Nndroid wrote:
This is all rather disturbing and I'm on the verge of cancelling the
Everest guy. Am posting above to see if anyone can suggest a decent
independent replacement windows person in North London. Thanks, NNDROID

You know what you want. Telephone them, if they don't do timber
windows and doors, cancel the appointment. If they *do* what you
want, get a price from them (as mentioned elsewhere, never an "if
you buy now" price). Use this price, as well as other estimates,
to help you decide who is to do get the business. For other
estimates you could try a nearby glazier, or small builder, or
even another "big" firm (say you're getting other estimates,
but don't tell them whether you already have any, especially
what prices you have!). Don't let anyone estimate for something
substantially different from your requirements, i.e. if you want
DG timber, don't even entertain a price for PVC, aluminium or
single-glazing.

All this stuff about salesmen staying for hours when they're not
wanted is guff. If you have the information you need, just say
"Thanks, bye bye, we'll let you know" or words to that effect. If
you're feeling at all vulnerable, make sure there's someone, or a
couple of people that you know & trust with you as moral support.