Have you been mis-sold solar panels?
Did you pay by credit-card or loan? You could get your money back.
Solar panels are big business. Photovoltaic panels generate electricity from the sun, 
and not only do they cut down on your energy bills, you can get paid for generating energy too…or so we thought.
However the Government slashed payouts in February 2016, which means for many people, the sums are much less likely to add up
Back in the day, solar panels were a no-brainer. When the Government launched the feed-in scheme, people typically got around £1,100+ per year in payments. That cash was guaranteed for 25 years back then too, so that was at least £27,500 back – not taking into account electricity savings. That said, they used to be much more expensive to install.
Getting solar panels is a lofty investment. Over the 20 years you’re eligible for the feed-in tariff, the payments and electricity savings could add up to roughly £6,000 (based on a home in Manchester) – yet it would take 23 years to break even.
So, what’s changed?
What we have seen recently is a number of people are realising that the promises and sales pitches of the representatives who sold them the Solar Panels are not living up to expectations.
People were told the panels would “pay for themselves” and that they would be “self-funding”.
For years, companies have been promoting solar panels as a great way to not only save money but to earn an income from the surplus electricity created by the system. This extra electricity could be sold to the national grid for a guaranteed amount, a ‘feed in tariff’.
However, many companies were mis-selling solar panels by misleading customers about how much income and savings they would make. This may have included an exaggeration of the amount of electricity generated or how much their electricity bills would reduce by.
Coupled with this, many people used finance or credit to purchase the systems and have been left with expensive monthly payments on top of still having to pay for their electricity, and are now living with large amounts of debt and worry.
Following a 2011 investigation, consumer rights group Which? found that 9 out of 12 companies selling solar panels gave an inaccurate estimate about how much energy they would produce. 7 out of 12 failed to consider the position of panels on the roof in relation to shade. Such dishonesty combined with an aggressive sales technique has led to a host of solar panel mis-selling cases.
