# Safestyle windows - are they desperate for business?



## Karcsi (Mar 6, 2003)

Submitted a request for a quote online at 8.50 tonight. Less than 3 minutes later they are telephoning me asking to arrange a visit - 8pm tomorrow night. Are they desperate or what?

Has anyone used them before? I'm planning on replacing 6 largish windows, a patio door, and two outside doors. What should I expect the damage to be? I expect in the region of Â£4-5k.


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## whirlypig (Feb 20, 2003)

We asked around about two years back and there were 2 firms that we were told to steer well clear of, Safestyle and one other who's name I can't remember. There were some concerns about the pressure sales tactics and shoddy workmanship, however they could be a whole lot better now :roll:

We went with Coral Windows (Bradford based) but I couldn't recommend them either; good price, good workmanship, just a shame they didn't finish the job and then keep fobbing us off.


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## che6mw (Nov 13, 2003)

if you've a whole day to waste then invite them round!

He started with the chit chat to get himself friendly with us but when he found out i trade commodities he kept asking for precious metal and gold investment advice and just wouldn't drop it. We had to get quite shirty with him to actually move on to what he had to sell.

The demo bit was good for a laugh too. After ages of yabbering on about the windows he brought two examples out from the car. The "super-amazing" version was better packaged than anything you'd find in a bank vault and came out absolutely pristine. He then brought the "normal" version out. To all intents and purposes it looked like the same window except it'd been dropped from 1000miles up, driven over, dragged through hedges and made grubby. A cunning ploy, but way over done.

When he came to quote we thanked him and said we'd a couple of local firms coming round to give us quotes too but the git wouldn't budge. He kept saying "what would it take to get you to sign today" and we kept saying "nothing, we don't sign for anything until we've researched fully and it is just unfortunate you came round first". We sat in silence for about 10 mins as he waved a pen at us!!!

Can totally understand how they pressurise people in to signing. Just found it funny myself as don't get intimidated by anyone.


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## Karcsi (Mar 6, 2003)

Thanks. Oh dear. Thought there would be a reason for their eagerness!

That's the thing with most of these companies; unless you carefully inspect their work while their are doing it, you will never get them back to sort anything out.

I'm going to get some quotes for a few national companies and a few local ones.


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## Karcsi (Mar 6, 2003)

che6mw said:


> if you've a whole day to waste then invite them round!
> 
> .......
> 
> Can totally understand how they pressurise people in to signing. Just found it funny myself as don't get intimidated by anyone.


Thanks. That's what I hate about all these companies. I want a sodding quote not a three ringed circus act! I've dealt with zenith windows before - well, their guttering people and then the garage door salesmen. They take hours for something that should only take half an hour. The garage door guy was a complete plonker - he had no idea what he was selling, but wanted about 7 grand for a simple up and over! When I told him he was in cloud cockoo land, he just said "that is the price". When I told him no thank you and showed him the door, he was quite put out for spending so much time with me. Sorry, I said, but if you insist on continuing to quote silling prices.


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## Johnnywb (May 31, 2006)

I'm no expert, but i bet you'll be able to beat them down a hell of a lot from their first offer, just by going, 'ooh staybrite were a lot cheaper than that' etc!!


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## BreTT (Oct 30, 2002)

My brother used to sell DG (poor bugger) - the company he worked for could go to 50-60% off the first price quoted and still make a decent margin. I'm not saying you'll be able to get them that far down, but I expect there will be plenty of fat in the deal.


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## Karcsi (Mar 6, 2003)

Thanks peeps.

I have no bay windows, so no supports to worry about. So I'm considering ordering some windows from a manufacturer and putting them in myself. I helped my parents change all theirs (but for the bay windows), and as long as you remove the glass first (doh!) it's a relatively simple job.


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

A friend of mine recently went through this process and siad they do all the tricks they warn you about on the TV.

Come in with a massive price, which you say you can't afford.

He makes a phone call to his boss and says that they need to make their sales targets this month (or some such other nonsense) and can do you a deal - but only if you sign there and then.

He got so fed up with all the to-ing and fro-ing that in the end he went with a higher priced firm simply because the salesman wasn't a twunt.

I'd love for them to just come in with a price and leave the act outside, but it must be worth it as I guess a few people just say 'OK then' to the first quote.

:?


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## LB (May 14, 2002)

we had safestyle over last year to replace the front door and 5 windows. The sales girl did the usual bullshit tricks, "we have a 50% deal at the moment" which sounds great until she quotes Â£12k - it eventually went down to Â£2.5k, which I still thought was high but she was very pretty ;-).

What they failed to tell me was that rather than just replace my wooden windows they would insist on putting a thick piece of white plastic on the inside of the window to cover up where they had smashed the window out - looks crap.

Once fitted we then realised that the cross bars in the windows were out of line, so two weeks later they come back to replace every window...with equally bent cross bars! Two more no shows followed (with me taking holiday to be in for them) and finally they were replaced.

Happy with them now, but it was a painful process.


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## thejepster (Mar 29, 2005)

Have a look at Screwfix Direct as you should be able to get a rough idea of how much they'll cost to buy. E.g. a simple patio door, 1800x1200 is Â£599. A double french door, with side windows to fit a hole 2400x2100 is Â£830. Large windows (1780x1200) are anything up to Â£300, and external doors anything up to Â£400.

If you have a good builder, may be worth asking him for a price to fit them if you bought them yourself...


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## Karcsi (Mar 6, 2003)

thejepster said:


> Have a look at Screwfix Direct as you should be able to get a rough idea of how much they'll cost to buy. E.g. a simple patio door, 1800x1200 is Â£599. A double french door, with side windows to fit a hole 2400x2100 is Â£830. Large windows (1780x1200) are anything up to Â£300, and external doors anything up to Â£400.
> 
> If you have a good builder, may be worth asking him for a price to fit them if you bought them yourself...


Thanks! That's the website I was trying to remember last night. Yep, either way it's not going to be cheap. But it should be made as painless as possible. Spending 3-4 hours with a pushy salesman is my idea of hell.

Safestyle telephoning this morning to confirm the salesman coming round this evening. I said that I had heard very bad things about them, so I wasn't prepared to go with them. He just said fine, and put the phone down before I had a chance to hang up on him. Makes a change, I suppose.


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## Teehee (May 22, 2005)

Shame you're not near Nottingham. We used a company called GB Profit in Mansfield who were excellent - the owner also drove a TT  - and the company even wrote to us a year after the work to make sure everything was ok.


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## Johnnywb (May 31, 2006)

Teehee said:


> Shame you're not near Nottingham. We used a company called GB Profit in Mansfield who were excellent - the owner also drove a TT  - and the company even wrote to us a year after the work to make sure everything was ok.


Jeez, do they travel?!


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## Teehee (May 22, 2005)

Johnnywb said:


> Teehee said:
> 
> 
> > Shame you're not near Nottingham. We used a company called GB Profit in Mansfield who were excellent - the owner also drove a TT  - and the company even wrote to us a year after the work to make sure everything was ok.
> ...


Couldn't tell you as we were not too far from them. If you search for them on www.yell.com you should find them.

If I remember the owner was called Dave although I have since moved to Scotland so couldn't swear on that.


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## WozzaTT (Jan 15, 2006)

Get several quotes and knock them right down - had double glazing all round 2.5 years ago. First company quoted Â£19.5k, eventually got it done for Â£3.5k.


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## Karcsi (Mar 6, 2003)

WozzaTT said:


> Get several quotes and knock them right down - had double glazing all round 2.5 years ago. First company quoted Â£19.5k, eventually got it done for Â£3.5k.


  [smiley=rolleyes5.gif] The OFT fairly recently did a report on double glazing competition, which I have come across, which did say that prices did vary quite wildly. But that takes the biscuit.

I will try some local companies and perhaps one or two large reputable ones (if there are any!)


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## Major Audi Parts Guru (May 7, 2002)

I personally would use one of the smaller DG companies as they generally don't have the same overheads as the bigger ones and therefore can generally offer you a better price

When I had my DG done, I use a local guy who didn't have a shop or anything like that, It was just him and his van. The price he quoted was half of what one of the bigger companies had quoted me and he did a great job too


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## WozzaTT (Jan 15, 2006)

Karcsi said:


> WozzaTT said:
> 
> 
> > Get several quotes and knock them right down - had double glazing all round 2.5 years ago. First company quoted Â£19.5k, eventually got it done for Â£3.5k.
> ...


Yep - try half a dozen. The firm quoting Â£19.5k did all the usual bullshit phoning up the office etc to half the price. Imagine if I was a little old lady without a clue - they'd have robbed me blind.

Eventually got it down to two both quoting around Â£5k and then I got one of them down to Â£3.5k. Good quality windows and fitting too.


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## TTCool (Feb 7, 2005)

I used Everest. Excellent quality and looks and a solid job, but way too expensive. I wouldn't use them again, but then I won't have to, unless I was to move, which is next door to zero.

Joe


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## Karcsi (Mar 6, 2003)

Everest? For some reason I thought they went bust some time ago?


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## whirlypig (Feb 20, 2003)

Karcsi said:


> Everest? For some reason I thought they went bust some time ago?


If only, on our house they quoted nearly twice what the others quoted and that was for half the work.  
They gave us a long story about the superior quality, BS standards, blah blah blah and also found a 20% one-time offer. Also wanted a signature there and then, in the end I had to tell him he was leaving. No better than the Coldseal and Safestyle cowboys.

I was told by someone in the trade that quite a few firms buy Everest frames/units and they'll charge considerably less.


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## che6mw (Nov 13, 2003)

judging by everything i've read here I reckon it would be less hassle to just sell your house and go and buy a new one that already has the windows and doors you want fitted!


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## garyc (May 7, 2002)

Is it just me who really hates plastic windows? I don't care how efficient they are in the areas of draft exclusion and heat retention. I am also not fussed about the low maintenance and ease of cleaning, and to have them last 'forever'. Furthermore, that in the main the companies who make this crap employ dodgy sales folk and dubious pressure-selling techniques, with all their 'specials' and 'must call my boss for authorisation, is of no interest.

Fact is they look sh*te, will go yellow after a few years, and will never have the look and feel of proper wooden frames.

When I see faux georgian and victorian sash upvc frames I think Hyacinth Bouquet.

When I sold my last place I had to replce one small 60cm * 120 cm sash window. I found a local joiner to measure and fit and install one in softwood for <Â£350.

Never plastic.


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## R6B TT (Feb 25, 2003)

Karcsi said:


> Everest? For some reason I thought they went bust some time ago?


Coldseal bought them


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