If you want service, go elsewhere.
After originally signing contracts last year in November to us only now finalising an agreement in what we should pay, do I feel able to rate my experience with Admiral. Our customer experience was not what I expected, and I personally felt ignored from the start. It is only after my partner emailed, he got a response. Don't want to be told I am being slanderous here, but I am sure you can imagine what I am implying. My partner is disabled so we asked for a locking mechanism, blinds to be included in the windows to make it easier to open/close and a wall to be knocked out for a 6 pane bifold. Derek, who was the lovely salesperson, was amazing from the start and told us he wasn’t sure if they can do all of this, however he came back to us after speaking to Brian saying that it was possible. So, you would think at this point you would be confident, and they would not be selling a product that they didn't have a clue about, right? I can understand this taking slightly longer as we needed structural engineers to be onboard. But we had nothing but delays and heartache. The stress this company caused us wasn’t worth the 3k money we received off our final bill (which includes the damages in our house/goods). We have damaged new flooring (due to them delaying the installation), damaged equipment let alone the 6 pane bifold being fitted below floor level and our damp proof course being removed. We are currently going through a large renovation and lots of tradesman had to be put on hold because of this issue. We had to cancel our holiday to Italy to book our wedding venue which is the most upsetting issue. The building works removing the wall to install steel wasn’t done correctly. A 10mm steel plate was inserted which meant it was wonky and a very tight fit. The whole window itself isn’t straight. We were the ones who had to fix these issues and have now got to put up with the consequences. We had a flood just after the bi-folds were installed and our courtyard was flooded with water coming into the kitchen, as you can imagine knowing our damp proof course was removed from this set of windows made it even more stressful.
Our builder had to make allowances for the height difference and now our floor slopes in the middle from one end of the room to the other. Bearing in mind the area was measured around 13-14 times or so but it was still wrong. In the end to avoid any more delays (contacts signed in November, windows fitted end of April). we just had to put up with these bifold doors. Then the fun with our front door! We asked for a lock where you didn’t need a key as my partner can’t use his hands or arms. We've had multiple locks in the past and not sure why this proven to be so difficult. The product which was attempted to be installed was commercial and had wires and boxes everywhere, if you can appreciate no one wants that in their own home! We paid for electricians to be onsite as requested by the firm who were sat around all day, in the end Admiral said they needed a 'specialist' , in the end we requested something different as it wasn’t practical and was unsightly. The only positive at this point was David who found a very good solution.
We were also left unable to lock our home as they fitted the windows and doors the week before easter bank holidays. My disabled partner was left in a worst state than before we had all of the doors and windows replaced! We had to leave our home unlocked whilst we went to work which was obviously quite stressful. My neighbour had to have a spare key for my partner and to allow him access to our own home when I was working late.
There has been so much stress and much I haven’t mentioned due to the 4000k word limit! Some of these could have been resolved in the first place once we placed the order with perhaps a follow up meeting with people who knew what they were doing. The owner of the company, yes, wouldn’t even talk to us after I put a message on their Facebook page telling them what a mess, they have left us in. Not very good there by their director!
Another point and very important point I wanted to raise was how great their fitters were/are. At one point one fitter was fitting a glass pane above our front door at around 12 foot in the air (after having carried it by himself down 4-5 steps and up ladders) after a few wobbles managed to fit it plus our front door. He made it, but my disabled partner was on the verge of having to hold ladders, but I am certain a company such as Admiral will look after their employees, right?
The fitters weren't even trained on how to fit the solar sensor panels which controls the internal blinds when they came to install, and my partner had to help them.
The windows look good, not sure it was worth all the 4am wake up sweats, irate tradesman waiting to do their part, damaged new flooring, sloping floors and a cancelled wedding. Go elsewhere and save the stress.
November 28, 2022
Unprompted review