I want to write a review for people to consider before going with First Home Improvements.
1) They cold call telling you they are doing some work in the neighbourhood and can they come and give you a “quick quote” that lasts 2 years. You don’t see the harm in this so you agree but both of you have to be home for the appointment. This is because they know that no decisions will be made by one person without consulting their partner. It’s designed so they can get an answer when they come.
2) the appointments however are not quick. The guy we had stayed 3 hours (far too long) where they inform you about the history of their company and why they are second on the market. It’s all designed to make you feel that you are going with a trusted, certified company who have a good product (and maybe their product is good, but I’m not sure they are worth the price or worthy of our custom).
3) They eventually do the measurements and then give you a quote which is ridiculously high. For us £18000. But then they tell you your house is beautiful and would be great for marketing and if you agree to put up some boards for a few weeks you can get loads of money off. They do a “call to the manager” to see what they can get off for you, and then as long as you write a review and are happy for them to do the work in 4-6 weeks then the price miraculously goes down. For us it then went down to £11,800. However they tell you this is a one time thing because they are doing work in the area so they need to know then. We were told we had a “few minutes to discuss”. The difficulty with this is you are in a place where you have been overloaded with information, you feel you’re getting a good deal (you aren’t though), being told the product will make a big difference to your house, and you are being pressured to make a quick decision without time to do any research or comparison. You really aren’t in a good place to be making a decision that involves a lot of money.
4) They also tell you that you can get a loan for their services which you can pay off monthly. I’ve realised since then they get extra commission for this if you take this. They tell you it can be 5, 10 or 15 years and it can be as little as a hundred and something a month (which in your head you think is manageable) and whilst they tell you there is interest on the loan “it’s ok because you will probably end up overpaying and it won’t be that much”. The interest however is astronomical and you will end up paying back twice as much as you borrow. It’s insane. But of course they get commission on this, so it’s pushed on you to take it.
5) I am sorry to say we initially signed. We were stupid and it’s not actually like me at all. I instantly however had anxiety and after doing some research I felt like an idiot as you realise this hard sell formula is what they do with everyone and there is no special offer just for you, and they are all just working on commission. I totally get the need for them to make money but I realised our “deal” wasn’t really a deal at all and when reviewing the whole 3 hour meeting (which I think is ridiculous and far too long) you realise you’ve basically been groomed.
6) I emailed and gave written notice of cancellation and I instantly felt relieved. I don’t like feeling like a fool but that is how I felt and I’m not sure I wanted to give my money to a company like that. I do feel like they pressure you to make a decision and their formula obviously works as “they make a million pounds a week” profit which is what we were told in our pitch. This is not surprising given their quotes and loans are insanely high. When you get time to get quotes from other companies you realise you’re not getting a good deal, you’re just being told to believe that you are and the rep at your house is getting 10% of what you sign for. For our rep that would have been over a grand (and then more for the loan we would have taken), kind of awful when you realise that you are being duped.
6) After I sent the email cancelling my contract I had a call from the local office asking for my view on why I cancelled, and then seeing if they could keep me as a customer as they didn’t want to lose my custom. They asked me what price it would take to “keep me”. Out of interest I said it would have to be between 5-6 grand and lo and behold they come back and say we can do it for £6000. I said no thanks. I’m not going with a company that does that. I don’t trust them and even if the product is good I don’t want them to have my money.
7) be careful reading all these positive reviews. Part of the marketing pitch they give you is that as a “thank you” for writing a review they give you extra money off. This to me is weird as the trustpilot site says you should not write reviews if there has been an incentive. However they spin it so you don’t see it as that, but it is an incentive. Just be wary and even if you have just signed, you can cancel (7 day cooling off period)
