REAL assurance

[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

 

[Cider]

Thats 2 of us mate.

 

[solarsavings]

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.

 

[VMan]

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

 

[Cider]

Perhaps they send the "real" police around and give us a kicking

 

[solarsavings]

So they won't be PCSO's then.

 

[VMan]

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??

 

[northernsun]

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.

 

[kevp]

The customers can by-pass REAL. REAL is to protect the customer from the seller.

 

[Markc]

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.

 

[SRE]

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.

 

[moggy1968]

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!​

 

[Markc]

they really would be better off looking at the appaling standard of some of the installations being thrown up rather than this nonsence!​

here, here

 

[moggy1968]

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.

 

[JD6400]

Thanks lads , not done one yet .
Had a look at the survey but it seems to not accept we do not take deposits !