Universal Windows Direct

What I want:

1.itemized invoice (cost per window)

2.Refund consideration for overpriced windows.

Project Price: $13,142, Price per window $3,285.50

My sales person, advised me if I bought 4 windows, I would get 2 free windows. I asked for but did not receive an invoice at that time.

Without paperwork, I did pay the requested amount, which now figures to be $3285.50 per window. If I had received an itemized invoice, I would have cancelled the order. I did not get one till after the project was completed, and it was not itemized.

I have reached out to the sales person from Winchester KY and Universal Windows Direct 800-984-**** several times for help. Window Cost Calculator on the internet, said to expect Universal Windows Direct to have prices fall between $450 and $1300 per window.

Yes, the house is old with 2 large windows 3 smaller windows ordered, but a nearly 300% overage is usurpment.

I realize I have no legal standing on this and am only able to express my disappointment and frustration online. I am not asking for free, just a FAIR price.

Universal of Windows Direct of Charlotte installed all of our home windows nearly 10 years ago. The windows are just 'OK' as far as quality is concerned, but even though I've bought their cheap windows, they continue to harass me with advertising mail on a regular and frequent basis.

I've called the local office and their corporate office more times than I can count, and still I continue to receive their useless ads. Is it really that difficult to be removed from a mailing list?

Sometimes something so simple can tell one all they need to know about the company behind it! I won't be using or recommending their products or services again.

To start off with, I will say the price of the windows ( for a lifetime warranty) was a great deal. The installation didn't take that long and the workers completed the job in 1 day doing 10 windows.

They cleaned up and didn't leave a trace of them being there. That's the good part. The bad part happened about 4 months after installation. The caulking cracked and pulled away and while cleaning the windows for the first time in the spring I noticed the main frame on one window was damaged.

I contacted my sales person and they directed me to the customer support to get these issues fixed. A worker came out pretty fast, took photos and measurements for the main frame and sent out to get the repairs started. Then I had to wait from June 30th until Sept 12th to see them come out again. I left work early to accommodate the work crew with the main frame installation.

However, the worker measured the old window and mainframe that took months to build and said if he installed it I wouldn't be able to open the window, because it was the wrong size. So he took more pictures and measurements and sent those to the office. He did redo the caulking on windows that was failing (that looks better now, lets hope it stays that way). Now i wait for another main frame for my windows.

This warranty which is the main reason I went with Universal Windows Direct seems to be lacking and is making me second guess my decision to go with this company. I would be careful about using them because of this issue I am currently having. It makes me worry if there is ever a real issue how long it will take to resolve correctly. I will say that if this is fixed in a timely manner I may alter this review, but until that happens I can not in good faith say that universal windows direct is the best company for your whole house window renovations.

Was just informed it will be another 9 weeks before this main frame can be fixed putting this warranty repair now at over 18 weeks. 09/13/2023, Now they are saying (in their reply here) it's due to production delays. No, it was measured not once, not twice but three times. If it was done correctly the first time, there would not be another 9 weeks of lead time.

I really now will not be changing my review and do not recommend Universal Windows Direct for you replacement window needs.

09/14/2023- Update they tried to install again on 11/28/2023 an the dimensions were wrong yet again and could not be installed.. This is not a company I can recommend.

NEVER USE THIS COMPANY!! We met with the sales person, who sat in our kitchen and lied to us from the beginning.

This will be a 1 day job, forgot about the 3 years to get to the one day. It was over 3 years for them to complete the job. All are crews work for us they said, not contracted. Lie #2.

None of the crews work for them other than contract, one crew had only worked for them for 2 weeks. Day 1, they showed up without the sliding glass door and didn't know where it was. Finally found it under some other name. Showed up at leased 8 times and the crews didn't even know why they were there and when informed said they didn't have the parts they needed and would have to come back.

Each time was a 2-4 hour window that you had to wait on them and not go to work yourself. The crew day 1 dropped a window on the corner and damages the frame and screen and installed it and didn't say anything about it, we found it later that day. Took them over 6 months and 2 different times to replace the window and the guys didn't even have the screen to replace and had to come back again. They installed the sliding window without shimming them and they sagged and had to be fixed with another visit.

They have had to replace multiple screens on new window that were installed wrong and coming apart. They finally sent a trouble shooter out because we had so many problems and he was saying he never seen a job like this and wrote down all this info, that never was given to anyone and no one knew anything about it. He got promoted and know knows what happened to his notes. Any time you try to get ahold of anyone you are on hold forever and never get anyone, they have a nice leave a message that no one calls you back.

They are problem tired of hearing all the complaints.

NEVER USE THIS COMPANY! Oh, they did offer us $400 off a $16,000 job.

Muddy boot prints on my hardwood floors. Clumps of mud left in front hallway.

Installers STOOD on my furniture and in my kitchen sink instead of using ladders. I was instructed to move anything from area around windows which I did. Without my knowledge workers removed all blinds, shades and curtains including hardware attached to the wall- not the window frame. Everything was thrown in a heap on the guest room bed .

The back door was left standing open when they left. I am 73 years old and completely disabled. I now have to hire a handyman to clean up and put everything back together.

I expect you to pay for that. Please contact me as soon as possible

Gale Moss

I love the windows. Very nice.

Lots of companies have nice windows (and probably cost a lot less). The problem is that once the sale is made, you won't ever get to speak to them again, even if the windows haven't yet been delivered. Company personnel are really put off by your attempts to speak to them, like you aren't worth their time. I even tried to contact the company about the yard sign I agreed to.

No luck. There is supposed to be a warranty but, frankly, if they won't talk to you about advertising themselves, what are my chances they'll talk to me about a warranty.

I love when I feel like a peasant after spending gobs of money. Like I said, I love the windows and I hate to have to even bring the company's attitude up, but how we are treated once they have the dough is important.

I purchased new windows on August 27th of 2020. Today is April 11, 2021 and my windows project is still not completed.

The automated phone system is an absolute joke. Receiving a call back or getting a pro-active update as to the progress of your project is virtually nonexistent. You as the customer must hound them to get an update. You are promised the moon and the stars by the sales personnel, but the management cannot deliver.

I bought windows, shudders, and a new front door, slider doors, and screen doors, along with colored trim to surround the new windows. On January 30th ( a Saturday ) of 2021 an installation crew FINALLY arrived at my home. Within the first 30 minutes of arrival a problem existed. The installation crew did not have the shudders I had ordered.

They blamed the problem on an absent Warehouse manager who normally would be in charge of stocking their vehicle with the necessary product. Then the work order that the crew leader had with him showed that I had ordered blue trim for my new windows. The trouble is, I had ordered red trim on August 27th of 2020. I showed the crew leader my original order form which clearly showed that I had ordered Red.

He then showed me his copy of the invoice. His copy clearly showed blue. Somebody at Universal Windows had altered the contract after the fact. At any rate, since January 30th 2021 I have windows without shudders, Windows without any window sills or trim.

From the road or sidewalk all you can see is the hardened foam that was sprayed in between and surrounding the window frames. Roughly 6 months to prepare for my installation and this company couldn't get it right. The installation crew was cordial, professional, and overall performed pretty well. I was assured that I would be contacted within 3 business days to schedule a follow up scheduling for the shudders and the trim work that would still need to be completed.

Based on how professional an reassuring this crew leader was, I believed him and paid my invoice in full. COLOSSAL MISTAKE ON MY PART. So Wednesday following my installation came and went and nobody contacted me. I waited an additional week thereafter and still I had not been contacted.

Finally I had to call them. Misery is all you'll ever get when attempting to navigate this company's automated phone menus. It then only gets worse when you actually get to talk to somebody. You get transferred multiple times and if your lucky you wont get hung up on.

Its a God Awful Mess. So I finally get to talk to somebody who informs me that their is a shortage on red trim and that my installation would be put off until April 1st. Yet another delay. The delay in getting the original install was blamed on a glass shortage due to Covid-19.

At any rate in the time frame between January 30th and April 1st I had noticed an unreasonable draft coming inside the house from underneath the new front door. Also the deadbolt on the new front door would not lock properly because the strike plate wasn't aligned properly. In addition the crank out windows in the kitchen didn't function properly once they were cranked open. When cranking them shut, the mechanism doesn't align with the resting cradle when finished.

This means that every time I open and then close these 2 windows I must take the crank lever off of the shaft and manually reset them to have the lever rest in its cradle. All 3 of these problems are minor and require minimal adjustments. I reported these problems in Early February. To Universals credit they responded to these problems 4 times.

As it turns out this was 3 times too many. I explained all 4 times to the representative that I had issues in my home that precluded having multiple visits to the home. I didn't mind waiting until April to have the service issues repaired and to have the installation procedures all completed all at the same time and date. 4 DIFFERENT PHONE CALLS, from 4 different representatives all had to be told this.

Now the really fun part begins. Since nobody called me and nobody showed up on April 1st, I called on April 7th. Needless to say I was quite irate that once again I had to be the one to initiate contact. Anticipating yet another round of frustration had me already in a combative mood prior to anyone answering their phones.

I wasn't disappointed anticipating aggravation and anger Within the first 5 minutes, probably sooner than that, The gal on the phone tells me " Some " of the parts for my project had come in and that I could be scheduled for completion of the project. Instantly I was angered at the word " some ". I explained that I would take any Saturday that was available. She then instantly told me that Saturdays are NOT available at all.

I instantly dismissed anything else she had to say after that. I demanded to speak to a manager. From the date I purchased this disaster I had been assured by the salesman Chris, and the Crew leader who was at my home on Saturday January 30th and another Manager named Cary that my project would be completed on a Saturday when I could be home. Now I'm being told that Saturdays are an impossibility.

Again I demand to speak to a manager. ( THIS IS WHERE THE REAL FUN BEGINS ) A lady named Shalia identified herself as the scheduling manager and she was only to happy to engage me in a heated argument and actually seemed to enjoy talking over my shouts and virtually assuring me that she WOULD NOT schedule me a Saturday completion date. I stated to her " I'm done with you, give me the manager that you report to. She said that there wasn't anyone above her.

I asked if she owned the company. She said no. So I asked to speak to the General Manager, The Owner or anyone who's authority superseded her own. She insisted that there was nobody.

I hung up on her. I then called back 30 minutes later asking to speak to a manager. Guess who answered ? Shalia again.

Shalia must have told me 3 or more times how she was willing to work with me on the completion of the project, but that service issues were not performed on Saturdays. I'm now shouting and threatening that this is NOT A SERVICE ISSUE. ITS AN INSTALLATION ISSUE, and do not tell me you do not perform this work on Saturdays because if you check your calendar you'll clearly see that January 30th of this year WAS IN FACT A SATURDAY. On that Saturday your crews were unprepared to complete the job, and thats why I'm still awaiting the installation to be completed.

In addition to the installation being completed I needed service issues also looked at and repaired. I assured her that Saturdays and Sundays are THE ONLY DAYS OF THE WEEK THAT I AM AVAILABLE TO COMPLETE THIS PROJECT.....She kept doubling down that she WOULD NOT schedule me a Saturday...PERIOD. She seemed to revel in telling me that what I needed, I was never going to get from her. After cursing profusely and threatening, I hung up.

I then contacted the BBB, The Ohio Attorney General and Channel 5 News.

The following day I received several calls from a Universal Windows Direct Gentleman Named John. He identified himself as Director Of Operations. Finally I had a person of REAL authority and who had obviously dealt with irate customers before. Within 15-20 minutes of a stern and agitated, but far less heated conversation, John assured me that I would in fact receive a Saturday date to complete my installation and complete my service issues.

I'm now tentatively scheduled for a finish date of April 24th 2021.

POSITIVELY THE WORST EXPERIENCE I'VE EVER HAD WITH ANY PRODUCT OR COMPANY AND.. ITS NOT EVEN CLOSE ..!