Reasonable cost

Mojisola

SamRose wrote: »

I am a probation officer

SamRose wrote: »

I guess the reason we have repeated the same mistake twice is because the sales man told us that their panels were far superior than the ones we originally signed up for. he told us that they are the largest company in the uk, that their service and knowledge was the best and when I asked him about the cheaper panels available he was very convincing in his assertion that you get what you pay for.

I'm shocked that a probation officer would be so gullible.

Don't you have to have a very good bulls**t monitor in your line of work? The classic pushy salesman techniques that have worked on you should have set alarm bells ringing long before two hours were up.

Do the homework first before allowing salesmen over your threshold and get quotes from several before signing anything.

tunnel

SamRose wrote: »

This is completely new to us,
1,the second sales man knew significantly more than the first,

2,but the reality is we don't know where to turn for straight accurate advice,

3,it feels like a minefield and been told you are an idiot (when you already know you have been one!) by the people you asking advice from, feels unpleasant.

Now my alcohol levels have dropped I've re-read this post.

Here's a little summary,
1, So they should, would you really buy from someone who knew nothing about what they were selling


2, Yes you do, you are here and that's one of the best steps you can take to getting solar, the fact you are here shows you know where to turn


3, Sorry but you were told you were an idiot because bluntly you were for doing the exact same thing which nearly cost you an arm and a leg in the first place, now cancel the new contract(you don't have 14 days you have 7, that's the period from when you sign to the earliest date you can install(unless you sign to give up that right(did you?)))


Once you have cancelled then get more quotes, post your quotes on here(if they won't give you a full written breakdown tell them to do one) and someone will cast an eye over them. DON'T SIGN ANYTHING until you have done this and don't be afraid to grow a pair to tell the salesman you'd like to mull over the quote. Nobody on here wants to see you pay too much for an install


Apologies for my bluntness, but if you seriously want solar and want help, then start listening to the good advice that you have already been given and will continue to receive on here.


Tunnel

SamRose

Thank you, I have read and re-read posts. I don't want/need any to be deleted, like you say its all about helping people and I guess the journey. I do see why people think I'm stupid, as quite rightly pointed out I signed for 8k panels, cancelled then signed for some at 7.7K. The second guy told us that he used to work for the first company who quoted us and blah blah blah you can imagine the speech we got about product quality etc. On reflection I think that I have been too gullible and trusting, I assume that when someone tells me its all about this product and that they are the biggest provider of panels in the uk for a reason that I believe them. I have bought substandard products in the past and regretted it, so really want to ensure that we get it right this time. You will be pleased to know Mart that I have cancelled (for a second time) so I am listening and taking advice, I obviously didn't listen hard enough to the first advice I was given. It just all seems a bit too good to be true that we could get 12 panels with all the added extras for 6 ish K when both quotes have come in around the same price. We have someone else coming out on fri - I most def won't be signing anything until I have run it past you guys, providing that is you are still happy to offer it

Martyn1981

I don't think you're stupid. My mistake was to override my natural naivety and wrongly suspect you were playing games. Hang around on MSE for too long and you get suspicious of everyone. Which is a great shame. Certainly I'm shamed by it.

And even if we both got our noses out of joint for a day or two, that's insignificant, compared to getting you a good deal for 20 years. So welcome back.

If you're still unsure about prices and deals have a read of some of the other recent threads, they still shock me.

4kWp for £5.4k using 285Wp panels, useful guide for limited space:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/67905583#Comment_67905583

And 4kWp down from £10.2k to £4.75k in 1 week.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5181412

As for general PV knowledge, remember we all started where you are. I think buying PV this decade must have been like buying a car in the early 1900's. Today we know what a car does, and why we need one, so we only have to sort out the price, but way back you also had to wonder if it was a fad, was a horse better, were the salesmen lying about the new magic transport.

That's the main reason behind MSE PV'ers trying to share knowledge and experience since it's still early days, and magic technology.

Keep shopping, you'll smash £6k, should beat £5k, and hopefully have £4k a little scared.

Mart.

SamRose

Thank you Mart, excellent analogy and you are absolutely right, not only do I not know what I should be paying for these things, I'm still not in a position where I fully understand how this can all work, it seems too good to be true to get such a brilliant return on an investment, why isn't everyone doing it?
Right action plan is for me is 1) to get as many quotes as possible and 2) come back and check out what people think of the product/price 3) for me to grow a pair and say no to pushy sales people!


Thanks again

SamRose

evening guys,


Had another quote tonight - you will all be pleased to know that even though there was a huge amount of pressure to sign that we did not.


These guys are saying that we can only fit 8 panels on the roof which is significantly different to the 12 panels that the previous two companies quoted us on. That being said he did seem to do a more comprehensive measure (one of the previous companies measured our drive?).


So the cost is vastly different, he has quoted £4997 for 8 panels (£5442 if they are able to squeeze 10 on) but the return looks really different and suddenly doesn't feel like a really - £13660 (8 panels) or £17000 (10 panels).


The quote is for enhance panels.


any comments would be gratefully received

tunnel

I'm guessing that is for 250W panels, again...way too much...nearly £5k for a 2kWp system, they're having a laugh.
Where are you finding these installers from because you certainly seem to attract them.

SamRose

It was a recommendation from a PM off here!
Ok Tunnel thank you, how do I go about finding a company who are going to make a reasonable offer? and is there a way we can work out ourselves how many panels we can fit on?

cool_techie

SamRose,

What is your approximate location please?

If anywhere near Milton Keynes, I can suggest a few installers, who can (hopefully) provide reasonable quotes.

I got a 3.84PV system installed yesterday and the costs were noweherw near that quoted for you.

From your posts, i take that roof space is a constraint and hence some of the fixed costs can indeed push up your quote vis-a-vis estimated savings/earnings.

Thanks & Regards,
CT

SamRose

unfortunately I am in Yorkshire, so Milton Keynes might be a bit far, but thanks for the offer.

cool_techie wrote: »

SamRose,

What is your approximate location please?

If anywhere near Milton Keynes, I can suggest a few installers, who can (hopefully) provide reasonable quotes.

I got a 3.84PV system installed yesterday and the costs were noweherw near that quoted for you.

From your posts, i take that roof space is a constraint and hence some of the fixed costs can indeed push up your quote vis-a-vis estimated savings/earnings.

Thanks & Regards,
CT