Free solar panel feedback discussion: HomeSun

HomeSun_company_representative

I just wanted to post a few bits of information which I hope are useful:

Firstly, we would always advise getting a solicitor to check the lease before signing.

We have not charged a £5 monthly fee since the summer of 2011 and it is only our SolarShare product that asks for a customer contribution of up to £500.

Subject to the result of the Government going to the Supreme Court the FIT could be 43.3p until midnight on 2nd March (if Government loses) or it could be 21p from 12th December 2011 (if they win).

So someone who is interested in buying solar has to decide if they are happy to take the risk of the FIT falling to 21p. Or they can avoid the risk completely by going to a free solar company. With Free Solar the customer is not affected by what level the FIT is. They simply get the benefit of the free electricity because the solar panel system is installed for free.

HomeSun is currently taking registration for customers interested in solar. We are prioritizing free solar because the breadth of our free solar offering can be wider now than from 3rd March. We are trying to complete as many people as possible but progress won’t be on a first come, first served basis because there are many variables involved e.g. some mortgage companies are faster than others in getting paperwork completed. We’ll try to keep open installations for as long as possible.

I hope that helps answer some questions.

Cardew

HomeSun_company_representative wrote: »

I just wanted to post a few bits of information which I hope are useful:



We have not charged a £5 monthly fee since the summer of 2011 and it is only our SolarShare product that asks for a customer contribution of up to £500.

.

I hope that helps answer some questions.

So how about cancelling the £5 monthly 'maintenance fee' for the poor mugs who you got to pay, on top of the £500, who were persuaded by your exaggerated estimates of potential savings?

HomeSun_company_representative

ROIs are difficult but when they are realistic they at least give a sense of the value of a solar system. The return with HomeSun is Free Solar infinite because there is no investment, only a return by way of free electricity from the sun.

Tanya

Cardew

HomeSun_company_representative wrote: »

ROIs are difficult but when they are realistic they at least give a sense of the value of a solar system. The return with HomeSun is Free Solar infinite because there is no investment, only a return by way of free electricity from the sun.

Tanya

So 'no investment' covers those who paid you £500 and those who paid £500 and £5 a month for 25 years?

bearcub

HomeSun_company_representative wrote: »

Firstly, we would always advise getting a solicitor to check the lease before signing.

Would you really? Your staff certainly didn't advise any of the folk in our road who had panels fitted by your company! Or, is that you'd 'advise' them to if they'd asked? Sorry, not good enough!

HalloweenJack

HOMESUN REP

will you now cancel the £5 per month charge you are levying against your first `customers` or refund the £500 `fee`??

HomeSun_company_representative

When we first started trading prices were higher than they are now and so customers were asked to contribute towards costs in our SolarShare product - you must both be SolarShare customers. As prices have come down we have been able to pass on cost benefits to new customers such as our Free Solar offering.


Tanya

HomeSun_company_representative

In the covering letter which we send out with all our leases it definitely advises asking a solicitor to look at the lease, which is an important thing to do with any long term contract. Our lease meets the requirements of the Council of Mortgage Lenders and is accepted by most lenders.


Tanya

Mrs_Oliver

Me and my husband originally signed our lease letter on the 29/7/2011 and we were given an install date, which was cancelled because apparantly the paperwork was lost. Another date was arranged which was cancelled and rearanged we were assured that we would have the fit before christmas. We then heard about the Governmental changes and feeling apprehensive I rang Homesun who assured us again that we would be fitted in time. The day before the scaffolders were meant to come they rang to cancel and told us they were unsure when they would be rearranging our appointment. We were disgusted and dissapointed.

The next day the scaffolders turned up and we had to turn them away apparantly we were the eighth that week to do so! The day after that someone from Homesun rang to ask if we had our scaffolding up alright? He had no idea the job had been cancelled. My husband was furious and cancelled the contract on the phone.

This last week we heard from British Gas who stated they were now handling installations for Homesun and gave us an installation date for Next Week. (funny seeing as we recieved a cancelled lease aggrement in the post months ago) After speaking with the gentlman from BG he was unsure who would be responsible for the maintenance. (I am told now it will be BG for 1year and then Homesun) I rang Homesun and made sure our contact was cancelled and double checked whther they sent the cancellation to our Morgage provider (which of course they hadn't)

Whilst on one hand I am sorely dissapointed I will not be getting solar panels I am thinking we had a lucky escape from dealings with this company in the future. If they have been this bad before we even had our panels put on what on earth would they have been like if a problem arose in ten years time. I have never known such shocking customer service.

zeupater

HomeSun_company_representative wrote: »

When we first started trading prices were higher than they are now and so customers were asked to contribute towards costs in our SolarShare product - you must both be SolarShare customers. As prices have come down we have been able to pass on cost benefits to new customers such as our Free Solar offering.


Tanya

Hi

Linked to this is the likelihood that the standard offering was avioded and SolarShare offered due to orientation or shading issues effecting the overall generation based on a nominal calculation such as SAP or PVGIS, therefore effecting the ROI and profit available from the installation ...

I suppose that there is now ample actual data to compare each installation against the original assumptions with a view to reaching a conclusion whether it would be affordable to remove these payments, either on a global, or case-by-case basis.

HTH
Z