"Simplee Solar" / Energy Watch

stripeyfox

Received a letter this morning which had "Energy Watch" on the envelope claiming to contain information on avoiding rising fuel costs. Upon opening the envelope, there is a letter from a company called "Simplee Solar" (whoever thought of that name! Simplee? Grrrrr)

A key paragraph says "To coincide with the Government's campaign to promote the use of Solar Energy, we at Simplee Solar Ltd have launched an initiative of our own called "Energy Watch" - designed to promote the benefits of investing in and using "Solar Energy".

It goes on to say the recipient may qualify for a subsidised water heating system.

The tone of this letter (to me) seems to suggest that a) it is backed by the government and that b) there will be a government subsidy for "lucky" householders and c) that it is linked to or backed by Energy Watch (the independent organisation).

Of course, when I rang there was no one available to answer my queries! Does anyone else know about Simplee Solar?

stripeyfox

Have just spoken to Energy Watch who confirm that they do not endorse Simplee Solar's campaign of the same name and they are "dealing" with them.
Of course I have no knowledge of Simplee Solar or their products so couldn't say what their standards are like but I do object to this type of letter which certainly suggests an endorsement from a government organisation.

SittingAtHomeInW11

Re. Simplee Solar. Two days ago I found out that my 93 year old Aunt had decided to have Solar Heating installed. After visiting her yesteray I discovered the following story: she had received a flyer from Simplee Solar asking if she was interested in having Solar heating installed. As she has a large house my Aunt is interested in anything that will save money on heating bills! She filled in the reply card and date was made for a rep. to visit
The salesman visited my aunt but after hearing all about it she told him that she wasn't interested. Apparently the salesman persisted and "explained all the benefits" and convinced my Aunt to give him a cheque for £4900 as a deposit against the installation of a system costing £12,500. She had to sign a contract that stated in capital letters that "THERE IS NO COOLING OFF PERIOD" and a week or so later a survey was done. When I visited her yesterday she said she was "getting cold feet" about it all and asked me to help. I spoke to someone at the Solar Traders Association who was very guarded but did say that Simplee Solar were not one of their members and directed me to speak to a lady at Dorset Trading Standards. I cannot reveal what she said but it was enough for me to speak to our Solicitors and ask for their help. I then rang Simplee Solar and spoke to a gentleman and told him that we were cancelling the order. He very quickly became extremely agressive and refused to to cancel the order. Our solicitors have contacted Simplee Solar and told them to desist and informed them that we will be seeking to recover the deposit.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

kittiwoz

The government does provide grants (£400 in England and Wales) for solar water heater installation but you need to get three quotes first.
http://http://www.clear-skies.org/households/GrantsAndTechnologies.aspx?intTechnologyID=1
If you live in Scotland you can get a grant of up to 30% of the cost of installation.

The typical installation cost for a domestic flat plate collector system is £2,000 - £3,000. Evacuated tube systems will cost £3,500 - £4,500.

This is a list of rather more reputable installers
http://www.est.org.uk/myhome/uploads/documents/SCHRI.pdf

And some general info courtesy of the Energy Savings Trust:
http://www.est.org.uk/myhome/generating/types/solarwater/

PaddyJC

Finding this info on Simplee AFTER! signing up depresses me. Is there anyway of cancelling this and getting my deposit back? Is there "No cooling off period" legal?

stripeyfox

I'm still fuming at Simplee's mailshots which I keep receiving. The latest one does not say "Energy Watch" on the envelope but is still misleading in my opinion.

As for getting a deposit back, how did you pay? credit card often offers some protection.

I would imagine that writing "no cooling off period" on a document has no bearing in law, but i'm unsure of your actual rights. I would look into it immediately if I were you, especially if you're getting cold feet.

stripeyfox

Just did a quick google on "cooling off period" and found this which may apply. How long ago did you sign up with them?

Consumer Credit Act 1974
A consumer has a cooling off period of 5 days where:
Credit is involved.
The contract was signed away from trade premises.
There were face to face negotiations with the seller.
The 5-day period begins from the time the second copy of the credit agreement is received by the consumer.

PaddyJC

More than 5 days. They have taken a while to send a engineer round to see if the installation is possible. I'm awaiting the engineer at this moment. The deposit was paid useing a Debit card, I thought my mother had used a Credit Card. The salesman visited on a evening and didn't look for a suitable place to site the panels until it was starting to get a bit dim outside. The planned position for them only gets the sun late morning onwards so I'm hoping to use this as a reason to cancel, that still leaves getting the deposit back though.

Skiduck

Simplee Solar was set up by a regional manager of Zenith Windows - very aggressive sales technique. I know some of the tactics they use, and am horrified that this archiatic double glazing sales pitching is going on in a business that needs understanding (sustainable energy) and not a repututation that this company gives.
If anyone is caught from initial enquiries from companies like this, make sure that you stand firm, never have both people in the house to sign (if there are 2 of you), beware of follow up calls if you throw the salesman out - these calls are may be from other companies but are conducted by aggressive and experienced telesales personnel, usually resulting in a discounted installation price than that of the original salesman. The telesales reps have been given these leads by Simplee Solar et al, along with every single detail that you gave the original saleman and the original quote he gave you.

My advice for sustainable energy, look at the market and contact manufacturers for advice, ask your local plumber - most plumbers are now interested in sustainable energy but obviously are not cowboy companies set up to get rich quick. And finally a guide to prices you should pay:

solar: between 2.5k and 7K
heat pumps: between 2.5k and 10K
PV: between 5K and 20K
Biomass: between 2K and 60K (including industrial applications)
Also remember you don't have to completely renew your exisiting DHW system, a flange system can be used, a normal twin coil cylinder replaced etc etc.

Best defense for these salesman is getting as much information about what they are selling before they set foot inside your door.

Nikki-802

Simplee awful - my parents have been caught up in just this kind of mess - did you reach any kind of satisfactory solution? Were you able to apply any doorstep/distance selling regs or claim unfair contracts clauses?

JasonLVC

I would have thought that a contract that say 'no cooling off period', when the law says there is would mean you could easily claim unfair contract - reagrdles of time scales thereafter as you would argue you were unaware your rights had been infringed until after the event.

The cooling off period is to help those pressurised into signing on the door step - and upon thinking about it you decide not to proceed. It does not cover fraudulent statements and acts of disception as this clearly sounds to be and so any reasonable court would award you a win.

However, an award doesn't mean you get your money back, as is so often the case. The company will just close down. Maybe a visit to BBC Watchdog is in order, even though Nicky Campbell is next to useless.