Why Checkatrade Can't Protect You From Double Glazing Overcharging

When UK homeowners decide to buy double glazing, their first instinct is usually to check comparison sites like Checkatrade, TrustATrader, or Trustpilot. They look for companies with 5-star ratings, assuming that a highly-rated company is a safe bet.

This is a dangerous misconception. While these platforms are excellent for verifying that a company does tidy work and turns up on time, they offer absolutely zero protection against being massively overcharged.

Here is why the review system is fundamentally broken when it comes to double glazing pricing.

Reviews Measure Installation, Not Valuation

When a homeowner leaves a review for a double glazing company, they are reviewing the experience of the installation. Were the fitters polite? Did they clean up the dust? Do the windows look nice and keep the drafts out?

If the answer is yes, the customer leaves a glowing 5-star review.

What the customer does not know is that they may have paid £12,000 for a job that had a floor price of £7,000. Because the customer is unaware of the "sliding scale" commission model, they have no idea they were overcharged. They are happy with the product, so they leave a positive review.

The "Pay to Play" Model

It is also crucial to understand the business model of these comparison sites. Platforms like Checkatrade are lead-generation businesses. Tradespeople pay a monthly membership fee to be listed on the platform and receive leads.

The platform's primary customer is the tradesperson, not the homeowner. While they do vet their members for basic qualifications and insurance, they do not audit their pricing structures or sales tactics. A company can use aggressive, high-pressure, sliding-scale sales scripts every single day and maintain a perfect rating on these platforms, provided the final installation is satisfactory.

The Illusion of Competition

Many homeowners use these sites to get "three independent quotes," believing this guarantees a fair market price. However, if all three companies you select use the same sliding-scale commission model (which the vast majority do), you are not comparing real prices. You are just comparing three different salespeople trying to see how high up the scale they can push you.

The solution is simple: use the Bottom Line Price Checker alongside any quotes you collect. It gives you the one number the comparison sites will never show you — the actual bottom line price for your specific job.

How to Actually Protect Yourself

You should absolutely use review sites to check the quality of a company's workmanship. But you must separate the quality of the fit from the fairness of the price.

In fact, here is the counterintuitive truth that ReQuotes is built on: the big national companies — Anglian, Everest, and their peers — often do produce a superior product. They manufacture their own uPVC profiles in their own UK factories. Their installation teams are trained to a consistent standard. Their guarantees are backed by large organisations. On quality, the 5-star reviews are often deserved.

The problem is never the product. The problem is the sales model. A company can make an excellent window and still overcharge you by £5,000 on the same job. Checkatrade will never tell you that. Only an independent floor-price check will.

1. Check the reviews for workmanship. Ensure the company has a track record of good installations and honouring guarantees. The big nationals often score well here for good reason.
2. Check the price with ReQuotes. Do not rely on the salesperson's "discount." Use our independent The Bottom Line Price Checker to find the actual floor price — then negotiate from there.

By combining a quality company's installation record with hard data on the floor price, you get the best of both worlds: national company quality at local company prices. That is exactly what ReQuotes users achieve every day.