Needhams Windows Reviews 186

Avoid at all costs
These people are cowboys ,we spent over £14,000 with Needhams
the salesman told us no matter what the problem is we will come back and sort it even after 10 years .
We had a problem with the drains outside our conservatory and requested that they come and take a look and carry out remedial works,after four site visits, each time the tradesman said "I can't do it now" eventually after telephoning in desperation as several times we nearly fell down the drain they said that that element of the job only carried a 1year garantee,the drain cover was the flimsiest cheapest type ,
absolute rubbish.
Very disappointed
Mr and Mrs T M Stevenson

DO NOT USE THESE PEOPLE
Shame there are no minus ratings as 1 star is not acceptable. I booked these people early in the year2018 as I did not want my windows taking out in the cold months. I was told 5 weeks by the salesman Rod, but when I chased them up I was told 8 to 10 weeks. Anyway I ordered cream windows a UPVCdoor and a composite door. The fitters came 3 of them, only to be told afterwards that only 2 were qualified fitters, didn't stop the 3rd one fitting. They had no regard for my house and caused damage to my grandsons bed. When I asked which one had broken the bed, the reply was " it's only a bit of f**king plastic" (plastic fixings on the base) they installed the whole of the upstairs on the first day. We checked the windows after they had gone, only to find, not only bad fitting but really bad manufacturing faults, such as welds off center, bubbles in the cream foil, scuffs and more, there was a fault which they had tried to hide, absolutely horrendous! They also fitted a bathroom window with a crack in. I heard the fitters talking when they were fitting the composite door, so I went to look as I was suspicious. The door had a split and a dint on the front, clearly could be seen! And they were going to fit it. The fact I heard them and then they lied and said they had not seen it showed me what cowboys we were dealing with. We checked the windows that were left for fitting the next day, they were equally as bad. When the fitters arrived to complete the job, we told them not to get there tools out as we were not allowing them to fit anymore of there s**t in our home. This continued for months, I had trading standards involved. One of the partners visited me and kept on about the process of manufacture, how hard it was to get cream windows right and offered to take me to their factory. He also told me that he " does not have £20 notes coming out of his pockets" he " drives a nice car but there's over a 100k on the clock" think he wanted me to feel sorry for him. They continued to try and put things right (for months) I asked to be let out of the contract but was told "NO" by Rupe the partner that visited. He also told me that they have had nothing like this before and that I " was the first customer in over a year" that he had had to visit. I asked him about the other bad reviews, he said that " it's other competitors" . We finally had windows installed in Nov, it was cold and I had to check every window before it was fitted, still on the day they were replacing opening lights and full windows because of faults. They had made a total of at least, 3 sets of windows that had been checked and watched each step of the way through manufacture by the manager, some of the windows were still bad, as a result I had lots of fitting dates, they arrived no windows fitted and so it continued. There were still faults and knocks which had to be sorted. It took 3 composite doors to get one that was ok. The only thing is the door frame is white foil not cream, they even tried to argue that by comparing a piece of white UPVC not foiled white. Because of ill health and stress, I have made compromise's, I had white inside instead of cream and have kept the white frame on the door. The partner of the firm visited at times over seeing the job, he also had reasonings/excuses behind faults, manufacture, He also has a knack of talking down to people when he does this. We might not know how to manufacture a window but, WE DO KNOW WHEN IT'S BAD QUALITY AND WORKMANSHIP. When paying good money you should not be made to feel the way this firm made me feel! They reduced the price a little and it was as though they have given me the world, not months of stress. I'm not 100% happy and if I had the money to replace them I would have by now. There is so much more but it would turn into a novel. There are a group of good fitters working for them but it's pot luck! I was on the phone so much I felt I knew Anthony quite well.

A bad experience -- we had all windows and front door replaced by them. They were not cheap! Problems with severe condensation and lack of any provision for adequate ventilation. This is solely down to them, they should have given advice about window configuration at point of sale. The arrogance of their sales person beggars belief. They have no interest in after-sales service. CAVEAT EMPTOR. I would never recommend them to anybody.

Addendum 1:
I have now seen Needhams' reply to my review and it does not really do it - it is not about my "expected date"; it is not about my "requests"; it is not about whether or not they were "extremely busy"; it is about, first, the salesman and, then, the surveyor telling me late October to very early November but then, when it came to the crunch, trying to stuff me with very late November.
As I suggested before, maybe it is best to try to pin them down on dates when signing up for the work.

Addendum 2:
A further issue which has come to light (and which I never for one minute anticipated) is that their ten year, insurance backed guarantee is non-transferable (ie: it is personal to you and, if you sell your house or whatever within the ten years, it is immediately extinguished) - the insurance Policy Schedule states: "....cover....shall run for a period of 10 years, or the periods stated in the Contractor's Written Guarantee, whichever is the lesser...." and Needhams' Warranty / Guarantee states: "The guarantee is not transferable.", so that's that.
Maybe something else to consider when ordering.

Original review:
Needhams installed our double glazing in 1997; got them back to replace it last week and they did a good job, with good products, apparently reasonably priced, and by very good people.
One significant issue was taken seriously and resolved speedily.
No hesitation in recommending them but beware that they live in a different time / space continuum from the rest of us:
On 28.09.18, when we signed the contract, the sales guy told us four to five weeks (that put it late October to, maybe, very early November).
One week later, on 05.10.18, the surveyor told us three to four weeks (that still worked, put it late October to, maybe, very early November).
On 30.10.18, when Simon called to confirm installation, he said 26.11.18 and 27.11.18 - that's wasn't three, four or five weeks, that was eight weeks and it mattered to us a great deal, because we had scheduled a lot of other works on the basis of what we had previously been told.
After some discussion, he came back with 14.11.18., 15.11.18 and 16.11.18 and then came back with 15.11.18 and 16.11.18, which we were able to work around and which we accepted.
Suggestion: good outfit to use but, if it is time critical for you, as it was for us, get the contract endorsed, before you sign it: "TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE AND THE INSTALLATION MUST BE COMPLETED ON OR BEFORE ????".

Awful company. They took on 3rd party fitters to carry out the job, who then caused a lot of damage to the property in the process of fitting one window. Completely denied all responsibility for the whole issue.
Eventually claimed on their insurance for repair work to door frames, walls and carpets that were damaged.
Will never use again.

I’m annoyed that I have to give 1 star. If I could, I would rate them lower than this. Me and my family had new windows and a door fitted. Since they were fitted we have had water and wind coming through all windows and the door. We are not awkward people but we paid a lot of money for poor quality goods which have been badly fitted. We expected a quality product. We have had over 20 visits by service engineers and their inspector came out twice. The leaking door and windows have caused water damage, to which the company told us to put a complaint in writing and we received a reply telling us we would have to pay for this ourselves. The air passing through the windows which they said are sealed and air cannot pass through have been filled, at the recommendation of their inspector, with sealant. The service engineer carrying out this task advised us this should never happen. We now get condensation. The windows themselves do not leak water/air but it still leaks under the window sill. The door is no better, as it still leaks. It is holding water somewhere and the engineers said they don’t understand it. If we could afford, we would take them to court over this. We had a conservatory fitted by Anglian windows 10 years ago and have had no problems with this. We just wish now we had paid that little bit extra and gone with Anglian again. If I achieve nothing else, I would like others to be warned about this company and avoid!

We purchased 3, made to measure, windows and a composite door from this company. The installers were polite but they were cowboys. We had daylight coming through the side, of the windows, and the underside of the windowsills. (the actual frames had been twisted) We had draughts coming through the so called seal units and a leaking front-door, which just trailed water all over our oak floor. Over a period of 2 years, the company tried to fix their rubbish to no joy. However, what I have managed to gain is a ruined oak floor from water damage, which the cheeky company told me to claim on my house insurance when I asked what they intended to do about it. I have sealant that has been put into the so called sealed frames to try and stop the draughts and now I have mould growing. If i could afford to sue I would! we as customers have nothing to fall back on when we are robbed by cowboys like this! DO NOT TRUST THIS COMPANY.
UPDATE: We had the plaster removed, from around the window, where the mould had been growing and to our shock we had water leaking in through the underside of the window. It was just running down the wall like a waterfall with a gap underneath where I could actually get my hand.
THANK YOU for your reply. However it is quite clearly more than a condensation issue You were also shown videos where it could be seen that the draft from, the windows, was blowing the candle. As far as the door is concerned why would anyone want a door that leaks even with a leaf attached? With regards to not hearing from me you had plenty of opportunities to rectify. instead of keep bodging a bad job i decided to use a reputable firm. Everyone should stay CLEAR!

Had all of my windows done and most recently a new conservatory roof. Service department came back and adjusted my door and replaced the handle after 8 years - no other problems so far -so would reccommend.

Well my experience of buying a new front door was excellent. A fair price quoted by a friendly, un-pushy salesman, good communication from the office for arranging survey and fitting. Everyone turned up when they said they would, the job was done quickly and neatly and the quality of the finished product is excellent. Based on my experience, I would recommend them.

Needhams fitted some windows for me. In the process they damaged my bath then denied my contract was with them. Insurance company of fitter denied liability as my contract not with the fitter but liability with the contract holder, Needhams. After making allegations that I was trying to swindle them out of a new bathroom they asked for quotes. Quotes supplied, yes high but it is not just a case of whipping out the old bath and sliding in a new one as they suggested. But part of a wall to be removed, tiles removed, radiator removed and all put back. Tiles obsolete, bath too but prepared to change colour of bath to keep costs down. They seem to think I could get the bath cheaper through trade, I'm having to get a plumber in he will get it at trade not me! Needhams still insist the claim malicious, they appear to have no insurance to protect their customers. They arw not worth getting in to do a job because if they cause damage they will deny it all the way. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY.
Edit. The reason I wanted the bathroom changed was because my suite matched. They wanted to give me an unmatched suite. Surely my bathroom should have remained as it was before they came. The manager was rude who basically called us liars, even though their surveyor said “Yes, that’s a dropped window” the outline was clearly visible. But Needhams were not interested.
So in response to your very late response, I suggest you use a dictionary and do not slander your customers.
Do not use this company. They are not honest or reliable.

awaiting response from the company as to my complaint, but for all you thinking about ordering from this company i would not recommend them to anyone, the final product well they say completed looks awful, not worth the money paying. It really does look like i have a bath at the top of my porch, looks cheap and tacky. Ongoing compliant hopefully they will deal with this in a timely manner...... also had to wait months with me chasing to get the ball roiling