Extremely Dissapointing
Background -
To replace all UPVC windows and doors in a four bedroom house with an estimate that the work would take approximately 2-3 months to complete. Work started in January 2023 and was completed in January 2026.
Positives -
Tom, the owner of the company, knew that the air vents were not to our liking and we wanted to avoid installing them. Tom explained that he could leave out the air vents but it would not meet building regulations and therefore we would not get a FENSA certificate. We decided that we can retrofit the air vents in the future and apply for a FENSA certificate if required.
Negatives -
• Allan Lever wanted a deposit of 65% to proceed with the order. We negotiated this down to 50% which still seemed very high but negotiating down was definitely a good decision looking back.
• The French patio doors did not shut properly and left a visible gap between them. This was finally resolved 6 months after raising the issue.
• Two of the bay windows had temporary glass installed in them for over 12 months which looked dirty. This was finally resolved 6 months after raising the issue.
• Many of the windows were installed the wrong way round which meant that they were not working as efficiently as possible and the heat reflective coating became useless. I had to purchase a Low E glass coating detector to point out all of the windows that were incorrectly installed.
• The original leaded light windows were refurbished but not to a very high standard. There were finger prints inside many of the encapsulated windows which made them look grubby. The issues were resolved 18 months after being installed.
• The fitters wanted to use plastic strips to cover the damaged plaster when refitting the new windows rather than re-plastering any damaged walls despite Tom assuring me that they would plaster where required. They also broke a kitchen tile which I had to repair myself.
• It took 12 months to replace the hinges on the patio doors which required replacing as they did not fit properly. One side was done in January 2025, and the other side was done in January 2026 with no explanation given as to why it took 1 year to replace the door hinges.
• The company is very unresponsive to emails, texts and calls which meant that the whole experience dragged on for 3 years.
• Based on the work taking 3 years rather than 3 months, I requested that as a gesture of goodwill I should be offered a small discount (I would have been happy 10%) off the invoice but this was ignored by Tom.
Summary -
I would not recommend Allan Lever UPVC Windows based on my own personal experience with the company. Three years to complete the work is totally unacceptable and Tom did not even offer an apology or explanation for this ridiculous timeline. Looking at the other reviews, most of them are based on a single window or door replacement and I am not seeing many customers provide feedback on bigger jobs where all of their windows and doors have been replaced. I believe that Allan Lever did once have a great reputation and rightly so, but sadly the company changed hands just over 10 years ago and based on my experience, the company is not delivering the same level of service or customer care.