Letter to Mayor regarding Solar Together complaints

Since then, more people from all parts of London have emailed me to raise similar complaints. More worryingly they have raised additional problems, such as deposits not being returned, lack of registration with consumer protection bodies and a concerning financial situation.

One says: “I’ve cancelled my involvement (as has my neighbour) and now struggling to get my deposit back. I think it’s a badly run, customer-unfriendly scheme that is all style over content. Their emails are polite and their service is dreadful. I can’t afford to spend nearly £4,000 on my roof without a conversation with someone who can go through the procedure with me as one would with a builder who is about to attach things to your roof and drill holes. 

“It’s such a shame. I would have thought these schemes were perfect for someone like me but it’s far too casual and ‘wild west’. I do wonder at the tendering process that clearly didn’t really check the company’s ability to communicate any details and to really help customers.”

Based on my correspondence with residents, I would like to request answers to the following questions:

1. Why was the vetting process outsourced to iChoosr, and not run and endorsed by the GLA as the marketing material for the scheme suggests?
2. What due diligence have you done to check that GET UK is actually registered with HIES? According to one customer: “Someone from HIES checked my contract and told me that it [GET UK] had never been registered with HIES (it should be registered within 24 hours of signing a contract or a HEIS company taking a deposit) […] After numerous further emails over several months Solar Together failed to either get my deposit registered with HIIS or get me a refund.”
3. What investigations did you or iChoosr do into GET UK with Companies House? The same customer tells me: “GET UK was established in 2015 and its most recent accounts (March 2021) show that only £100 was paid into the company as share capital. Not exactly a “strong” entity to be the recipient of such a large contract from Solar Together. The company has no material fixed assets and was loss-making in the year to March 2021 (a net loss of at least £268,494).” Furthermore, “the company is beneficially owned by David Stuart Elbourne, through an intermediate company. What I find staggering is that he has been the director and beneficial owner of at least 11 insolvent companies.”

Separately, in December, another resident has brought up similar problems with Dynamis Associates. They say:

“I registered and by 24 September had received a quotation and paid my 25% to the contractors Dynamis Associates. Since then, it has been a litany of problems with the scaffolding, delays to supplies and when men have been here to work, missing parts. I understand there are supply problems with parts, but my major issue is the total lack of communication with Dynamis. Messages are left, emails never answered.  This has been going on for 8 weeks. I have had scaffolding in place for 6 weeks, visits from various workmen who have been unable to complete the job. Last week I was promised the installation would be completed yesterday 24th November and that the missing parts were available. I waited in all day and tried at various times during the day to speak to someone.

“In view of the fact that the London Mayor endorsed the scheme, I should be extremely grateful if someone in the London Authority could respond to these issues.”

Could you please provide responses to all these questions as soon as you are able, as this issue seems to be becoming more urgent with each customer who is affected in this way.

Yours sincerely,

Sian Berry

Green Party Member of the London Assembly