Any lawyers about?

I've written before on this forum about us having solar panels installed. As well as smashing our house up, the company who installed them also contravened any number of rules and regulations governing the industry, along with proper go to prison laws, including forging my wife's signature on a financial company's customer satisfaction certificate that released payment to them, and fabricating an electrical certificate that is required by law. They also installed the panels within the 7 day cooling off period.

Being a thicky, I'd never heard of this 7 day cooling off period until we spoke to citizen's advice, who told us that we didn't actual owe any money at all for the panels because of when they installed them.

We didn't want to get out of paying for them, but when we contacted the regulatory bodies for the industry we did mention we should probably be due a discount due to all the hassle. We gave them loads of evidence of all the **** the company had done, all the fraud and the forgery and **** knows what else, including details of the installation taking place within the 7 day cooling off period. They have confirmed to me they perfectly understand my complaint.

We got this back:

you should note that the general legal premise is that consumers "are only entitled to withhold monies which can be shown to be directly attributable to losses that they have sustained as a result of the contract not being properly or fully performed by the company".

the company are entitled to invoice you for the amount due under your contract with them and any amount that you then withhold from this payment must be proportional to the likely cost of correcting the problems that you have.

No mention of any laws that protect us, just 'you'll be in ******* trouble if you don't pay them the full amount'. I've questioned them about this, but they refuse to answer my questions. They just ignore me. This regulatory body are supposed to be my representation in discussions with the installation company, so I don't have to do it myself. Just fallen off me chair laughing.

My question is: Does the legislation in the 'The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008' apply to regulatory bodies as well as traders or is it just traders? By omitting vital legislation and quoting legislation that no longer applies, as other legislation supersedes it, the regulatory body have effectively misled me. It's only because I've read up on all this **** that I know that. Have they broken the law by doing that? It's not like they can claim they don't know about about the 7 day cooling off period, it's specifically mentioned in their own code of conduct never mind consumer law.

Good luck with that.

 

If I were you my first port of call would be Trading Standards.

 

We're on it with them. Signed witness statements, the whole works.

I'm concerned that the staff at these places are going to be hung out dry while the management and policy makers are going to get away with it.

I'm trying to get them to protect themselves but they're not taking the hint, so I need to frighten them to death so they'll just do the right thing before it's too late for 'em.

 

I think we should know who this Company is.

 

I do too. I will let you know. I can't just yet.

 

What's the official title of the regulatory body ?

 

RECC - Renewable Energy Consumer Code

But they've done nowt compared to NAPIT. The complaints manager there, who was supposed to be dealing with our complaint, upped sticks and went to work for the very company we were complaining about without ever doing a single thing for us. No one told us this had happened. NAPIT have issued us with a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate on the back of a counterfeit electrical certificate. The installation company didn't bother testing our system, they just forged it.

Neither body has conducted any sort of investigation at all. They've had the complaint about 6 months.

 

At some level do the Council and building regs come into play ? If a sparky signs off your wiring on the basis of fake documents or similar then he's down the line.

 

The installation company forged the signature of one of the electricians on their books. Badly. They traced it, looks like a spider has done it. The certificate is for a different house completely with the test taking place two days before our panels were installed. The regulatory bodies know this.

I've met the electrician whose signature they forged and he confirmed what I already knew - he'd never done any work at our house, never conducted a test and never signed off on any documents.

We've finally got hold of of the document that has my wife's forged signature on it. They've spelt her ******* name wrong.

I will get in touch with Barnsley building regs, but I'm dealing with so many different people I've got to prioritise. First job is getting the loan cancelled which is with the Financial Ombudsman who were due to contact us yesterday. Loan company haven't been as forthcoming with supplying all the documents as they should have. Hardly surprising with what they did.

 

How did Citizen's advice tell you to proceed ? I know it'll cost but I really do think you need a solicitor on the job.

 

Haven't spoken to them for a while. The plan is to wait for the decision from the financial ombudsman (they ruled against us once, unbelievably, but they now have loads of documents that prove the whole thing is corrupt, although the way things are going I wouldn't be surprised if they ruled against us again). I'll then talk to citizen's advice. And then I'll cause ******* mayhem. The forged documents and email conversations with the regulatory bodies are going everywhere.

 

If it's never been tested what the actual **** would've happened if these things had blown up or whatever they do when they go wrong. I can smell compensation Lots.

 

That's been my point all along. We've found out about this, but there could be more folk out there (hundreds/thousands/who knows?) who have no idea. Who scrutinises their electrical certificates? Nobody. I wouldn't have done either, but some fcuker put their foot through the ceiling when they were in the loft and didn't bother telling us. They then didn't sort it out and the ceiling fell in. That ****** me off, so I started looking at stuff. And I found a lot of ****. So I told the regulatory bodies. They've done nothing.

I then looked at how these regulatory bodies are funded. All their money comes from companies within the industry through membership schemes and payments for every single installation that is done. If the regulatory bodies sanction the installation firms they directly reduce their own income. What motivation have they got for doing that?

So I contacted the Department of Energy and Climate Change. Twice. I got the standard automated response saying my email had been received and they'll get back to me in 15 days. This was months ago. Nowt.

So I looked at Government policy. In 2005 the labour government brought in legislation that meant all electrical work in your house had to be completed and tested by a competent person. Couple of years ago, the Tories got rid of that and anyone can do it, so long as it is tested by a certification body. This year they got rid of that, any fcuker can do the installation, but it doesn't have to be tested by a certification body, just a competent person. So any company can do all the installation and testing in house. They can employ 25 numpties on **** wages to do all the installations (and **** your house up) and one competent person on good wages to do all the testing. Or just forge his signature on bogus electrical certificates.

What's in it for the government? Well, they've got targets to reach for how much of our energy is generated through renewables. Why pay for it themselves when the general public can do it for them by getting solar panels fitted on their own houses at their own expense. There's a skills gap though, not enough qualified electricians. So change the law and numpties can fit 'em.

And that's before I mention Enterprise Investment Schemes where you can get up to £300,000 a year in tax relief by investing in certain companies. Would you believe it, solar panel companies qualify as somewhere you can invest in these schemes.

How's that for a conspiracy theory?

If I go missing, you'll know why. I'm in way over my head.

 

I had legal advice. Phoned 'em up, they tutted and cooed and said yeah, that sounds terrible. And that was it

Anyway, I don't want to sue anyone, I don't want compensation, I just don't want to pay for the ******* things any more and I'm waiting for the decision from the financial ombudsman. I don't need a lawyer for that. I might do if they rule against us.

I want someone to investigate the whole thing, but that's not what a personal lawyer just acting for us will do. Trading standards are starting it, but I'll contact the police too and other institutions when I get this decision from the financial ombudsman.

 

Jesus f'in Christ.

Keep updating. Really hope this is sorted eventually.

I'd be edging to a solicitor now you seem to have everyone all ends up.

 

Blooming eck Jay is this still ongoing?
I think at this stage the next step is newspapers and TV. There are people in the media that sort these sort of problems out.


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Jay

Never mind a bloody lawyer

Sell the film/tv rights......but then you/I/nor anyone on here would know what to do with that either......

I feel for you

 

What about that bloke that drives around on a bike. Consumer bloke.....

 

I don't want to go on telly or be in a newspaper. If someone wants to investigate this, brilliant, but only on the proviso that my name is kept out of it. I don't know anyone who'll do that.