When have you been Mis-sold Solar panels?
With the boom in the push for green alternatives for energy over the past ten years. Solar Energy has been at the forefront of the renewable energy sector. Unfortunately, with the market being new, the regulations surrounding the selling of these products have been lack lustred. This has led to a number of people being Mis-sold Solar Panels on Credit agreements.
In April 2018, the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) detailed the general issues they had been receiving from consumers regarding the way that Solar Panels were sold to them.
Usually, victim to cold callers, consumers had been advised that by installing Solar panels on their roof would be a benefit to them. Some had been informed that the installation would reduce their energy bills. And, to such a degree, that even if they purchased the Solar Panels on finance, they would pay for themselves. Others, on the other hand, were told they would make a profit. This would be because the energy providers would end up paying them for their contribution to renewable energy.
Does this sound all too familiar? Then you may have been Mis-sold Solar panels.
Mis-sold Solar Panels – Financial ombudsman case study
In the Financial ombudsman issue 144 of the Ombudsman news. The ombudsman detail the case of “Mr L”, who had been Mis-sold Solar Panels as described in the above.
Mr L had made a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman advising that he had been Mis-sold Solar panels.
Mr L explained to them that, “he was told the panels would be “self-funding”.”. However, he soon came to realise that were not saving him any money. Mr L explained that he had made a complaint to his credit provider, who had refuted his claim on the basis that the benefits had not been misrepresented.
Mis-sold Solar Panels. How has the Financial Ombudsman scheme Helped Consumers?
Mr L had advised FOS that a salesperson had promised that his loan repayments would be covered. The explanation given by the salesperson was that the “Feedin tariff” payments along with the savings made on his electricity bills would cover the cost of the system.
However, in reality, there was a significant shortfall between the amount he was paying in loan repayments and savings he was receiving from the system.
FOS investigated and discovered that Mr L was in fact near £1000 out of pocket per year.
As Mr L wanted to keep the solar panels, to remedy the situation, FOS decided that the best outcome would be for the finance company to re-work the loan. Thus Mr L wouldn’t pay any more for the panels than the potential savings they’d make over the long term.”
