Warning after scammers pose as window firm and take customers’ cash
Homeowners are being warned to check who they are dealing with after scammers allegedly posed as an established window company and took money from a customer.
Fraudsters are allegedly impersonating legitimate window companies to trick homeowners into paying for work that never takes place.
Oldbury-based Reliant Windows said its name had been used without permission on at least two occasions.
In one case, a woman reportedly handed over money and later called the genuine company to ask why her installer had not arrived. She was then told that the person she had paid did not work for Reliant.
Nick Allen, marketing director at Reliant Windows, said: “Fraudsters have impersonated Reliant Windows, going so far as to take money from an unsuspecting homeowner who only realised she’d been conned when she called us asking where her installer was.
“This wasn’t an isolated incident; it has happened again more recently.”
Mr Allen said the speed with which people now search for tradespeople could make it harder to distinguish a genuine local company from an impostor.
“If someone has a draughty frame, they grab their phone and search ‘near me’ in five seconds flat,” he said.
“But a high ranking on a search engine doesn’t equal a high-quality installation.”
Independent figures show that problems with home-improvement work are widespread. The Citizens Advice Consumer Service received 36,534 complaints about home maintenance and improvements between July 2024 and June 2025. Across all types of work, 5,230 complaints involved suspected scams or rogue traders.
Warning signs homeowners should check
Citizens Advice recommends obtaining written quotes from at least three traders and independently checking business addresses, qualifications and scheme memberships.
Homeowners should be particularly cautious if a trader:
- Demands cash or full payment upfront
- Refuses to provide a written quote
- Pressures them into an immediate decision
- Provides only a mobile number
- Uses bank details that do not match the genuine company
- Claims an accreditation that cannot be independently confirmed
Window installers may be registered with FENSA or another approved competent-person scheme. FENSA is not the only route to compliance.
GOV.UK guidance says anyone contacted by a supposed representative of a window company should verify their identity using the telephone number published on the company’s official website, not a number supplied by the salesperson.