Should have been having our panels fitted TODAY! Oh dear!! :o(

[Mozzerr]

Hi,

I have been a long-term observer of these excellent forums but this is my first post.

After much deliberation - both me and my dad were due to be having identical 4kw PV installs done today.

The scaffolding is outside both of our properties as I write - having been erected yesterday.

No-one turned up this morning, as arranged - and even worse, we've not even had the common courtesy of a phone call to apologise. Shameful.

I've just got off the phone with the company now and it turns out our panels are "still in customs"... All this after I (thought I) had taken great pains to ensure that they had all the stock ready to go, weeks ago! Indeed this was one of my main criteria for choosing to go with this company!

Who knows if we will get fitted before the March deadline now....

What would you do?

Currently, I'm so angry I can hardly type!

Kindest regards,
Moz.

 

[solarcat]

Hi Moz,

the company should have informed you if any delays were to occur...I would say that giving them a ring to ensure they know you are expecting the system to be installed ASAP may not be such a bad idea..nevertheless there is another week to go before the 3rd March deadline, hence there's no need to loose hope yet! Does your contract with the supplier specify that the system will be connected prior to the end of next week?

 

[babba]

NIGHTMARE too many people make too many promises they cant keep and as you said not even a phone call and I bet they have a deposit...where do you live and maybe someone on here can help...

 

[funboy57]

A quick call just to update you would have been in order. My company has been let down though, suppliers take orders ( and money) from us with promises they cant keep. I`ve just spent 1 1/2 days chasing kit from alternative wholesalers.

 

[Mozzerr]

Just got off the phone with their director. He seems confident that will get the panels out of customs in the "next few days" but also has "options" for sourcing another brand of panels. He assures me that they have 2x SMA4000TL's in stock ready! I am awaiting his call back to me in an hour when he will have more concrete knowledge of what they can and cannot do.

We are in north Shropshire / Staffs border area about 20mins from Stoke-on-Trent. Yes, they have both deposits (paid on credit card though) and although we are just outside of the 7 days contract cooling-off period, we are contracted to have the panels fitted prior to the deadline - well Today for my dad and Tomorrow for me, actually.

Before today, apart from the govt. deciding to press on with their supreme court nonsense, it was all going so well!

 

[babba]

The only other problem is how many other people has he let down and everybody is screaming at them for an install date.
I would feel very unsure..not even a phone call..????

 

[dansk]

We had that situation before, and its best to turn up and install all the mounting system, wiring and inverter, do all the AC test and await panels, once the panels arrive its only a half day job to put them on and test.

Thats the least they could have done.

 

[Mozzerr]

I should have said, they have offered to turn up to my dad's place tomorrow and fit the mounts, wiring etc. Likewise to me on Sunday. All this but no assurance yet on when the panels will be fitted!

So do I let them do that, or wait until we know for certain if/what panels we are getting?

 

[whinmoor]

I would certainly get them to do the first bits - inverter, isolators, cabling and wiring. This takes a few hours to do neatly and correctly. It also means you at least have the assurance that things are happening. If they are going to go up on the roof and attach the brackets and rails, you are 80% complete. Fixing the panels onto the rails is relatively quick. It will also (possibly) give you a chance to inspect the roof for broken tiles, straightness of rails etc when they are not there.

I should add, if the correct panels don't arrive on time, it should be possible to switch to a different brand as most are interchangeable without affecting the rails and cables which would already be in place.

 

[Mozzerr]

Actually, whinmoor, thanks - that's quite a reassuring positive comment - having the greater opportunity to inspect the roof mounts, wiring etc. would be very useful. Certainly starting to calm down a bit now! Glad I decided to post, and thanks for everyone's input so far.

 

[FB.]

I should have said, they have offered to turn up to my dad's place tomorrow and fit the mounts, wiring etc. Likewise to me on Sunday. All this but no assurance yet on when the panels will be fitted!

So do I let them do that, or wait until we know for certain if/what panels we are getting?

I though that once the inverter was installed and its serial number recorded, that there were ways to ensure that FiT payments were applicable.
Certainly my MCS certificate states the make and model of the panels and inverter, but not their individual serial numbers. The only serial-number-specific information on my MCS certificate appears to be the serial number of the generation meter. (plus the serial number of the already-present MPAN incoming-supply-meter which has always measured your power consumption)
And my FiT application forms also only needed the same information.

So, peherps there's a work-around. Maybe it's of dubious legality, but the government started the whole thing about dubious legality last autumn.........

 

[Earthstore]

Good idea, but it is not within MCS rules.(and technically fraud)
They are monitoring this type of practice after the 12th Dec rush.
I hope this helps

 

[whinmoor]

I would prefer to switch to a different brand of panel than be accused of fraud.

 

[pwboston]

On the MCS cert its just the panels and the generation meter that is regisetered, not the inverter. The inverter details are sent to the SSEG but that wont affect the FITS

 

[whinmoor]

It might be worth mentioning that different brands cost different amounts. If you get switched, tell us the original brand and model and the suggested replacement and we might be able to give you a fair indictation of whether you should be paying slightly extra or getting a slight refund.

Think of it like you're buying crisps and they don't have your favourite - cheese and onion. What do you do?

a) Find a different shop selling cheese and onion.
b) Get salt and vinegar or a different flavour instead.
c) Sulk

Most people would probably go for option b!

 

[liquidity]

Not to be a contrarian but... once the inverter and roof rails are installed you're more committed to completing the installation and quite reliant on the installer sourcing acceptable panels. I guess it depends on your level of faith that they will actually source the panels in the next few days. You might need to think about how you're going to get your FIT application submitted on time and keep in the back of your mind that the time/aggro/expense of hand delivering the FIT application to the likes of Good Energy might be necessary to ensure the application is received by 12 March.

If you can get the installer to put up the inverter and rails without needing any more cash from you then I view that as a good sign of their willingness to meet their commitments. Who paid for the scaffolding?

 

[finchy]

What a complete mess ! The government do share some blame but the its the PV company in the wrong here, there is no justification to do this illegally.

I hope Greg reads this to realise what a mess the industry is in ........the end customer are the victims of this !

 

[JulianC]

I doubt Greg cares. The nasty little numbskull is too busy securing his own future to care about that of our industry.

 

[whinmoor]

I think this highlights one of the major benefits of using an independent, local installer. It sounds like Mozzerr chose a larger outfit which has the funds to import its own panels but which has got into a mess when things go wrong. We don't do our own importing which means we can pick whatever's available from a multitude of possible suppliers. It doesn't mean we don't occasionally have problems but we do have flexibility with regards to components and contacts in the local area who can help us out if needed.

 

[Mozzerr]

Update: Apparently my actual panels are stuck in "X-ray" at customs but should be released "over the weekend". I should say that I do have some experience with that as an issue (in the IT biz) so I'm at least confident that I am now being kept in the picture.

The panels are: Suntellite ZDNY-250C60 in black. 32 off (16 on my install, 16 on dad's) - each going into an SMA 4000TL as 2x strings of 8, 8 going into input A and 8 going into input B - so I can monitor the relative performance of each string.

I'm aware that these are, shall we say, not the Rolls Royce of solar panels. But we are (were!) getting what I deemed to be quite a good deal, especially for the double-install. I have researched these panels myself and they seem decent performers. Furthermore, I have tended towards favouring the cost/performance "model" of the potential returns - as described elsewhere by FB. (I think) rather than going all out for "the best of the best" - which was certainly a consideration.

Who knows what will ultimately be the right decision! What a mine-field this PV industry is at the moment. I certainly do not envy you guys on the service provision end of the chain.

Again, many thanks to one and all.