Deposit return?

misspriscilla

I 'm not sure if this the right forum, but since I can't see any forum obviously suitable I'll post my problem here.
We replied to a mailing for solar energy. The sales man visited and after a long discussion of the possible merits my husband and I decided to have it installed. We paid £2000 deposit. We then asked the company if we could change our mind but there was no cooling off period because we had responded to a mailing and therefore they were not legally obliged to cancel our order.
We were told to discuss it with the surveyor who came the next day.

This part of the world has an extraordinary level of hard water, British Gas will not take any service commitment for the parts of the boiler because they become clogged very quickly. After three years we have just had an expensive Heat Exchanger replaced. The surveyor told us that if a part in the new Gledhill - a kind of storage facility- that the company would install became blocked, it would mean a replacement Gledhill, costing in the region of £1300. This could possibly happen every three years. We didn't understand that this could be the situation when we signed the contract and therefore we wished to cancel. They offered us a 10 year guarantee, but what would happen if they went out of business?

They asked us to put our concerns in writing, which we did a week ago. They have not replied.
Does anyone know what the legal position is regarding our deposit?

Rosemary

dmg24

We then asked the company if we could change our mind but there was no cooling off period because we had responded to a mailing and therefore they were not legally obliged to cancel our order.

This is correct I'm afraid. Seems unfair to me, but because you invited them you are not covered.

They offered us a 10 year guarantee, but what would happen if they went out of business?

The ten year guarantee should (though won't always) be underwritten, so that if the company go bust you are still covered.

it would mean a replacement Gledhill, costing in the region of £1300.

Do you mean that this would be covered for the first ten years by the guarantee, but then you would be liable?

Do you know how long it would be expected to last if you didn't have hard water, and did the salesman state this to you? If the salesman stated that it would last e.g. twenty years, then I would say you have been missold, as the item is not fit for purpose, and therefore you would be entitled to your deposit back.

Am afraid I don't know anything about solar energy to comment on the time it would last? It would also support your case if you could find anything definitive that said that such a system is not suitable in a hard water area, but whether such an item exists I really don't know!

misspriscilla

The life of the Gledhill was never discussed until we found out that the hardwater could reduce its life expectancy to possibly three years. The original guarantee in the contract which we signed was for one year. Could we not argue that the Gledhill which they were supplying was unfit for purpose because of the peculiarly hardwater. This was unknown to us at the time of signing.

SaraSeahorse

have you thought at looking into installing some sort of water softener to increase life of any heater /boiler you may have ?

kittiwoz

Sounds like cowboys to me. The Energy Savings Trust cites the typical cost for installation of a flat plate solar hot water heater as £2,000 to £3,000 and the cost for an evacuated tube system as £3,500 to £4,500. Although you don't state the total cost if you've been charged £2,000 just for a deposit I think you're probably being ripped off. I'm afraid if you responded to a mailing you aren't entitled to the statutory seven day cancellation period that applies to agreements made in your home with unsolicited salespeople. I'm sorry not to be more help but I think you will find it very difficult to get your money back. (Edit) Another thing that makes me think these people are cowboys: I just found this about the Gledhill "Boiler Mate Sol" on the Gledhill website:

Resistance to scale
• BoilerMate's immersion heaters can never scale because they are in the primary water

• BoilerMate A-Class is designed to cope on the secondary side with most hard water situations (<250ppm). For extreme situations (>250ppm) we can supply a Gledhill in-line scale inhibitor fitted for very little extra (no fused spur required).

(Edit)

You shouldn't pay money up-front or enter into contracts that don't have cooling off periods. I don't mean to be patronising and I'm sure you realise your mistake now but I just want to highlight to other people who might read this that agreeing to this sort of thing makes you an easy target. Also you should check the credentials of any company you employ to do work like this and should shop around. If anyone is interested in solar hot water heating there is a list of accredited suppliers and other useful information on the Energy Savings Trust website. There is also a trade body the Solar Trade Association whose website provides some useful info and whose members are aparently reputable. This should also provide some comeback in the event of problems.

To return to the problem of the OP, I don't think you have any legal rights in this situation. If you're not too late cancel the cheque or try to reclaim the money through your bank if possible. Do a bit more checking. If I'm right about these guys being cowboys don't go ahead even with a ten year guarantee. A guarantee is only as good as the company which offers it. I would suggest you threaten, and then pursue, the avenue of bad publicity to try to shame the comapny into giving you your money back. Contact consumer champions with your problem. If the company is local contact your local paper about it. Good luck, I'm afraid you're likely to need it.

stugib

This lot by any chance?