Widow Helen Wicks, of Eller Drive, spent £4,000 with Economy Windows, of Hardwick Industrial Estate, around two and a half years ago and was happy with the work carried out.

But when one of the sealed units was accidentally broken in December, Mrs Wicks was bitterly disappointed with the after-service care she received.

After making a number of fruitless phone calls to arrange a replacement, she eventually spoke to director Peter Hobden and thought progress had been made.

She was then shocked to receive a letter on Tuesday, February 5 saying after her "tantrums" on the phone the company had "no interest" in assisting her with the new window.

An Economy Windows employee had visited Mrs Wicks' home in January and went away to complete a written estimate, but she said when she heard nothing further and her calls were apparently ignored, her frustration mounted.

"They said they would return my calls but they never did. Nobody was ever there to help me," she said.

When Mrs Wicks phoned again at the beginning of February, she was told the unit she needed was no longer in production and a representative from another company would bring one down from Northamptonshire "as a favour."

She then asked to speak to Mr Hobden, who said the unit would be delivered in a week to ten days.

"There was no swearing, no stamping of feet and I was shocked to receive that rude paragraph. It was so unnecessary and I just don't need it.

"Why did they have to be so difficult? Nobody is doing me a favour – I'm a paying customer. I think £74 was not a big enough value for them to bother with," she said.

Mr Hobden told the Lynn News: "In 21 years of trading neither myself or any member of my staff have taken that kind of call before and I will do my utmost to prevent abuse from customers."

"Economy Windows has for the last 21 years responded to every service call request with the same enthusiasm as a sales call and we have responded to calls where other companies have gone out of business," he added.

Mrs Wicks has since had the window replaced by another tradesman.