Stroud Green Windows - www.stroudgreenwindows.co.uk

I needed my windows repaired after 15 years of battering the seasons.

I am very happy with the diligent work done and the quality of the team, active and respectful young men. They know what they are doing.

I appreciate that they always cleaned after the work done.

They delivered on what was agreed.

Just had back French windows installed, can't fault this company. Whoever sees the doors, states how nice they look! They were flexible with the price as I opted to paint them myself. Just called them back to replace some windows. Long wait for items but good service from beginning to the end and they delivered all appointments on time. Todayzbi had a very polite surveyor measuring up for the windows. Will report on the windows too once they are installed.

We used Bekim Stroud Green Windows for replacing 3 single-paned sash windows with double glazed sash boxes in the rear of our house. Stroud Green came to quote and measure, and they talked the right talk, spoke of the type of glass they used, we requested Supply and Fit quote, went over warranty (10 years- very good), and the type of wood used. Most importantly, we discussed the date we needed the window by as we had building work going on the the rooms with the new windows.

The first problem was immediately after I paid our deposit and confirmed the job- I confirmed the date we were told the windows would be finished by and was told that, yes, the windows would be made by 5 June but Bekim didn't have time to fit them for another 4 weeks. This felt incredibly disingenuous- Stroud Green knew we asked for Supple and Fit, the only date we needed to know was when the windows would be delivered and installed. I was very angry at this, it was unprofessional to make such a silly mistake on their part. It messed up our building schedule completely.

The other problems encountered when the windows were finally delivered were:

- the depth of the new sash windows were deeper than the existing single-glazed units; this makes sense, double-glazing would be thicker, but Stroud Green didn't mention this detail when they measured and quoted. This must be true for their other jobs in Victorian style houses, replacing single-glazing with double-glazing. We rely on their expertise to point out potential problems- it cost us an extra day for the plaster to make adjusts for the deeper windows. Stroud Green should definitely warned about this.

- The inside sash had horns, which doesn't match the old windows. Stroud Green never asked us if we wanted horns or not (we most definitely did not).

- the middle bar (the mid-rail in window-speak) across the middle of the window is thicker than my husband requested.

- lastly, the paint job is really terrible. Stroud Green out-sourced the painting to another company; they came back 3 time to improve the paint finish and in the end we gave up. It just wasn't worth it, my husband re-did it himself

The actual windows are decent enough, but how could I possibly recommend our experience to anyone?

We have had the most awful experience with Stroud Green Windows and I wanted to warn others thinking of using them so they could make an informed decision. They were really friendly at first and all the online reviews I saw seemed positive. They were also recommended by a friend who was halfway through a job with them (he has subsequently had issues too and regrets ever recommending them). The windows, which were a mixture of casement and sash cord double glazed, were supposed to come complete, primed and ready for our builders to install, with hardware supplied separately (a number of the windows were for a part of our flat that had not yet been built as we were doing extensive renovations and a loft conversion).

We asked them to hold off or hold back (whichever they preferred) three of the windows for our living room as all our furniture was being stored in there so that would be the last room to be done. They said it was easier to make them and it was no problem to store them.

When the delivery came, the windows were in pieces. We checked our paperwork (estimate and pro-forma invoice) and it clearly said the windows would arrive “complete”. Two of the windows had been broken in the shop so were going to have to be replaced. Not only were the windows in pieces but there were no weights, no hardware and no rope. Even if we had wanted to, there was no way to put them together. Nineteen phone calls later and after a ten-week delay we finally got almost all the bits we needed and we asked our builders to carry out the additional work needed to put the windows together. It was then we discovered they were the wrong size, and by different amounts, and all had to be cut down to fit the frames (Stroud Green Windows had also made the frames, so we had expected them to match…). We complained and were told we should count ourselves lucky they did not charge us for storage for the remaining three windows. We were also told they could charge us for the ‘tutorial’ they gave to our builder who asked how a particular window went together when he visited their shop to pick up pieces they had still not delivered.

We told them we wanted to hold back some of the final payment (an amount that was a small percentage of the total cost of the job and only covered a fraction of the actual cost borne by us of getting them cut down and ‘completed’ ready for installation), and they became threatening and incredibly rude and, without warning, added £600 on to the cost of the job (as ‘interest’) and filed a claim with county court.

The whole experience has been dreadful. Not knowing what to do, we contacted our local facebook group to see if anyone in our neighbourhood had had similar issues and we were contacted by lots of people all having experienced similar problems. For the most part it seems the workmanship is not seriously faulty (although we have heard a few stories of leaking and drafty windows) but the majority of complaints by far have been about the aggressive and deceitful attitudes of the consultants, managers and directors.

Very impressed with the joinery work recently done at my home by Stroud Green. The workmen were all knowledgeable and helpful, but most importantly they worked hard on the job and have done my windows and doors to a very high standard. I will definitely be using Stroud Green again and recommend them highly to others.