Hello,
For anyone who has looked into getting solar panels, heat pumps etc. installed in/at their homes, two things will have quickly become apparent:
* There are lots and lots of businesses competing in the marketplace
* Most want customers to pay hefty deposits, ranging from 30% - 50%, at time of order.
Scratch a little below the surface and then you realise - many of these businesses are relatively small, often with limited assets. Many have also only been established, in the last few years.
There's no consumer protection, for when things go wrong (for example, if a supplier goes bust, after taking your deposit)
There's a relatively high profile installation company having recently gone bust, which has brought this issue to the front of my mind.
Asking people to pay 30% - 50% of the price of a new solar panel system, or other similar expensive kit, is fundamentally wrong. We aren't talking about specialist, made to order equipment, and there isn't a lot of labour needed, prior to the day of installation.
Title to the equipment (solar panels, batteries, heatpumps etc.) doesn't pass to the customer, on the day the deposit is paid.
So, you are essentially being pressed to pay up to half of the purchase price for no good reason, other than to perhaps fund the installers working capital.
This industry needs to be regulated and quickly, otherwise we're going to have a lot of people losing a lot of money, with no come back.
My personal view, is that all suppliers and installers should be forced to get a Bond, as required of all Travel Agents, to protect customers, if something goes wrong. Either that, or installers and suppliers get told to take a hike, if they ask for anything more than a modest booking deposit, when a customer places an order. However, right now, it seems that demand is high, so installers and suppliers are getting to dictate terms.
For anyone who has looked into getting solar panels, heat pumps etc. installed in/at their homes, two things will have quickly become apparent:
* There are lots and lots of businesses competing in the marketplace
* Most want customers to pay hefty deposits, ranging from 30% - 50%, at time of order.
Scratch a little below the surface and then you realise - many of these businesses are relatively small, often with limited assets. Many have also only been established, in the last few years.
There's no consumer protection, for when things go wrong (for example, if a supplier goes bust, after taking your deposit)
There's a relatively high profile installation company having recently gone bust, which has brought this issue to the front of my mind.
Asking people to pay 30% - 50% of the price of a new solar panel system, or other similar expensive kit, is fundamentally wrong. We aren't talking about specialist, made to order equipment, and there isn't a lot of labour needed, prior to the day of installation.
Title to the equipment (solar panels, batteries, heatpumps etc.) doesn't pass to the customer, on the day the deposit is paid.
So, you are essentially being pressed to pay up to half of the purchase price for no good reason, other than to perhaps fund the installers working capital.
This industry needs to be regulated and quickly, otherwise we're going to have a lot of people losing a lot of money, with no come back.
My personal view, is that all suppliers and installers should be forced to get a Bond, as required of all Travel Agents, to protect customers, if something goes wrong. Either that, or installers and suppliers get told to take a hike, if they ask for anything more than a modest booking deposit, when a customer places an order. However, right now, it seems that demand is high, so installers and suppliers are getting to dictate terms.
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