05/10/2017
Green Energy Electrical have received several reports from customers who have received cold calls warning them about potential hazards with their solar panels.
In some cases, the customers have been told that their panels are a potential fire risk and that an urgent risk assessment is needed to determine whether protective measures are required. These are false claims, being used to put pressure on the customer to agree to a visit. Once in the customer’s home, they are told that their solar panel systems require solar isolator devices. Claims are made that without them, the fire service will not attend a fire caused by the solar panels and that home insurance is invalidated. Again, these are false claims and customers have been quoted up to £3000 to have these isolators installed.
In other cases, cold callers have told customers that a health check or maintenance is required on their solar panel system. During these health check or maintenance visits, customers are then falsely told that their system is in need of upgrade. It might be that the inverter is no longer functioning properly or that the system would be made more productive by adding different components. On some occasions, these cold callers claim to be connected to the MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme) or even the original installation company. These people are not to be trusted.
It would appear that these cold calls have been occurring for over a year now. The MCS reported in August 2016 that they were aware of the issue and have advised that system owners should not feel pressured into agreeing to any kind of home visit or making any purchases.
If you receive any phone calls or even have someone knock on your door about your solar panels, please proceed with caution and do not agree to a home visit or feel pressured into paying for something. In the event that somebody does contact you and you are unsure of their legitimacy, please contact us straight away on 01277 523220.
More information published on the MCS website can be found at:
https://www.microgenerationcertification.org/solar-pv-scam-reports-update/
