They don’t quote unless both you and your husband are there and then pressure you to sign then and there. Local firms are better and cheaper

Just had some experience with H2B Windows.

I have so far been extremely pleased with what they are doing. We had already received a few quotes from inferior companies (basically, ones we thought we could afford - none of those companies would look at our back door due to its odd size though). H2BWindows allocate a firm from their books based on strict criteria.

These turned out to be a premium company making bespoke windows and doors - German Quality, and we initailly thought we had bitten off more than we can chew, however once they had discounted via FENSA and H2B the deal ended up being way better than the previous companies AND included the bespoke back door.

We were blown away with this deal which ended up being 2/3rds knocked off their retail cost. (initial £29k - down to £12.8k)

We are going ahead and i'll let you know how it all ended up...

Oh lordy, where to start?

1. All UPVC Composite doors are bespoke! Most if not all companies can quote any size.
2. 2/3rds knocked off 29k is just under 10k
3. FENSA doesn't do discounts - they are a certification company.
4. "I have so far been extremely pleased with what they are doing." They've not done anything yet except quote you - hardly a recommendation is it?
5. "H2BWindows allocate a firm from their books based on strict criteria" - No, they give their sales lead to whoever will pay them for it.
6. 12k for how many Windows and doors?? That's one HELL of a lot of money for plastic windows.
7. "German quality" - So not actual German windows, knockoffs? How do you know what German Quality windows are?
8. This is a zombee thread.

This has all the Hallmarks of a spam post, no doubt by someone with a financial interest in the company who wants to sweeten this thread when people google the company. A bit like their Trust pilot reviews?

To anyone landing here Googling this company here is what they actually are:-

They harvest people's details and then sell them on to installation companies for a tidy profit and walk away - you will be paying the referral fee of course in the price. They say they have a fund and to qualify you need to be 'Single Parent Homeowners, with disabled or critically ill children under the age of 18, Employed or self employed with a low income under £10,000' but don't actually say how much limited funding there is or even has been - could be £100, who knows? Small print here:- www.help2buyscheme.co.uk/facts/

Don't waste your time with these guys - you'll always get it cheaper going to a local installer and get at least 3 quotes if you're unsure what a fair price is.

H2B Windows Limited is a company registered in the UK. Their latest financial accounts show they have ZERO employees and -ve money. See find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11424913/filing-history

Well thanks for such a negative perspective.
to start, you have absolutely no idea where I live, no idea what kind of order I have placed and no idea whom we have contacted and. I idea of the size of our house. It’s a rather large assumption that we have paid over the odds for a product that

a) is A+ rated German windows.
b) none of the 3x local companies would give us a bespoke door.
c) 30 years experience.
d) 10 point locking system.
e) finance that was within reach.

all these were important factors to us and for that we were grateful. I’m not that nieive and I had done a lot of research into the pitfalls of ropey window companies, dodgy deals and too good to be true deals. Yes I don’t believe for one moment that the windows were worth £30k - all that crap and jargon I can deal with, but irregardless we were very very happy with the final quote.

The company weren’t the cheapest but we felt they offer a far far superior service than the 3 companies we had previously contacted and got quotes for, and for that I feel that we have received a good service from H2B windows. If they take a cut good luck to them. They found us an excellent company at a price we are prepared to accept. They have done us a good service hence my post declaring to give them the benefit of the doubt.

I'm not sure you can assert that they've 'given you a good service' if you haven't actually had any windows yet.

I know someone who's currently in prison for fraud. He's a very nice man who sold very smart looking building works that never materialised. His 'service' was lovely until it wasn't. I bet his customers just loved him and the company he worked for.

Not saying your lot are fraudsters,just that you can't possibly know how good their windows are based on some sales blurb and a nice sales person. The proof of the pudding and all that.

www.exclusiveglazing.com/

not a hint of fraud, insolvency or name change in Conpanies House. If anyone is wanting to dig about and find a tranche of negative reviews I’m all ears. Haven’t paid a dime yet. 70mm Dessian /REHAU windows and doors.

you’re very welcome. I don’t work for them either. I’m just happy with the deal I’ve got from H2B. I posted on here to try and help others who are in the same situation as we are and don’t want to be ripped off by safestyle or some other tinpot company

Let me reiterate what Help2Buy windows actually are not.

the are not a window company
they don’t sell windows

what they do though is very similar to an insurance broker or a travel agent. Those people find you a tailored service that suits your requirement yes ? I think that’s fine. I also think it’s nieive to think they do that for free (see also car insurance compare companies / any company that pays to be at the top of Google searches etc. pretty sure most of us have used st least one of these.

I have no affinity to Help2Buy I don’t work for them and I don’t expect them to please everyone all the time.

All I can state is that the job they have done ie find me a decent window company (exclusiveglazing) that have very high TP ratings (again I’m aware that I need to take this with a pinch of salt) and solid experience with no issues on CompaniesHouse for at least 5 years that gave us a quote that was superior to 3 other is totally fine with me.

I also don’t work for exclusive glazing either although I should at this rate!!

i await any negative reviews of the window company

First thing that appears on their website:- "Help 2 Buy Windows™, the UK’s #1 Double Glazing Installer" Makes you think they install Windows?

Next, 'complete the funding checker' Enter your postcode then the following is displayed with a lovely animation show in real time the checks they're making: -

Checking postcode
Checking local council
Checking grants
Checking funding options
Checking for discounts
Checking availability

Apart from checking postcode, the rest is all bollocks. How do I know? I looked at the traffic to the internet from their webpage once you hit the 'Check' button. All it does is check you've entered a valid postcode and they cover your postcode. I know because I looked at the traffic with their servers. It's not checking local council, grants, funding options at all. Certainly not in real-time as their animation suggests.

The whole site is setup to give you the impression they dish out grants (free money?) to have nice new Windows installed. Where all they're really doing is generating sales leads. Maybe they've given out 'grants' but they're very shy about saying how many or how much money they have put towards them.

As for the installers they 'recommend' I cannot comment. I'd hope they're decent companies just trying to get new business.

This kind of setup really 'gets my goat'.

This company quoted me £24,000 for 12 windows and a door. Tried to pressure me to sign there and then for a discounted price of £14,000. I decided to purchase them from an online supplier for a total cost of £5,000. My son and I installed them ourselves and they look fantastic.