Solar Panel Ownership

vchealy

In Dec, 2015 I bought a property that had Solar Panels. The previous owner was using Utlilty Warehouse, so I stuck with them.
I tried for a number of years to get the solar panels registered in my name but I was given the run around from this company.
Asking me for some sort of paperwork that I didn't know even existed.

They were happy to take my money for Gas & Electric but never helped me out regarding the Solar Panels. So I was losing out of the £100 + per month that the previous owner said he was getting. After moving provider, still nothing. 

Now five years on, I have decided to sell up but the only point that will prevent this is not having information on the Solar Panels. Strangely though, after over three years of hearing nothing from Utility Warehouse and with the property sale in full swing. I get a visit from a man looking to read the meter on behalf of Utility Warehouse.

So as I write this I am on hold to talk to someone in the energy dept of Utility Warehouse, as some the guy I spoke to in the moving house dept. says he was unable to help me.

Does anyone know what I can do to finally get shot of this issue as the stress is really affecting me now?

The solicitor selling my property has stated
"
Please provide us with a copy of the last FIT payment account, evidence that the system is owned outright and the transfer form for delivery at settlement.
"

MWT

vchealy said:

The solicitor selling my property has stated
"
Please provide us with a copy of the last FIT payment account, evidence that the system is owned outright and the transfer form for delivery at settlement.
"

The solicitor you used when purchasing should have done exactly that as well, I assume you did ask them at some point since the purchase if they had the information you need?

vchealy

No, I didn't because I knew nothing of how this worked. It was the first time I have ever had to deal with anything like this.
All I was told was to contact the energy provider and they would support the transfer by the owner. I didn't know this should have required solicitors at any point until I came to sell this property. Of course, this does mean that the solicitor used to buy the property has not done their job correctly. Something else I will have to do.

This is a big struggle for me, as after chemo I find having to sort out other people's mistakes has just so draining.

[Deleted User]

You may own the panels or you may not. You may be entitled to the FIT payments or they may have been assigned to a third party. This information should have been disclosed as part the searches carried out by your solicitor when you purchased the property. If you own the panels then you should be in possession of a MCS Certificate and any product warranties.

Ofgem maintains a register of FIT recipients. You can contact them at FITRegister@Ofgem.gov.uk for advice. You may have to provide confirmation that you own the panels before they will provide you with the information that you are seeking. Your present energy supplier may not be the FIT payer as generation contracts are separate from supply.

When I sold my house with panels 3 years ago, I had to provide the MCS Certificate; a copy of the electrical installation certificate for the PV; all the warranties; a roof loading assessment and a completed FIT Transfer form. You may find that most of this information is stored with the Title Deeds for the property. Talk to your solicitor.

QrizB

I can't add much to the points the previous replies have made; this should have been sorted out by your solicitor when you bought the house (so you might want to ask them), if the panels were earning FIT payments they will have been correctly registered at that time, and somewhere there will be a record of all this happening.
Once you sort this out you might end up being paid for six years of FIT payments (does anyone know how long arrears can be claimed for?) and that's potentially £7200 (6 years at £100/month).

Reed_Richards

I switched my electricity supplier but left my FIT payments with a previous supplier (they were perfectly happy to do this).

tim_p

Reed_Richards said:

I switched my electricity supplier but left my FIT payments with a previous supplier (they were perfectly happy to do this).

No reason whatsoever to change FIT provider, it’s all totally separate from energy supplier. 

Reed_Richards

Exactly.  But that means Utility Warehouse may know nothing whatsoever about the OP's solar panels.

Verdigris

There is the possibility that the panels didn't belong to the vendor. It could have been a rent-a-roof situation where the vendor got free electricity and the investing company got the FIT. If that is the case then there would be a strong negligence case against the conveyancers of that sale as there would have been a charge on the property lodged at the Land Registry.

macman

Go back to your conveyancer/vendor and ask them to find out who the panels were registered with for FIT's. The transfer should have been agreed and made at the time of the sale, so after 6 years it's not going to be easy, and you won't be able to claim a retrospective  FITs payment anyway, even if you can establish ownership.
As pointed out above, it will have nothing to do with UW unless the FIT's were registered with them: no one moves their FIT's each time they change supplier, because it would be pointless.
Even if they were reg'd with UW, they won't discuss it with you if the FIT's are still reg'd under the name of your vendor.
NB: unless the vendor was lying, they are not under a rent a roof scheme, because if so he would not have been receiving £100 a month in FITs! That figure is anyway highly dubious, even if it's a 3.4kW array.

Reed_Richards

macman said:

NB: unless the vendor was lying, they are not under a rent a roof scheme... 

My understanding is that mortgage providers are sensitive about "rent-a-roof" schemes so to sell a house with solar panels you need proof that you own them (or details of who does if that is not the case).  In this instance the OP has been failed by the conveyancer who handled their purchase, five years ago. 

@vchealy , do you have a mortgage?  If so, how did your mortgage provider handle this issue?