REAL assurance

S

solgen

Advice needed please!

It seems that in my haste to complete all my PV installations before the 12th I've been forgetting to log deposits with REAL and now I'm getting emails saying I'm not compliant and my company could be at risk of being referred to the Non-compliance Panel.

None of my installations have been logged with REA. My first installation was back in September 11.

All my work is complete and all customers have their equipment up and running and registered for FIT's and a few of those customers still owe me a few £k.

Everytime I've attempted to log onto the REA website I always have to contact them to reset my password as I can never get in - one of the reasons I've been forgetting to use the site!

Any advice please?

Thanks
 
Just got the same and was about start a thread saying 'shouldn't there be an alternative to REAL' as they clearly haven't got a clue as to what we've all been through the last several weeks.
 
i got this a few weeks after we got our accreditation and had to fill in an online survey, a quick phone all would have been more pleasant and i could have explained that we hadn't secured a contract!!! - very fustrating
 
Is it worth renewing tho???
Perhaps they are predicting alot of companies may not be paying there fees on 31 December so they gota fine members instead to earn their bonuses??
 
Yeah,I was about to start a thread but was put off by the amount of swearing i might do in the opening post. REAL have been outstanding over the last month, really made themselves heard. I'm so grateful they let me give them my money so they can get on with not really doing anything about bad practises and selling techniques.
 
Certainly REAL's given passwords are those that NASA found to be to difficult to use!

I must be fortunate that I had registered all ours. One even twice. They didn't tell me off for that.

I wouldn't worry about it. Come a few months they might well be begging us all to register something! and stay members in 2013? It's all to easy for the likes of REAL to kick while you're down but I do agree with a previous post. Where have they been in the last 5 weeks? Not much has been said form any body.

If they kick off what can they do. Kick you out. I don't think so why want ya money just the same as any other body and that's all they are interested in. As for clamping down on miss-selling etc well what a joke. Couldn't clamp down on their own tongue in my opinion.

Now I know some people from REAL are on here and I know they might well know me but I've made my comment and will stand by it.

To REAL I say this. For god sake give us a break! You obviously have no idea what it's been like in the recent weeks tying to keep all those customers as happy as possible in truly horrendous times. So instead of criticising it might be worth a sympathetic approach and a reminder of the requirements rather than showing a heavy hand to those easy to lash out at.
 
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Sometimes the thought of doing something is worse than actually doing it. It only takes 5 mins at most to register the REAL deposits. How does REAL know that you've taken deposits (Dansk never takes deposits so I'm not sure you'd need to register those) and if you've kept the money seperate and got permission to use any deposits taken for materials bought you would think REAL would take a sensible approach.
 
anyone else had an email from these characters asking them about their insurance provision for customer deposits?

here's my reply
'I haven't replied because this appears not to be relevant to me. your email clearly states
If you are in the process of setting up your business or have yet to complete an installation we still need a response from you.

we have been in business for some time and have completed a number of installations so this does not appear to apply to us.

Also, at what you call 'this very busy time' my priority has been ensuring that my customers received our full attention to ensure they had their installations completed to out usual high standards in time for the Governments ill advised and ill thought out short notice reduction of the tariff.

This really seems rather inappropriate at this 'rather busy time''


They really would be better off looking at the appaling standard of some of the installations being thrown up rather than this nonsence!​
 
The reality is that if we hadn't used deposits from future customers to pay for current customers installs we wouldn't have been able to provide even a quater of the installations we did and lots of consumers would have suffered financial loss as a result.
The customers were told the situation and what their deposits would be used for and non backed out.
 
I think if everyone writes a similar reply to REAL telling them to wind their necks in they might get the message!!
they need to get REAL!!!
 
You can register it as a nil deposit. We've doen it before to be on the safe side but I'm not sure it's necessary.

What insurance are REAL talking about - that's what registering the deposit is all about. They provide the insurance!
 
I haven't registered any for a couple of weeks - Norton keeps warning me that the registration wesbite is untrusted :thumbs_down:

I've saved a printscreen to show for our MCS assessment if they ask why there is a two week period with no registrations.
 
Do you think if I wrote back and said 'we don't take deposits, we always ask for 100% payment in advance' they would see the irony of it?!
 
Green said:
I haven't registered any for a couple of weeks - Norton keeps warning me that the registration website is untrusted :thumbs_down:

I've saved a printscreen to show for our MCS assessment if they ask why there is a two week period with no registrations.
Click to expand...


When we singed up to them we went on their website to pay and realised that it was not secure , when they finally answered the phone the reply was pretty much " you pays your money , you takes your chances !"
I must admit the word chances did spring to mind !:ciappa:
 
I have had the displeasure of having to read and re-read the whole of the REA code of conduct, and I was lead to believe that the deposit was insurance backed by the REA, nowhere does it state that REA tell the installers to insure it.
So let me get this straight, they have a complete code of conduct, that, if you adhered to ever condition in it you would not be able to trade, and the only benifit to actually tell the customer is for peace of mind your deposit is insured by REA, our governing body, is now not true...
When we it all end and we can have some stability??
 
So what happens when you send the customer the contract stating your break down of payments and they pay 100% up front! Didnt ask for it, just appeared in my account on 3 occasions. Had 4 others pay at least 80% without quibbling just to make sure they got their install..............The only one I have not registered is a local school for which there was no deposit...
 
I must confess that we normally do not take deposits but we were forced to do so in the last few weeks in order to secure stock. In the rush, I doubt if these were registered with REAL. We haven't received an email from them yet.
 
The way I always understood it REAL was the first you joined. No join REAL no MCS. Upset REAL by bad practise and get kicked out loose MCS. No MCS no FIT for installs.

Like them or not for not representing us as a body, they still have us by the gonads.

When I joined I had to set up aclient account for deposits. Natwest bank had only ever heard of solicitors and letting agencies having this and took some convincing to let me have one. REAL gave no assistance in that.

When we register deposits with REAL they pass them to QANW who then insure it and notify the customer of that.
 
Yanman said:
The way I always understood it REAL was the first you joined. No join REAL no MCS. Upset REAL by bad practise and get kicked out loose MCS. No MCS no FIT for installs.

Like them or not for not representing us as a body, they still have us by the gonads.

When I joined I had to set up aclient account for deposits. Natwest bank had only ever heard of solicitors and letting agencies having this and took some convincing to let me have one. REAL gave no assistance in that.

When we register deposits with REAL they pass them to QANW who then insure it and notify the customer of that.
Click to expand...

Same with me here, i cant get a deposit account, HSBC have seen a rise in these and have told there employees not to issue them its the wrong type of account, so my deposits just went into my normal account.

any ideas whats best to do now.?
 
The deposit account idea is not well thought out because you can still use that money to purchase materiels. Also if insurance cover is issued when the deposit is registered why is a holding account necessary?
 
Earthstore said:
I have had the displeasure of having to read and re-read the whole of the REA code of conduct, and I was lead to believe that the deposit was insurance backed by the REA, nowhere does it state that REA tell the installers to insure it.
So let me get this straight, they have a complete code of conduct, that, if you adhered to ever condition in it you would not be able to trade, and the only benifit to actually tell the customer is for peace of mind your deposit is insured by REA, our governing body, is now not true...
When we it all end and we can have some stability??
Click to expand...


REA or REAL? REA apparently started REAL but are no longer connected to them in anyway, or so they say.
 
From a consumer's point of view I too have found REAL "real" poor. I contacted them at the start of Nov due to a number of non compliances in my installation(some important to me others more procedural that I wasn't too fussed about). Got the usual acknowledgement from them and heared nothing more so contacted them last week when they told me they had my case closed as actioned and resolved satisfacorily. This was news to me as I had heared nothing from either REAL or the installer.Some of the points I had listed they told me were " technical" and so of no concern to them!! I am yet to hear more although they must have been in touch with the installer and communications with him have been ok although remedial work not started yet which I understand due to weather, rush to beat FIT change etc.I audit various assurance schemes through work and the REAL consumer code looks good as a customer however it is only as good as the compliance by members and enforcement by the governing body. So far it has NOT come up to scratch.
 
When you register your deposit with QANW it is insured until it is used for materials. That's how I understand it - the customer then gets the option to pay £35 at the end of the installation to insure the work that the installers do. We don't have a specific client account because Natwest wanted to charge us for having one - we have a seperate bank account where all the deposits are put and we don't take the money out of there until the job has been completed and registered. We haven't heard anything from Real - YET!
 
When you register your deposit with QANW it is insured until it is used for materials. That's how I understand it - the customer then gets the option to pay £35 at the end of the installation to insure the work that the installers do. We don't have a specific client account because Natwest wanted to charge us for having one - we have a seperate bank account where all the deposits are put and we don't take the money out of there until the job has been completed and registered. We haven't heard anything from Real - YET!
 
From my rather sketchy understanding of REAL procedures the worst that can happen, if you have done anything wrong, is that they will give you a written warning.

You have to get three of these before they might throw you out. In the present circumstances I can't think they will want to do that to too many installers.
 
What would happen if we ALL stood up to REAL and said "No not this year, I haven't had the service I was expecting and I'm not paying you this year until you get your act together" If we ALL said this what can they do? There would be no MCS installers? I don't think so. I think they would suddenly and sharply get their back sides in gear and become what they should be. A governing body to be reckoned with!
 
Either I have this wrong or everyone else does :) My understanding is that REAL are in business for themselves and our customers they have no interest in us outside of us paying our annual fee and of course ensuring we do not do things like offering 5-10% discounts for an early sign up :) Expecting them to look after our interest is................................not in their business plan.
 
So why are people offering incentives to sign up.
And why is REAL, and the whole parasitic registration industry more interested in paperwork than the quality of installations.
Do you really need three different bodies involved to adminster a system?
It seems to me the only thing that is in their business plan is serving themselves
 
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