Free solar panel feedback discussion: HomeSun

bearcub

HomeSun_company_representative wrote: »

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

No, it doesn't advise asking a solicitor to look at the lease. I have all the paperwork here, and the covering letter says "If you have any queries or concerns, [.....] we would recommend that you seek independent legal advice." I may not be a solicitor, but I know that isn't the same thing at all! The couple from whom my mother bought her house, and who had the solar panels installed, had no 'concerns'. The wife was very ill, and the husband had very poor reading skills. They were very trusting, and believed that, because it was a government initiative, that it must all be ok. I hasten to add, in case Homesun think otherwise, I am in no way saying that Homesun's salesman took advantage, but neither he nor the covering letter advised the couple that they should have a solicitor look over the lease/contract before signing. The fact that your lease meets with the Council of Mortgage Lenders is irrelevant, as everyone round here who's dealt with Homesun is retired and owns their house.

Cardew

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

I must be WHAT!!!

Go back to the first posts about your company when we called the bluff of Krish Patel and his exagerated claims of savings. This was his standard letter:

If you fall outside this scope, all is not lost! ‘SolarShare’ is an equally ground-breaking scheme for smaller roofs with a different orientation. The solar system size is 2.6kWp and criteria include: southeast to southwest facing roof, no shading and around 20m2 of clear area. As with Free Solar, SolarShare includes the system, installation and maintenance for 25 years. The only difference is cost: for SolarShare there is a one-off fee of £500 and £5 per month for SolarCare.

Don’t worry about these measurements – they’re for your information only. When our Solar Specialist meets with you, he will do a further assessment of your roof and, if you decide to go ahead, our technical survey team at Eaga will finalise the details.

If you’d like to know more about us, how we work and what happens along the installation ‘journey’, then please have a browse through our website (). Our philosophy is to keep things easy and straightforward, provide great service and expert teams. After all, it’s exciting to be able to produce and use your own ‘clean’ renewable energy – getting it installed is part of the process, and it should be enjoyable.

As agreed, I have passed your details on to one of our Solar Specialists who is working in your area and he will contact you in the next seven working days to arrange a time to meet.

Thank you for coming to HomeSun.



Krish Patel
HomeSun Customer Team
0844 824 0000

Lots of the poor mugs who fell for the solarshare scheme will actually be losing money as their savings on in-house consumption do not cover the £60 a year 'maintenance' fee and even the £500 is a further £20 a year(without considering lost interest) so they are paying over £80 a year. (on a 2.6kWp system with poor orientation)

They did this because they believed the inflated claims of savings your salesmen and website

I don't know how you have the gall to come on a Money Saving website and defend such a deal; an absolute disgrace that a company could act in this fashion.

Even more of a disgrace that you won't refund them from the 43.3p/kWh you are pocketing from their generated output.

HomeSun_company_representative

Dear Mrs Oliver, so sorry you have had such an experience. Please could you please send us an email with a subject header of ‘MSE complaint’ to [EMAIL="customerservices@homesun.com"]customerservices@homesun.com[/EMAIL] and let us know your HomeSun customer number or postcode? We can then look into why this has happened. Thank you.

Tanya

DoctorBanzai

OK, so latest development;
I now have various people ringing me, and today, knocking on my door saying that my details have been passed to them by Homesun and was I still interested in an installation.

Now, I am fairly sure that I never gave any kind of permission for my details to be passed on to anyone.

I am giving Homesun one, and only one, opportunity to explain themselves before I take legal advice. I am also contacting the office of the Information Commision.

If somehow, through small print, I have consented to having my details passed/sold on I hereby revoke any and all permissions given and demand that any information held by Homesun be supplied in full to me and subsequently removed from any and all systems belonging to Homesun and any third parties who have been in receipt of such information.

HomeSun_company_representative

DoctorBanzai wrote: »

OK, so latest development;
I now have various people ringing me, and today, knocking on my door saying that my details have been passed to them by Homesun and was I still interested in an installation.

Now, I am fairly sure that I never gave any kind of permission for my details to be passed on to anyone.

I am giving Homesun one, and only one, opportunity to explain themselves before I take legal advice. I am also contacting the office of the Information Commision.

If somehow, through small print, I have consented to having my details passed/sold on I hereby revoke any and all permissions given and demand that any information held by Homesun be supplied in full to me and subsequently removed from any and all systems belonging to Homesun and any third parties who have been in receipt of such information.

Hi DoctorBanzai,

Our records indicated that your account had been deactivated since 20th December 2011 followed by your cancellation request of our services. We therefore confirm that we have not instructed any of our service partners to contact you or visit your premises.

We do not sell or share your and any of our customers information with any 3rd party companies. We only collect information like your name, email address, mailing address, phone number and property type so we can provide the email marketing services. (You may opt to unsubscribe to this services as well). Any personal information which you provide to us, is held in accordance with the registration we have with the Data Commissioner's Office.

We would appreciate if you could send more details of these calls made to you & the person who had knocked on your door as we feel our Brand is falsely being used. This is a serious matter therefore please send us details such as the name of the person who contacted you and knocked on your door, name of the company who claim to be calling / visiting you on behalf of HomeSun, along with the details of the conversations exchanged. We will investigate the matter and take appropriate actions. (customerservices@homesun.com)

Once again, we are sorry that this incident has occurred and just to reiterate, HomeSun treats all your personal Information supplied by homeowners as confidential and furthermore we fully comply with all applicable UK data protection and consumer legislations.
For more details on our Privacy Policy please visit. http://www.homesun.com/privacy-policy

We look forward to receiving your email.

Tanya

DoctorBanzai

Thank you for your prompt reply.

To be completely honest I really didn't notice the name of the company that knocked today although their van advertised themselves as a 'plumbing & heating' specialist. I will however make note of any further contact made by 3rd parties and will let you know immediately. Judging by the number of people contacting me it won't be long until another comes along.

My primary concern is HOW these people have obtained our information. It certainly is not just 'cold calling' as they know details of my name, address and the circumstances of my dealings with Homesun.

Again, I apologise for not making a note of these people but it shocks me everytime it happens.

HomeSun_company_representative

DoctorBanzai wrote: »

Thank you for your prompt reply.

To be completely honest I really didn't notice the name of the company that knocked today although their van advertised themselves as a 'plumbing & heating' specialist. I will however make note of any further contact made by 3rd parties and will let you know immediately. Judging by the number of people contacting me it won't be long until another comes along.

My primary concern is HOW these people have obtained our information. It certainly is not just 'cold calling' as they know details of my name, address and the circumstances of my dealings with Homesun.

Again, I apologise for not making a note of these people but it shocks me everytime it happens.

Hi DoctorBanzai,

We appreciate you making us aware of this, please keep us posted if you do have any more information regarding the company/people who contact you.

Please be assured HomeSun treats all personal Information supplied by homeowners as confidential and furthermore we fully comply with all applicable UK data protection and consumer legislations.
For more details on our Privacy Policy please visit. http://www.homesun.com/privacy-policy

Tanya

Bennett_8

Hi all! Been reading this thread with interest as we are due to have a HomeSun representative come out to see us...

Does anyone anywhere have anything positive to say? I'm having serious doubts!

Many Thanks

bearcub

Be wary, Bennett, be very wary, and don't sign anything they give you until you've read it through several times and understood exactly what it says and what it implies - not necessarily the same thing and, if it's a contract or lease, had a legal rep look through it, too.

DoctorBanzai

Hi,
First let me state that I AM biased. If you've read the whole thread then it should be fairly obvious why. However, I'm not going to sit here slagging off Homesun. Whoever you use I would STRONGLY advise showing your contract/lease to a solicitor and make sure you fully understand all the terms and implications. OK, it's going to cost you a few quid but it's a long term commitment and you don't want to be losing sleep in the future.

The only other thing I would add is don't pay any money to anyone regarding your installation. It might sound obvious but be wary of charges that can be slipped in. This is, of course, assuming you're going for a 'free' PV deal.

I genuinely hope that all is well and that it works out for you.

Good luck!
Doc.