The Truth About Safestyle Windows

The following information is correct as of 24th May 2008 and is based on my personal experience whilst "employed" by Safestyle UK.

So you’re thinking about changing your windows and / or doors?

If you’re approached by or contact Safetyle Windows here is the complete guide to how they operate, its not designed to scare you just lay down the facts…

An appointment will be booked with you for a Free No Obligation 12 Month Quote.

If you meet their criteria:

  • You own the property (so they can try to force you to make an instant decision)
  • You and your partner are present (to avoid the “need to talk to partner” objection)
  • You are employeed (so you qualify for finance )
  • There is a need for replacement work (speaks for itself)

The short story is they will do their best to hard sell you and put pressure on you to make a decision and sign up there and then.

Let’s start at the beginning…

All the “employees” are Self Employeed agents acting on behalf of Safestyle. This means that the representative (rep) who will visit earns money by selling their product to you - the higher the selling price the more they make.

The rep will start by “Warming You Up”, ie trying to find some common ground and build trust with you - at the end of the day if you don’t like them you’ll never buy anything from them. This is the same with all sales jobs so don’t be too put off at this point.

The next step will be their “Market Demonstration”, they will try to show you how Safestyle fit into the market and dismiss local companies, tradesmen, DIY stores etc by claiming they only use recycled materials which will fail very quickly and probably won’t be covered by any guarantee as they probably won’t be in business for long. They will also try to show that they use only the best materials available and whilst other companies (eg. Anglian, Everest) use these products they can’t compete on price.

The next step wil be the “Company Demonstration” designed to give you the brief history of the company and explain why you’ve never heard of them.

If you’re still awake at this point, they will show you a couple of samples starting with an “A” grade window at £2940 each. This is what they refer to as a “Decoy” window, they can make it but at that price its not feasible unless you’ve just won the lottery. They will quickly move onto the “Diamond Window” the ONLY window they make and will explain this window in great detail. They will then move onto their “Premium Window” (another Decoy window) which they will state the Buy One Get One Free offer is on, but you might get the offer on the “Diamond Window” if you’re happy to say Yes now (designed to pressurise you).

Once you’ve been shown all the samples and you’re happy for measurments to be taken they will over measure the windows to ensure that they inflate the price to make more money from you.

Pricing is the time the rep really starts to put the pressure on. A price will be worked out and delivered starting with a “list price” - what they claim is the cost of the Diamond Window (note: they won’t price the Premium window unless forced to) which will be far over your budget if you had one in mind. They will dismiss this by offering a “similar price” to the Premium window (about 40% discount). They also add a “Survey Fee” to the total cost at either £60 or £80. The Survey Fee is a secondary form of committment - basically as you’ve parted with cash you’re less likely to cancel. This is dependant on how many frames are being sold and this is where the rep makes money (£25 for a cash deal, £50 for finance & £65 for a finance deal lower than £1500) aside from the commission.

Negotiations begin at this point their choice phrase is “If I / we could would YOU” basically they need a committment from you to drop their price. Usually, they will call their “Manager” or “The Office” to discuss a drop in price having got commitment from you. Either way they have to call the office as they have to offer you the lowest price they can offer, sometimes lower to mess you around…

The commission structure works as follows:

  • Cash Deals - about 10% of the sale price less VAT
  • Finance Deals - about 15% of the sale price less VAT

The bottom line is their cheapest price per door is £700. Their lowest price per window is £300 or 70% discount from the “list price” (assuming their list price was accurate) however I have known of jobs being fitted with discount up to 78% - it just depends on how inflated the price is.

My best advise is stick to your guns - insist on at least 3 quotes before making a decision and don’t feel pressured by the rep. If you feel threatened call the police.

I hope this advise helps you.