Solar Panel installer has gone into liquidation

ElefantEd

I'm not sure whether it's likely but I thought I'd see if anyone has any useful advice.

I'm the treasurer of a village hall. We recently applied for a grant from a government scheme (run by the local third sector interface) to install solar panels + batteries. We got 3 quotes and chose one (which was one of the suppliers recommended by the scheme). The grant (total £12k) is paid in two stages, we got the first half and duly paid the invoices from the supplier for a deposit (£3100) and the next  payment of £4400 - due 21 days days before the work started.

We were given a start date (week beginning 17th Nov), which was then put back - due to "bad weather delaying other work". They stopped being communicative, I chased them several times, then this morning got an email saying that unfortunately they were going into liquidation and wouldn't be able to do the work. Or return our money.

We can't do a chargeback as we paid by BACS, which we would normally do, nor can the bank help. We may eventually get something back from the liquidators but I doubt it as apparently they owe taxes.

We will obviously be in discussion with the grant awarding body about what to do - not so much about the solar panels but about the £6k grant which we've spent but won't be able to give back if the work isn't done. We have approx £3k in the bank.

Personally I hope the director is prosecuted and found liable for the debts of his company as it seems clear that he wasn't accepting deposits and payments for work he knew was highly unlikely to be done. However that doesn't help in the immediate future.

Would be grateful for any thoughts and insights!

Savvy_Sue

I have no helpful advice, but please keep us updated on the journey....