Energy Saving Group

Cardew

10sandal wrote: »

I have been trying to contact the Energy Saving Group company for the last few days and keep getting permanently engaged tone. Has anyone else had this problem ?. Just read that they may have gone into Liquidation, does this mean that all of us who are awaiting our £500 refunds will not get our money back, if so does anyone know of any method of compensation from any other source.

I am afraid you will see little if any of your £500.

Customers who have paid a deposit are unsecured creditors and what is left after all legal expenses and secured creditors(Banks etc) are paid will be split between you - it will normally be very little.

There is no compensation scheme, you are just another victim of the many firms that go bust every year.

XmasFairy

Hi folks

Energy Saving Group (Redditch based one) are now trading as Energy Reduction UK (also in Redditch). Hope this helps some of you to get your money back from this scam

Cardew

If the above is correct, this is the classic Modus operandi in the Solar Thermal 'industry'.

Start up a limited liability company - cease trading with loads of debts. Start up next day with same people, often same premises and lease vans etc and start again. Year or two down the line repeat the process.

I would raise the issue with the Trading Standards office, local media, local MP and try to get the police involved.

grahamc2003

Cardew wrote: »

If the above is correct, this is the classic Modus operandi in the Solar Thermal 'industry'.

Start up a limited liability company - cease trading with loads of debts. Start up next day with same people, often same premises and lease vans etc and start again. Year or two down the line repeat the process.

I would raise the issue with the Trading Standards office, local media, local MP and try to get the police involved.

Looks like the industry wasn't cleaned up as promised then. Seems just like double glazing companies - probably the same people running them.

While it's terrible to lose £500 and probably devastating for some, it's best for people to mentally write it off instead of clinging to some hope of getting any money back, or getting the directors hung drawn and quartered. At the very worst, if the directors have a really bad track record of serially closing companies and opening the next day with all the previous company's assets and none of their liabilities, then, in a few years time, the direcors may (and even this is a big 'may') be banned from running a ltd company for a year or so. Even those who managed to get their panels installed now have no installer guarantee of course (and the manufacturer's guarantee is worthless in pragmatic terms imv).

Unfortunately, i expect there'll be plenty more solar companies going to the wall - it's often in the directors' interests to do so.

basaratsang

I have been to their office in Redditch last Friday 16/12/2011. I can confirm their office has closed or moved! The door was locked and the light was off! We need to do something. We should gather together and do something to get our money back from the company managing director:Stephen Dickson! Anyone has other suggestion, please reply! Many thanks.

Pennylane

Well, we seem to have done OK with Energy Saving Group. We've had the panels up over a week and they did a good job, we have the inverter in the garage and the 3 men who came were really nice guys who worked everso hard to get the job done. They were from "My Energy Station." (I'm sure we all know now that ESG use MES to fit them and the contract is with Norton Energy.)

The scaffolders came a few days before the panels arrived and then came and took it all down a few days after with no probs at all.

We've done OK actually because the whole deal has cost us just £500 which really isn't much these days. While the scaffolding was up hubby made full use of it, replacing guttering, cleaning barge boards etc so that was a bonus too!;) We couldn't have done those jobs so easily without it!

Start to finish this has taken a year (see my earlier posts on this thread) and, while things did go very quiet sometimes we just hung on and MES have been really good I have to say.

I've heard some strange conversations on TV and radio with people saying things like "I've paid my £500, got no solar panels and now I daren't use any electricity in the daytime.":think:

I rang our local radio station (who were discussing this) to say we had received our panels and were happy with our deal and I'm sure I can't be the only one. All they want to broadcast are people moaning about ESG.

£500 is approx a tank of heating oil for us or a few trips around the supermarket so it's not like we're talking thousands.

Oh and way back when we first dealt with ESG they also offered cavity wall and loft insulation. We have both at this house but we have a small property which we rent out and they did the CWI there and did a first class job. Our tenant has just been made redundant so that was completely FREE.

macman

But did your solar PV system get reg'd in time for the cut-off on 12/12?

Pennylane

macman wrote: »

But did your solar PV system get reg'd in time for the cut-off on 12/12?

Yes thank you. Why are you asking?

basaratsang

Pennylane wrote: »

Well, we seem to have done OK with Energy Saving Group. We've had the panels up over a week and they did a good job, we have the inverter in the garage and the 3 men who came were really nice guys who worked everso hard to get the job done. They were from "My Energy Station." (I'm sure we all know now that ESG use MES to fit them and the contract is with Norton Energy.)

The scaffolders came a few days before the panels arrived and then came and took it all down a few days after with no probs at all.

We've done OK actually because the whole deal has cost us just £500 which really isn't much these days. While the scaffolding was up hubby made full use of it, replacing guttering, cleaning barge boards etc so that was a bonus too!;) We couldn't have done those jobs so easily without it!

Start to finish this has taken a year (see my earlier posts on this thread) and, while things did go very quiet sometimes we just hung on and MES have been really good I have to say.

I've heard some strange conversations on TV and radio with people saying things like "I've paid my £500, got no solar panels and now I daren't use any electricity in the daytime.":think:

I rang our local radio station (who were discussing this) to say we had received our panels and were happy with our deal and I'm sure I can't be the only one. All they want to broadcast are people moaning about ESG.

£500 is approx a tank of heating oil for us or a few trips around the supermarket so it's not like we're talking thousands.

Oh and way back when we first dealt with ESG they also offered cavity wall and loft insulation. We have both at this house but we have a small property which we rent out and they did the CWI there and did a first class job. Our tenant has just been made redundant so that was completely FREE.

You are really a lucky one.

It has been nearly 9 months. We still have no sign of the panels or a something saying when it will be installed. We have been talking with ESG many times since September. Full of promises every time but nothing has been done and now their office is shut and the phone is permanently diverted to the voice mail. Oddly, their website is still active!? Furthermore, we sent a complaint letter on 13/12/2011 and asking for our money back. However, the letter bounced back today. Royal mail saying the letter has been refused. !!!!!!! We now know this £500 scheme is really a scam!

Pennylane: £500 may be just a tiny amount for you but it can feed our family for a month or at least it can pay our winter energy bills. Even if I am rich, I will not contribute the £500 freely to Stephen Dickson to buy posh cars and having big houses!!!!!!!

Hence, people who have been a victim of ESG (Stephen Dickson), please gather together and show you support. Thank you very much and much appreciated!

Pennylane

basaratsang wrote: »

You are really a lucky one.

It has been nearly 9 months. We still have no sign of the panels or a something saying when it will be installed. We have been talking with ESG many times since September. Full of promises every time but nothing has been done and now their office is shut and the phone is permanently diverted to the voice mail. Oddly, their website is still active!? Furthermore, we sent a complaint letter on 13/12/2011 and asking for our money back. However, the letter bounced back today. Royal mail saying the letter has been refused. !!!!!!! We now know this £500 scheme is really a scam!

Pennylane: £500 may be just a tiny amount for you but it can feed our family for a month or at least it can pay our winter energy bills. Even if I am rich, I will not contribute the £500 freely to Stephen Dickson to buy posh cars and having big houses!!!!!!!

Hence, people who have been a victim of ESG (Stephen Dickson), please gather together and show you support. Thank you very much and much appreciated!

Hello basaratsang - like I said we waited a year and, although we spoke to them a few times querying the delay, they were always polite and said they had just been overwhelmed by the response and were working flat out to get the installers to catch up.

We were patient and we've had a lot going on in our lives (apart from solar panels) and then out of the blue we had a phonecall to say the scaffolders were coming and the installers, a few days later. It all happened very quickly and efficiently then.

I'm sorry if it sounded like I thought £500 was nothing ... trust me when my family were small I literally made meals from nothing and would sit outside the Post Office waiting to get my Child Benefit.

Nobody likes to lose £500 I know but had our deal with ESG involved thousands of pounds I would have been a lot more worried.

Have you signed a contract yet?