Solar Panel installation - Offered worse deal than promised

5 Posts

Hi there,
I paid a deposit on my credit card solar panels in Apr 2022, the day after Rishi Sunak removed VAT from them. It got the batteries and panels down to around £12,500 (12 Sunpower Maxeon 5 panels and a 9.2 battery). The company then went silent but then said the manufacturers had stopped making the Maxeon 5 so all customers would be getting Maxeon 6 panels instead.
Well I'm not complaining.
I didn't hear anything until this week when the sales person called me up, apologised and said that because of various delays they couldn't afford the original quote that I had signed and paid the deposit for. Instead they were prepared to offer Maxeon 3 panels for £14,500 and a battery to come later. I checked these panels out and they don't generate as much as the original panels I ordered. I said I was happy to wait for Maxeon 6 but wouldn't accept a lesser product then what I originally ordered. They said that the company had now removed Maxeon 6 from their inventory as they were proving so difficult to get and didn't take into account the sudden jump in price.
I was wondering what my rights are in this case as I've been offered a lesser product for a higher price despite having signed a contract and paid a deposit on my credit card. Have not paid the full fee but now kicking myself for not going to another company as prices for these panels must be even more now.
I paid a deposit on my credit card solar panels in Apr 2022, the day after Rishi Sunak removed VAT from them. It got the batteries and panels down to around £12,500 (12 Sunpower Maxeon 5 panels and a 9.2 battery). The company then went silent but then said the manufacturers had stopped making the Maxeon 5 so all customers would be getting Maxeon 6 panels instead.
Well I'm not complaining.
I didn't hear anything until this week when the sales person called me up, apologised and said that because of various delays they couldn't afford the original quote that I had signed and paid the deposit for. Instead they were prepared to offer Maxeon 3 panels for £14,500 and a battery to come later. I checked these panels out and they don't generate as much as the original panels I ordered. I said I was happy to wait for Maxeon 6 but wouldn't accept a lesser product then what I originally ordered. They said that the company had now removed Maxeon 6 from their inventory as they were proving so difficult to get and didn't take into account the sudden jump in price.
I was wondering what my rights are in this case as I've been offered a lesser product for a higher price despite having signed a contract and paid a deposit on my credit card. Have not paid the full fee but now kicking myself for not going to another company as prices for these panels must be even more now.
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Assume they're going to refund you and look elsewhere.
You would therefor need to choose from some options but my suggestion is assert your rights as above and then if that fails offer them a compromise. Suggest that without prejudice to any future assertion of your legal rights that you are prepared to find a compromise way through this and make and accept a small additional payment for a worthwhile improvement to the PV array. Suggest that they upgrade them but only charge the cost to them of the difference between the original ones and the new ones ie make no profit from the upgrade but their profit remains exactly as it was. They should not benefit from their breach of contract.
This isn’t an ideal solution but might be the best practical one that you can achieve.
Let us know what you decide and how it turns out. Good luck.
I informed them that I can afford to wait until Oct 2023 for Maxeon 6 if there is a supply problem (I took out a 2 year fixed energy deal last year and boy, is that paying off now) and willing to pay slightly higher but I won't accept a lower spec product. They promised to come back to me so now let's wait and see.
Taking them to court appears counter-productive if they just can't get the items on time and all we're tussling over is a hundred quid deposit.
They didn't give a reason why they're not willing to wait until they get in stock.
Clear breach of contract and also will cost me additional money to source these panels from elsewhere now.
Your best bet is to cut your losses and push on. I suggest you consider the options I suggested above and you might even come out a little ahead if you get a bit better system at a small incremental cost. Good luck.