I am thinking of replacing my French doors and 5 windows. I have had a quote from Anglian which seems reasonable but I know I should get several quotes. Any views from people's experiences would be greatly appreciated.

We had new doors and windows installed recently. we went with a small local firm who absolutely knocked the socks off the price we got from Anglian and Safestyle. Their work was second to none too. Dont be fooled by thinking that bigger is better. Definitely speak to the smaller firms and also ask around or keep your eyes peeled for any boards in the gardens of houses who've recently had work done. HTH.

Agree with Freds Mum as the large well publicised firms are often very expensive.We used a local firm and were very happy with the work done.You also have the opportunity to see any work that they have done in your area before you commit to anything.

I have a friend who had a very bad experience with Anglian and when we got quotes off them we weren't impressed at all -not just with the high cost but with their manners.

Ditto the small local firm advice.  We needed a few window panels replacing recently and all the bigger companies wanted to talk us into having the whole lot replaced - even thought it was obviously only the double glazed units that were the issue.  

We had a few quotes (via MyBuilder.com) and went with the bloke we liked the best, and who talked the most sense, and who was happy to rattle off a list of people we could get references from.  He did a great job.  He also subcontracted the scaffolding to another small company who again were really nice and very careful.  I'd much rather go with the small companies who usually have a real interest in doing a good job. 

The dogs approved too, but I suspect that was largely influenced by some cuddling and some sandwich sharing!!

I too went for the local firm and went back a few years later for a conservatory, Mum decided to have one too and we got a very good deal as we live so close together and the workmen could work between the 2 houses on the same day.

Would agree with going for a local firm, also their aftercare service is normally far better then the big companies

Literally just had new windows and doors fitted into a property from a local firm we've used before. When I mentione to my father about getting an extension/conservatory he said fine if I pay it and don't use those big companies who advertise on tv, he explained not just cost but the materials and workmanship are not top notch!!
That's just my little input :-)

We also used a local firm as I was much more impressed with their quote and customer service. I also would rather support a small firm where I know that my money is going direct to the people who do the work rather than giving even more inflated profits to shareholders that sit back and do nothing but rake the money in. Where ever possible I support local independent firm rather than big corporations.

Wow! Thanks all. Overwhelming results. Thanks for taking the time to reply. Will defo take your advice and get local. Any recommendations in Bedfordshire ?

>Ditto the small local firm advice.

But be very careful; make sure the company has been established for many years. The local company we used for ours (not the cheapest of the quotes either) went bust a few years later, just before some of the glazing units failed ...

Good point Jeangenie especially in the current climate.

WE used anglian some 15+ years ago no problems at the time however a few years later I found the window catches were changing colour still under guarantee. I did get them all changed but took a year of being a very assertive customer. I agree with Jeangenie re local we nearly went with a newish local company but for that reason didnt.
The good news for them is that they are still very much in business but we were concerned about guarantees on their work at the time difficult one in the current climate as being big is no guarantee either 
What I do know about a lot of companies is that the sales staff are good at their job however the fitters can be a very mixed bunch will little experience so take care if you are not happy with the fitters when they arrive

Try asking a local builder to price it, OH is a builder and gets his windows for local firms at cost and he can often do the job for much less than the big glazing companies!

We had new windows put in a couple of years ago and was going to go with Anglian, until I looked online at reviews for them, not good, Everest didn't fare much better.
Look on Money Saving Expert site, they have a section about windows.

Like Merlot our chap wasn't simply a "window specialist" - he renewed all our soffits and guttering too.  He bought the window panels from a well known, well established outfit but obviously paid less for them and charged us less for labour.  Just check where the people you get quotes from source their supplies and ask them about guarantees...

Yes, I did look on Money Saving Expert, thats why I posted on here. Not very good reviews for Anglian on there.

Thanks all - I've got two local firms coming round next wee. Already had Anglian on the phone offering more discount :) he started off at 17,450......then 8505........then 6500 what next ?

The big firms always quote a high price first! You MUST haggle and bring the price down - some people don't do this and accept the first price quoted - but ALL big firms have a rock bottom price they will sell at. It is up to the customer to beat them down to that price - they will often be with you for a couple of hours, on the phone to their manager  to see how low they can go etc. I used Zenith and can not fault their workmanship or quality of windows, a few years later I had my  facias, soffits and guttering done by them. My neighbour had Anglian after I had mine done, she has had trouble which took ages to sort. She also had her fsg done by a local franchise firm - what a rip off they were, didn't remove the asbestos and left all the rubbish in her garden.

> The big firms always quote a high price first! You MUST haggle and bring the price down - some people don't do this and accept the first price quoted - but ALL big firms have a rock bottom price they will sell at. It is up to the customer to beat them down to that price - they will often be with you for a couple of hours, on the phone to their manager to see how low they can go etc.

Dreadful 'sharp' practise and isn't, thankfully, the norm.  It really isn't the customers role to haggle and most will simply choose with their feet and buy elsewhere, as do I.  They know their margins and prices from the get go and anyone thinking they can make a pretend phone call to their manager is shown the exit immediately - there is no way on earth they'd be allowed to take a couple of hours of my time to play that game.  Gives good companies and well trained sales people a bad name...

The Kirby Hoover style of selling is treated as a joke by well informed, right thinking companies.  Excellent customer service and a good products are valued above price even in this economic climate

I agree with you all - however if you are not experienced in this, you can learn the hard way  My husband died 3 months ago and I feel very vulnerable as he used to deal with this sort of thing. He was a builder. I know I have thanked you all but I really do mean this. I have already been way overcharged for work done  and that was a family member :(   That made me very sad.

> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">You MUST haggle and bring the price down

I accept this is the tactic they use and that is why i refuse to deal with the big companys now. We ended up practically throwing out one of the 'big' window company reps for using these dodgy sales techniques. we heard it all..... 'this is the lowest price i can give you but you must promise not to tell a sole as i couldnt possibly do it this cheap again' 'if you allow us to take pics of the work to put in the brochure we can reduce the price' 'let me phone my manager and tell him about you, i'm sure he will authorise me to drop the price by a few hundred'. The best one was 'we arent having a stall at the local county show this year so we will use the money we would have spent on that by paying some of your costs'. its funny now but at the time i was seeting. Hours wasted on some cowboy trying to flog bog standard windows. Bigger isnt always better. Small companys who need a good reputation to keep going in this difficult economic climate are definitely the way to go :-)

We had new windows a few years back, I was told at the time to make sure the company was FENSA registered as that way you have some come back if you are not satisfied.
We used a smallish firm, after getting several quotes not the cheapest but they were registered and we felt they understood what we wanted. We did not have any problems so not sure if FENSA makes a difference or not just what I was told so passing on the info.

We had a local company do two windows for us just before last Christmas, really pleased with the whole experience and quality, we are now having four more done.

Had a couple of the big companies do quotes, they were extortionate so we refused them. We were then bombarded with phone calls offering a reduced price, told them where to go.

Well, went with a local company who quoted 3,500. Anglian rang back with more discounts. I told them even if they beat the other quotes I wouldn't go with them. I explained -  The local company gave me a price. No discounts no haggling - just a straight price. he stopped me mid sentence and told me I had wasted his time !!!! Thanks for the advice, I'm happy with the company I chose and they will fit them when I'm ready.

Having had three different suppliers of windows in out last house the one thing that made all the difference was the fitters & the care they took.
Anglian took to the old windows with a sledge hammer & crowbar, & the instillation was as bad had to come back three times for one bay window. The best 'though not necessarily the product', was a local firm, took good care, pleasant to have around, very tidy and couldn't have done more to help.

> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Had a couple of the big companies do quotes, they were extortionate so we refused them. We were then bombarded with phone calls offering a reduced price, told them where to go.

One large company (dont think I'm allowed to say who) kept on and on ringing me despite me telling them we had already had the windows done. In the end I told them that if they phoned me again I would be making an appointment for a rep to come out and give me an estimate and when he got there I would show him in person the work we had already had done just to waste his time the way they were wasting mine..... I didnt hear back from them again but was fully prepared to carry out my threat. Was sick of their dirty tactics & basically just trying to wear us down