Anglian Home Improvements were the proud sponsors of this year's Ideal Home Show which was a 17 day extravaganza attracting thousands of spectators. It was packed with celebs, exhibitions and live demonstrations. It showcased the best of everything - from furnishings, to kitchens, to bathrooms, conservatories and gardens. They also sponsor drama on ITV3. Its own dramas? You couldn't make them up.
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If you want to know more about a company, read their website. According to Anglian's they're the UK's Number One supplier of high quality home improvements. Their service is second to none, their quality unbeatable and their attention to detail 'truly impressive'. And, with over 40 years in the game, they're still 'raising the standard'.
With such a build up we couldn't wait to see some of their work. And neither could Barry - he's had nearly 40 years experience in the game, his attention to detail is truly impressive and, as a Chartered Surveyor, he likes to think he's raising the standard too.
Let's see what he'll make of Chris Hawthorn's conservatory. Anglian built and installed it four years ago at a cost of £14,000 but the result was far from ideal. Chris told Watchdog: "I first noticed that the conservatory was moving away from the house. The ridge had dropped by about 3 or 4 inches. We had specifically discussed at the design stage whether they would fit a tie bar and I was reassured that no tie bar would be required. I went on to measure the footing depth and this showed that the concrete was dug down to a depth of about 300mm and this is totally not what we had agreed." So, Chris wasn't impressed, but what about Barry? Barry told us: "This is structurally unstable. We need a minimum of a tie bar across the roof. What makes matters worse is that the foundation is totally inadequate. 300mm is simply not deep enough. We've got shrinkable clay subsoil which moves with the seasons, we need a minimum of a metre depth. So we have a serious structural problem with this conservatory".
Anglian have now agreed to take the structure down, install a tie-bar and reinforce the foundations. But only after months of complaints and persuasion from Chris, who said: "Really I just wish they'd built it properly in the first place."
We introduced Barry to the problems faced by some more Anglian customers. Remember the company's famous 'impressive attention to detail'? Well, for Audrey Howie's £20,000 conservatory, Anglian borrowed a manky old fence post from her garden to build it. Barry told us: "This is shocking. They've used an old piece of timber as an infill which will decay and leave a void and leave it structurally unsound." Anglian have since replaced the post. But Jane Coster's problems with the company have been going on for over two years. Leaking doors and poor plasterwork weren't really what she expected when she invited them in to her home. Barry told us: "You know this is a poor installation. It simply shouldn't leak. They've offered Jane additional work at reduced cost but if I were Jane I would be very wary about accepting it."
Not much sign of Anglian's unbeatable quality there then. But what about one of their products which - they claim - is also the best on the market. Anglian's energy-saving thermal-efficient windows...
They belong to Jo Poole, who bought them from Anglian in April 2009 at a cost of £2,878. Anglian promise to make their windows as 'individual as you are'. But Jo's simply didn't fit. Jo told Watchdog: "Anglian said there was nothing wrong with the windows but they actually move in the wind, at high winds the sound is ear splitting. They are just not safe to open. They are dangerous". Barry saw the windows and said: "I'm really concerned about this window arrangement. The whole window flexes to a point where rain will come in when the wind blows. And we've got another really, really serious problem. If we open the window, it is completely unrestricted, it can be opened to its fullest extent so that someone can easily fall out. They should have shown more professionalism in providing a design to suit the circumstances." Jo added: "Anglian say they are going to repair the windows. Am I going to be able to trust that? I don't really have a lot of faith with Anglian anymore."
Barry told us what he thought of the work he'd seen so far: "Well, I think it's all pretty shocking really. They demonstrate a complete lack of care, poor workmanship, not something that I would expect in this trade."
We also met Fran Heaton whose conservatory was built in July 2008 at a cost of £22,000. Fran told us about the problems she's had with it: "The roof is lower than the bar so the door doesn't open, the roof has leaked quite a lot and also the plasterwork which was redone is now all coming away. There are damp patches around the electricity sockets as well which is obviously quite dangerous." Despite the fact Anglian came to patch up some of the work - the problems have continued. Fran added: "Just over a year ago I actually just gave up completely. I just resigned myself to the fact that this is what I've got, a very expensive conservatory that just doesn't get used at all." Barry inspected the conservatory and told us: "Well it's a really shoddy structure. The conservatory's pulling away from the original building, the base is unstable and the whole thing just needs to be taken down and start again. This is negligent on the part of Anglian Home Improvements and I'm appalled by the quality."
Appalled by the quality of what you've seen? So are we Barry... and so are the customers we've met. So what about Anglian themselves?
Anglian Home Improvements response:
Quality and Customer service are incredibly important to us and we would like to whole-heartedly apologise to any customers we have disappointed.
We currently have nearly 50,000 conservatories and over 400,000 window and door installations under guarantee across the UK and we honour each and every one of the commitments to those customers.
We have fought hard for our strong reputation for Service and we continue to invest in it to ensure our customers receive the best possible Customer Care. We have clearly failed to do this with those customers you have featured on your programme this evening. We would like to stress however that prior to your notification of the issues we were already in the process of addressing the four cases we were aware of and are now in the process of addressing the fifth which you have brought to our attention. As each case is within the ten year guarantee period we will rectify any issues they have as we have always done throughout our 45 year history.
Any customer wishing to contact us regarding their Anglian Home Improvement can call us on 0800 500 600. Lines are open tonight until 10 pm, alternatively please email customerservices@angliangroup.com
(Issued 26th April 2011)
Watchdog Viewer Responses:
We had new windows and doors by anglian in January 2006. We had a number of issues with their work - numerous broken tiles, broken windowsills, windows not locking/unlocking correctly the list goes on - and we are still to this day waiting for a customer service call back.
I would never have Anglian to clean my windows let alone fit any others.
Claire, Cornwall
Anglian replaced our windows and doors several years ago and we had nothing but problems! We had to call them out on 3 seperate occasions so that they could fix mistakes they'd made. Windows wouldn't shut, and neither would the back door! They only came to resolve things when we complained to them formally.
Many years on and we've still got problems! A couple of our windows don't close properly any more and now our back door seems to be coming away! It seems like they've not improved! The fact that they have the audacity to say their quality is unbeatable and service second to none is laughable!
Laura Wallett
Room for (Anglian) improvements?
In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.
(Do you have something to say about this story? Tell us what you think by emailing us here. Don't forget to include 'Anglian' in the subject line. Watchdog will publish a selection of viewers' comments underneath each story, both throughout and after the programme is on air. Please remember to include your name as you would like to see it published).
If you want to know more about a company, read their website. According to Anglian's they're the UK's Number One supplier of high quality home improvements. Their service is second to none, their quality unbeatable and their attention to detail 'truly impressive'. And, with over 40 years in the game, they're still 'raising the standard'.
With such a build up we couldn't wait to see some of their work. And neither could Barry - he's had nearly 40 years experience in the game, his attention to detail is truly impressive and, as a Chartered Surveyor, he likes to think he's raising the standard too.
Let's see what he'll make of Chris Hawthorn's conservatory. Anglian built and installed it four years ago at a cost of £14,000 but the result was far from ideal. Chris told Watchdog: "I first noticed that the conservatory was moving away from the house. The ridge had dropped by about 3 or 4 inches. We had specifically discussed at the design stage whether they would fit a tie bar and I was reassured that no tie bar would be required. I went on to measure the footing depth and this showed that the concrete was dug down to a depth of about 300mm and this is totally not what we had agreed." So, Chris wasn't impressed, but what about Barry? Barry told us: "This is structurally unstable. We need a minimum of a tie bar across the roof. What makes matters worse is that the foundation is totally inadequate. 300mm is simply not deep enough. We've got shrinkable clay subsoil which moves with the seasons, we need a minimum of a metre depth. So we have a serious structural problem with this conservatory".
Anglian have now agreed to take the structure down, install a tie-bar and reinforce the foundations. But only after months of complaints and persuasion from Chris, who said: "Really I just wish they'd built it properly in the first place."
We introduced Barry to the problems faced by some more Anglian customers. Remember the company's famous 'impressive attention to detail'? Well, for Audrey Howie's £20,000 conservatory, Anglian borrowed a manky old fence post from her garden to build it. Barry told us: "This is shocking. They've used an old piece of timber as an infill which will decay and leave a void and leave it structurally unsound." Anglian have since replaced the post. But Jane Coster's problems with the company have been going on for over two years. Leaking doors and poor plasterwork weren't really what she expected when she invited them in to her home. Barry told us: "You know this is a poor installation. It simply shouldn't leak. They've offered Jane additional work at reduced cost but if I were Jane I would be very wary about accepting it."
Not much sign of Anglian's unbeatable quality there then. But what about one of their products which - they claim - is also the best on the market. Anglian's energy-saving thermal-efficient windows...
They belong to Jo Poole, who bought them from Anglian in April 2009 at a cost of £2,878. Anglian promise to make their windows as 'individual as you are'. But Jo's simply didn't fit. Jo told Watchdog: "Anglian said there was nothing wrong with the windows but they actually move in the wind, at high winds the sound is ear splitting. They are just not safe to open. They are dangerous". Barry saw the windows and said: "I'm really concerned about this window arrangement. The whole window flexes to a point where rain will come in when the wind blows. And we've got another really, really serious problem. If we open the window, it is completely unrestricted, it can be opened to its fullest extent so that someone can easily fall out. They should have shown more professionalism in providing a design to suit the circumstances." Jo added: "Anglian say they are going to repair the windows. Am I going to be able to trust that? I don't really have a lot of faith with Anglian anymore."
Barry told us what he thought of the work he'd seen so far: "Well, I think it's all pretty shocking really. They demonstrate a complete lack of care, poor workmanship, not something that I would expect in this trade."
We also met Fran Heaton whose conservatory was built in July 2008 at a cost of £22,000. Fran told us about the problems she's had with it: "The roof is lower than the bar so the door doesn't open, the roof has leaked quite a lot and also the plasterwork which was redone is now all coming away. There are damp patches around the electricity sockets as well which is obviously quite dangerous." Despite the fact Anglian came to patch up some of the work - the problems have continued. Fran added: "Just over a year ago I actually just gave up completely. I just resigned myself to the fact that this is what I've got, a very expensive conservatory that just doesn't get used at all." Barry inspected the conservatory and told us: "Well it's a really shoddy structure. The conservatory's pulling away from the original building, the base is unstable and the whole thing just needs to be taken down and start again. This is negligent on the part of Anglian Home Improvements and I'm appalled by the quality."
Appalled by the quality of what you've seen? So are we Barry... and so are the customers we've met. So what about Anglian themselves?
Anglian Home Improvements response:
Quality and Customer service are incredibly important to us and we would like to whole-heartedly apologise to any customers we have disappointed.
We currently have nearly 50,000 conservatories and over 400,000 window and door installations under guarantee across the UK and we honour each and every one of the commitments to those customers.
We have fought hard for our strong reputation for Service and we continue to invest in it to ensure our customers receive the best possible Customer Care. We have clearly failed to do this with those customers you have featured on your programme this evening. We would like to stress however that prior to your notification of the issues we were already in the process of addressing the four cases we were aware of and are now in the process of addressing the fifth which you have brought to our attention. As each case is within the ten year guarantee period we will rectify any issues they have as we have always done throughout our 45 year history.
Any customer wishing to contact us regarding their Anglian Home Improvement can call us on 0800 500 600. Lines are open tonight until 10 pm, alternatively please email customerservices@angliangroup.com
(Issued 26th April 2011)
Watchdog Viewer Responses:
We had new windows and doors by anglian in January 2006. We had a number of issues with their work - numerous broken tiles, broken windowsills, windows not locking/unlocking correctly the list goes on - and we are still to this day waiting for a customer service call back.
I would never have Anglian to clean my windows let alone fit any others.
Claire, Cornwall
Anglian replaced our windows and doors several years ago and we had nothing but problems! We had to call them out on 3 seperate occasions so that they could fix mistakes they'd made. Windows wouldn't shut, and neither would the back door! They only came to resolve things when we complained to them formally.
Many years on and we've still got problems! A couple of our windows don't close properly any more and now our back door seems to be coming away! It seems like they've not improved! The fact that they have the audacity to say their quality is unbeatable and service second to none is laughable!
Laura Wallett
Room for (Anglian) improvements?