“Joke of a company
Had the sales man round for a conservatory (4hours) he couldn't.t show us the image of the conservatory, so told him I wasn't prepared to sign until I saw the images. He returned the following day, we signed at £26,000 (3.5 hours). 10 day later the surveyor arrived (5.5 hours). Noted a couple of issues with the original.
1) not included the a rated glass we were sold.
2) only accounted for 1m2 of plastering.
3) garage wall is only a single skin, needed to be insulated etc.
Surveyor called sales man, and explained these. Salesman statement he had missed them off, and that they should be included with no additional cost.
Surveyor also mentioned a soil test as we are 200m away from the sea and moving the boiler flume.
4 weeks after the surveyors visit, no communication with Zenith. I have been calling, emailing, texting the office and head office with limited progress. Finally found out this morning (verbally) they want to add on more than £12000 to the job. Thing he forgot the add!!!!! No the things mentioned above that he agreed should be done but made a mistake and agreed no price increase. (this is stated on my documents). They also want to do a raft foundation, WHY? They don't know, but we are close to the sea. Explained my soil is the same as where there Office is in Southsea (Portsmouth). They don't need raft foundations in Southsea!!!! Wasted 6 weeks with these jokers, and over 12 hours of my time. So what do I do now? Will I loose my £399.”
“It took them 3 months to decide whether they will at all do my conservatory or not and decided not and another 3 to give me my money back. Disgraceful. It took them 5 mins to take it and numerous phone calls to chase to get it. Why do I need to chase my money? Were they hoping I will forget and they can keep it? Also they promise someone from customer service to call but they never do, the customer service manager left with no notice so it's an indication what kind of workplace it is as well.
During numerous calls no one actually even apologise for the delay.
If this is how they conduct their business I'm glad they are not doing my conservatory as it would be total shambles too.”
“I would never give my custom to Zenith! A Salesman came round to quote for new windows. Within seconds I was given a brochure showing a “free” holiday I would get if I placed an order. I didn’t at anytime see what windows they offer and thought maybe they’d be better off trading as a Travel Agent! During the duration of the visit,the quote price reduced by £6000!!!! This was following a couple of calls to his Manager to get me the “best deal”. I told the salesman,who was desperate for a sales because he was “going to be in trouble with his boss”, that he was flogging a dead horse! I have no doubt that there are vulnerable or elderly people that would pay the higher price,in my opinion get completely ripped off. The ethics of this company and they way they do business is disgusting and cringe worthy. I am angry that I wasted an evening listening to the drivel. This I might add was not the sales person I had a problem with it is the company. I pity anyone that works for them. I want quality windows at a competitive price which is given first time, knowledgable sales person and no “free” holiday which is clearly not free. Simple and basic business model I would say. Listen to the voice of the customer,stop insulting their intelligence and get with the times Zenith!”
“Very bad experience with customer service. New windows installed 16th of December 2018one until missing. Today is 6th of February still waiting for missing unit. Me and my husband call them so many times, Zenith no bother to inform us what is happening? Finally after almost 6 weeks ,we get appointment , guess what? No one came,no phone call to explain why? Phone customer service AGAIN ,ladie couldn't tell when someone will be able to came. Spoke with menager , actually he was nice, apologise and promise to get back to me next day....ha ha... of course he did not call me . After another phone call i get another appointment for 2pm...why i was not surprised ,when engineer did not came? Still waiting ...We get good price from Zenith,but if I know how much trouble we will have i will definitely choose different ,more expensive company. Engineer Naithan who was fitting the windows was absolutely FANTASTIC, very hard working man , Zenith should be proud of worker like him.”
“AVOID THIS COMPANY. Very bad experience. NEVER PAY UPFRONT. Avoid At all costs this company. The review I am writing is based on my personal experience after I paid 349£ and got nothing. ALL started when I looked through an advert which was saying that I can get my windows replaced if they are 10 years old through government funding.
NEXT DAY i received a call saying that if I qualify I can get my windows replaced and in the evening a "salesman" rang on my door. He arrived at 7.30 in the evening, with a small window sample which he claimed are best in the UK. He looked at my windows, and for 7 small upvc window ( one was tiny 500mm×900mm) he claimed they can install for around 14000£, but because he can do me a discount it would cost me around 9000£. I said is too expensive and do not want any windows. Then the guy phoned his manager who said that they can do it for aroud 6000. Again I said is too expensive and I need to think a couple of days. It was 23.30 and the salesman was still in my house, and he would not leave, saying that they need my signature in order for him to be paid. He then said that I have 7 days to cancel and i would not be charged anyting. I SIGNED HIS PAPER ONLY TO SEE HIM OUT OF MY HOUSE AS IT WAS 24.00 ALREADY. He called his manager and said is all sorted (at 24.00!). Next day I am calling to cancel only to be told that I was charged 349£ administration fee and is non refundable. They will not refund me. I couldn't believe it. Now I am seeking legal advice to get my money back, as this is unacceptable.
Please avoid this company, but mainly, do not pay anything to them.”
“Extremely Poor Product and Customer Service
Extremely Poor Customer Service. We had Bi-Foldind door installed with Chrome handles. Less than two years from installation the chrome handle developed bubbling. Reported to Zenith customer service and initially told by the Engineer that they would replace faulty handle. But no contacted us to arrange for the handle to be replaced.
Made a complaint but no one from Zenith called back, even through a call back from management was promised on three different occasions.
After 5 weeks I have now been told that the bubbling in the chrome handle is likely from weathering so they won’t replace it, even when the handle was less than 2 years old when the bubbling developed.
Very poor excuse given and now told my Carefree policy does not cover this, although they had fitted poor quality accessory to the door.
Even worse was the manner the customer service dealt with the complaint. Making promises and then no calling back.
Anyone thinking of using Zenith for home improvement and taking out their carefree policy should stay away from them.”
“Do It All are a useless, unprofessional bunch of cowboys who should not be allowed anywhere near any windows. They fit windows for Zenith and are billed as master craftsmen in fact they are jobbing builders who crash bash and smash their way round your home, don't put down dust sheets and leave a trail of mess in their wake whilst being unable to successfully fit any windows correctly.”
“RUBBISH COMPANY DO NOT TOUCH WITH A BARGEPOLE! They have totally ruined my home's windows. None of them open and they have hardly any fittings so the tops have sagged. One was cracked 3 times and remains so and one was cracked twice. They have used Silicone to stick the ill fitting windows to the outside of the brickwork so when the windows are refitted with real fitting windows this will have to be removed somehow. They have been back loads of times but no progress after months. I would give no stars but it isn't an option.”
“Had the salesman turn up as planned and he turned into my best mate Paul and actually didn't need to do this job and all the other sales ploys. Eventually after about 3 hours we were persuaded to sign up for a massively discounted price and paid a £1500 deposit. We interviewed other salesman that week and decided to go for own whose non discounted price undercut Zenith by a couple of thousand. We emailed Zenith to cancel the contract 4 days after signing, well within the 7 days they quote, and asked for our deposit back, the cheque had not, at this time, been cashed. We were contacted by Zenith and asked if we would be willing to let another salesman come in to try and see if we would stay, we declined. A few days later we noticed that the cheque had been cashed so a phone call was made to their customer support and we were told that our total money would be returned by BACS transfer as it was the quickest way. 1 week later and no money in the bank so another call to Zenith Customer support where we learn that a BACS transfer from Zenith will take between 14 and 21 days!! How can they get away with this. Do not let this company anywhere near your money.”
“Got a salesman round for a quote about 3 months ago. I was expecting the long sales pitch. We did decide to buy the door. Not cheap but we knew it was good quality. Door was fitted by good tradesmen, two very pleasant young lads who done a good job.
The main thing we are furious and upset at is the £349 "admin fee." At the time we thought it was the deposit. If we were made aware it was an admin fee I don't think we would have paid it. When I made complaints to Zenith about this all they keep saying is para... Explains this.
You have 7 days to cancel the order but the admin fee is non refundable!!!
Not happy. I have noticed similar complaints on other review sites. I won't be using this company again and will not be recommending them even though their product is good.
Just be more upfront when selling and less of the sales pitch with phone calls to the "manager." Embarrassing and a wasting time. It was like being back in the 80's.”
“Zenith is a dirty word in our house. As one of your reviews said "absolutely c..p".
and I wish I had read the reviews before I had the work done. For a start why does it take the salesmen nearly four hours to give you a quote and why go through all that rubbish about ringing the Manager to get the price down? A waste of four hours. Had windows and doors fitted on 2nd August of this year. After fitters went could not unlock the patio door and found various other matters we were not happy with. A salesman called as we were thinking of having other doors replaced - when he came we told him about the problems and he agreed it was not right and rang in about complaint. We had been ringing for several weeks and got no-where but thanks to him we then had a service engineer call on the 29th August who agreed there were problems and took away a list of requirements and said he would order the necessary parts. We now wait and wait and are still waiting despite my ringing every week for an update. Every time I ring they speak to Amanda who is chasing up the order and she will ring us back. She did ring once and said she was waiting for the bits to come in and since then we have heard nothing and so we wait and wait and wait. Spoke to Anabel today and she said she would send an e-mail to Amanda and she will ring me today that was several hours ago and we wait and we wait. Have now cancelled the Carefree Agreement as I cannot see the point in paying over £140 a year for after sales care as they cannot deal with after sales at this point let alone in the future. Have requested to speak to someone in authority but do not seem to be able to get past the girls who answer the phone. Apart from never using Zenith again (I know hindsight is a wonderful thing) has anyone any suggestions as to where I go now? Would a letter to Head Office be any good and if so to whom do I write?”
“These clowns made my house collapse after assuring me through a 'technical survey report' that everything was ok. My partner has now died because of breathing difficulties related to the asbestos that these idiots disturbed without even telling us.”
“I am in the middle of a very stressful garden room/conservatory installation.
The Salesman first visited us on 24 April 2018.
We were told installation would take about 10-14 days and would be completed beginning to mid July.
The Surveyor came 3 May.
By 16 July we hadn’t heard anything and so we started to chase them up.
They finally said they would start on 23 July.
23 July they didn’t come due to staff problems.
They started the digging out on 24/25th July.
26th July they didn’t come due to staffing problems.
Then they worked 26/27th July and came back and finished the basic walls and windows by 31 July..
The team did not know when anyone would come and do roof and rest of making watertight.
They did not know when skip would be collected as this is carried out by a different department, which meant we had to park our car on the road, which costs us money as we need to have parking permits to do that.
Skip men came unannounced one morning on the off chance we were in…which we happened to be.
I chased them up again and was told earliest they could come and do the roof was 13th August.
13/14/15th August they came and did roof and making good the walls.
Electrical team came on 15th August and did 1st fix.
No-one seemed to know when plastering and 2nd fix would happen.
The next day it rained and a leak in roof became apparent.
We phoned them again.
They said they could not send anyone to fix leak until 24th August. Which means I am left with a conservatory with a temporary floor which causes dust to circulate throughout the whole house. I am having to dust and hoover every day to keep it down. I cannot get the floor done until the plastering of the walls is done.
When I mentioned this they said they were not aware of any plastering to be done !! This, even though it is clearly listed on the plans and it is pretty obvious that a briese block wall is going to have to be plastered.
When I pointed that out the response from the lady on the installation team was that they were a windows company not a building company and could not be expected to know that plastering needed to be done.
As no plastering team had been booked the first date they could send someone out to do plastering would be 6/7th September.
They surely should have known that plastering would need to be done.
They need a checklist of work to be done.
Why send builders to start work before all roof and glass ready???
They further say that the 2nd fix electrics cannot be carried out until 19th September.
In the meantime the cement floor is causing lots of dirt and dust throughout house. 8 weeks of shambles and chaos.
The problem seems to be that the Installation Centre who book appointments don’t have all the information from site they need.
There is no overall Project Manager who has been on site to coordinate all the different teams.
Each team only knows their schedule and have no idea on overall project.
I have complained to the salesman who came and he said he would look into to it but that was 5 days ago and he hasn't been back to me.
I cannot find any way of complaining to the company and pointing out the problems to anyone who cares.
Maybe the only way they will take notice of me is if I withhold part of the payment to compensate me for all the stress and extra work.
I am not sure how to do that but I am looking into it.
I have had Zenith do window installations, a porch, a garage door....this is our 5th contract with them. They were fine on windows but the conservatory seems to be too much for them. Their infrastructure cannot seem to cope with it.”
“Just Finished the 3hr sales pitch, 2hrs wasted on this ridiculous convoluted, 'Portfolio' option and various staged calls to management getting the price down from 22k to 8.5k if i paid 200quid there and then, and accepted all the marketing, install dates of their choosing and a confidentiality agreement.
All a pointless and underhanded waste of time. Salesman assured me that the company had been in business for 50yrs and had 99pc positive feedback........ now discovering complete lies. Assured me all fitters work for them directly and in full time employment, which i did not believe for one second. Thank goodness i had to go out as he skipped through his 'usual ' sales speech although knowingly making me an hour late.
The product sales pitch and price were absolutely fine, and they may have had a sale if the salesman hadn't worked to this torturous and scripted routine.”
“Having told the salesman before he came that we only wanted a quote and would not be placing an order that day, it took us nearly 3 hours to get rid of him, during which time his quote was reduced by nearly two thirds! He finally left very disgruntled and without an order!
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and having had Zenith Staybright windows installed 29 years ago and being very happy with both them and the installation we decided to let Zenith install my new windows. We did the read the many negative reviews on numerous review sites, but thought people who just liked to complain wrote them. How wrong we were!
This is our tale of woe. On the 19th October 2016 two teams of fitters from Job Worth Doing, (apparently they are sub-contracted by Zenith to do the installations) arrived at about 10.20am to start removing our old windows and fitting new ones. Bulls in a china shop would best describe how they approached or should wesay “attacked” the work, with broken soffit boards and damaged masonry around the surrounds as they got the old frames out.
Then, having replaced, but not finished off, 7 of the 11 windows, they all packed up and left again soon after 3pm!
On the following day only one pair of fitters returned at about 9.20am. They had to fit the 4 remaining windows, one of them a very big lounge window, as well as finishing off the poorly and partly completed windows left by the other team.
Fortunately it was the slightly more responsible of the two teams who returned, and they worked until well after dark to try to finish the job. They eventually left well after 8pm, having worked by the light of my security light and still having to leave a lot of final finishing to be done.
After 4 weeks, and many calls to Zenith Customer Services and Jobs Worth Doing, plus emails, a fitter finally arrived!
The replacement front window was too big for one fitter, so he hadn’t even brought it with him. He did fit a replacement back bedroom window only to discover that also had a mark on it, so yet another needed! He said he would also need to order new internal beading for some of the other windows as well as wider trim to support sagging soffit boards.
Now after a further 2 weeks we still have the front bedroom window with a large crack from top to bottom, and both back bedroom and bathroom windows with unsightly scratches and marks on them as well as a lot of external finishing to do with regard to completing sealant.
We have phoned yet again to complain, but at the time of writing this, 7 weeks after the original installation, we are still waiting to hear from both Zenith and Job Worth Doing as to when (tempted to say if), the problems are to be sorted out.
Ironically, the large Zenith advertising board is right underneath the cracked and partly completed windows. We are happy to leave it there as a warning to any potential customers!
We leave you to decide whether Zenith windows are for you or not!”
