Adverts promising ‘help to buy windows’ are becoming more common online and on social media – with the promise of a grant, possibly from the government, to help you improve your home. That is what it sounds like at least – and it will sound familiar as the government does have ‘help to buy’ schemes for first-time buyers. So is it worth it?

The government offers no help or funding to help add double glazing to your home, so how does it work? Firstly, you will have to answer some qualifying questions to check you are eligible for the scheme. You will, of course, qualify as the company needs you to. The questions that they are will easily allow you to qualify, such as are your current windows over five years old? Or are you under the age of 75? By passing these questions, customers feel confident and excited, thinking that they are special – this means they are more likely to spend their money.

Once you have been approved, you can officially ‘apply’.  They’ll have to come out and see you. This is simply another way of getting a salesperson into your home to give you the hard sell. When the salesperson does come out, he’ll bombard you with a load of numbers and statistics to overwhelm or confuse you. Eventually, you’ll be made an offer including your ‘discount’, which is significantly higher than if you simply approached a fair and honest local business. To give you this discount, your initial price will be much higher than it should be. They’ll try to make it more attractive with finance options which make it seem affordable but is actually more expensive again.

Therefore, the ‘help to buy’ scheme actually ends up being precisely the same price as you would pay without the discount. The only difference is that the company’s initial quote is much higher to make you feel like you are saving money.