A lot of double glazing companies will try to use finance to sell you new windows. This can be attractive to customers, as it’s usually easier to pay £100 a month than find £5000 upfront. But customers need to be aware of a few things before they make that decision.

Finance costs money. Credit cards, bank loans, overdrafts and mortgages all have one thing in common. The customer pays interest on the balance because they have the convenience and the lender has the risk.

“But ABC Windows do 0% finance”. Ask yourself why ABC Windows want to lend you money, take the risk of you not paying it back, and all for no reward. The simple answer is they don’t and won’t. It’s a trick.

Often one of the first questions a salesman will ask is “are you paying cash or finance?”. You might think the payment method would be the last thing to ask, but there’s an important reason it comes at the beginning. It’s to allow them to give you the finance price from the start. Which is always higher than the cash price. This is how the ‘0%’ comes about. If the cost of credit (the interest) is let’s say £1000 over five years, the price has to go up by at least £1000 fom the start, without you noticing. Then because you’re already paying the interest (the extra £1000 on the price) they can claim to be offering it on 0% terms. In other words the interest has been hidden in the purchase price.

Also be aware of how keen the salesman is that you take finance. Often there will be an extra commission for him if you do. Because if you take it, the finance company makes money, the window company makes money and the salesmen makes money. And you’re paying for it all.

There’s no such thing as 0% finance. Someone always pays for it. Usually you.

Strathclyde Windows. Exposing the secrets of the double glazing industry.