How to buy double glazing in Berks, Bucks, Herts, Middlesex and Oxfordshire according to Which Magazine

Which Magazine last produced a comprehensive report on the double glazing industry in November 2002, called “Double Trouble”. In May 2002, Which Magazine sent a postal survey to 3,519 Which Magazine readers who had had double glazing installed in the previous two years enquiring “about their experiences and asked them to rate the companies that they used” (Double Trouble – Which Magazine Page 41, November 2002).

Of the 2,218 respondents, 75% said they had opted for an independent or regional company. Which Magazine’s summary on page 41 concluded “that double glazing companies, particularly national chains, are failing to provide trouble free service. Readers rated Everest the best of the chains with good quality units, but it’s let down by poor customer service. Zenith also produces good units, but uses pressure selling tactics and causes more problems than Everest. Anglian, Coldseal and Staybrite were the least popular chains. Your safest bet is a personal recommendation of an independent or regional firm.” (Double Trouble – Which Magazine, November 2002)

The Which website offers good advice for anyone considering double glazed windows and doors or a new double glazed conservatory. The Which “How to Buy Double Glazing Guide” is worth a read, as outlines your rights, and which steps to take, and what questions to ask before purchasing double glazing products.

It is particularly worth looking at Which Magazine’s payment and protection section which explains how you can gain added protection by paying by credit card and/or purchasing an insurance backed guarantee. Hazlemere Windows does have the facility to allow customers to pay by credit card (for a small fee, although there is no charge for debit cards), and offers further additional protection, should you require it, of an insurance backed guarantee from the Independent Warranty Association.

In all truth the vast, vast majority of Hazlemere Windows customers don’t pay by credit card or take out an insurance backed warranty, as the company is such a well established and successful independent regional manufacturer, offering a cast iron written ten year guarantee, backed by three experienced in-house dedicated service engineers, whose primary role is to deliver this 10 year guarantee. My advice is to always check things out for yourself, as here at Hazlemere we welcome being both credit checked, and thoroughly checked out, as it is very important to us (given the well documented poor past record of some parts of the double glazing industry) that all our customers have total peace of mind.