Consumer Affairs stand up for rights of solar customers  

With the falling cost of installing solar there are more customers than ever before. Australia has enjoyed a solar boom on the back of affordable systems and government incentives. Unfortunately a handful of companies are taking advantage of the reputation the industry enjoys for their own gain.

In a competitive market, solar retailers are resorting to inferior equipment, poor installations, difficulty cancelling contracts and delays in service claims. As a result Consumer Affairs Victoria are receiving a record number of complaints against retailers not complying with the industry’s best practices.

Solareco Pty Ltd was slammed with a $60,000 fine last month for falsely claiming their solar panels were manufactured in Australia. Consumer Affairs Victoria has issued a warning about customers dealing with Melbourne supplier Sunburst Solar, after a number of complaints regarding the quality of their equipment and failure to honour contracts.

During the pre-solar boom era, the watchdog received as few as five complaints per month in 2007, a figure that has risen to as many as 183 per month earlier the year.

Consumer Affairs Victoria director Claire Noone (pictured above) offered comment to The Age advising consumers to be wary of operators not complying with the law having attracted a number of companies with aggressive marketing tactics and substandard products. ”We’re not saying it isn’t a reputable industry, but certainly it’s relatively new.”

Solar Sunwerx offers a 10 year warranty of workmanship and provide customers with all details and conditions up front. Customers are made aware of the warranty terms for their equipment including solar panels and inverters.

We have a long and proud reputation for helping customers get the best value solar system, designed for their requirements. That’s how we earned Platinum partner rating with consumer website Solar Quotes, an achievement resulting from hundreds of happy customers leaving positive feedback about out products, service and installations.

The Consumer Affairs Victoria website offers plenty of advice for potential solar customers, guidelines for navigating the purchase process including questions regarding expected savings and the mechanisms of feed-in tariffs and resources for conflict resolution.

Visit the Consumer Affairs Victoria solar advice website here.