2 yr old solar system battery failure

SolarMo

We had a PV solar system and battery installed 2 years ago by a local firm. advised of warranty of 7 years for battery.

Last week the battery failed. Support from manufacturer had identified the unit requires replacing. the manufacturer has stated they will provide this unit and have requested installer to undertake this work.

The installation company are refusing to do the replacement. They have explained to me they do not get compensated fairly by manufacturer to do so. however if I pay an additional £150 they will "service the system" and do the installation of replacement battery. I am not aware of any solar system requiring a service and certainly wasnt made aware of this at time of purchase.

Where do I stand with regard to consumer rights here? I was under impression my contract was with installer and therefore costs to install a replacement should be met by them. Currently I have a 2 yr old 9.5kw battery which is completely unresponsive and therefore id argue its not met the requirement of durability within the Consumer rights act.


Thankfully I partially paid for system with credit card so I hopefully have some additional protection. the balance was paid via a loan from home energy Scotland.

Any advice would be appreciated as our electricity costs are now creeping up as we cant take advantage of the cheap overnight rates (also used as a selling point) and im still paying Hone Energy Scotland for a battery thats basically gathering dust.

powerful_Rogue

What do the terms of the warranty from the solar installer state?

SolarMo

I have no warranty from installer apart from pre sales advices that we would have a 7 year warranty on the battery from the manufacturer 

powerful_Rogue

So you're looking at Consumer rights against the installer.

Personally as someone with solar PV and batteries, I would pay the £150 for the replacement battery to be installed. A  lot quicker and easier then going along the linesof small claims court.

SolarMo

so my understanding of Consumer Rights Act is its the trader/installer responsible for the costs of installing this replacement. I'm not asking for an upgrade to my system - its a replacement of a unit that has failed well within what would be deemed an appropriate lifespan. 

powerful_Rogue

SolarMo said:

so my understanding of Consumer Rights Act is its the trader/installer responsible for the costs of installing this replacement. I'm not asking for an upgrade to my system - its a replacement of a unit that has failed well within what would be deemed an appropriate lifespan. 

You would need to get a report to say the battery has failed due to a fault that was present at manufacture but has only just presented itself. If the report is in your favour, they can repair or replace. If this is not possible they can refund minus a discount for the 2 years use you've already had.

QrizB

Can you name names? What brand is the battery and who are your installers?

While I agree that the installer should be the ones doing the work, with most systems it's only 30 minutes work to replace a battery. You might even be able to do it yourself.

Will the battery supplier deliver the replacement battery direct to you, or will they only supply it to your installer?

Alternatively, if the installer was registered with MCS and provided a MCS certificate, you should have also received an insurance-backed guarantee. Have you spoken to the insurer at all?

Something like this:

https://www.hiesscheme.org.uk/what-we-do/insurance-backed-guarantees/

SolarMo

solar services Scotland are installers with givenergy as suppliers.the installers are are 20 min drive at most from our property.

we had issues at install as well with them drilling/screwing the bird proofing directly into the panels which had now invalidated our 25 yr warranty with supplier. and ive also discovered the MCS cert is through their "sister company"  so I dont even know if the mcs/hies insurance is worth the paper its written on

Aylesbury_Duck

Given the minimal cost (in the context of the original investment) and the fact you're losing out on free electricity every day, I think this is one of those situations where it's pragmatic to pay the £150 and get it sorted.  If the warranty doesn't cover labour then as someone else has advised, you're looking at consumer rights as a route, instead.

The alternative is to have the satisfaction of being "right" but actually out of pocket, which you certainly will be if it drags on.

SolarMo

its not about satisfaction of being right its about what's legally correct. I. trying to understand my rights on what I can and can not pursue and via which avenue.

QrizB

SolarMo said:

its not about satisfaction of being right its about what's legally correct.

Legally, it will depend on the terms of your contract with the installer and any warranty they offered as part of that contract, underpinned by your MCS-required insurance backed guarantee (if it even exists).

SolarMo said:

I. trying to understand my rights on what I can and can not pursue and via which avenue.

You could take all your documents to your local Citizens Advice and ask them for an opinion?

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/scotland/

Or you can pay the £150.