Should have been having our panels fitted TODAY! Oh dear!! :o(

[moggy1968]

thats rather different to putting it on a public forum.
It's commercially rather foolish

 

[Mozzerr]

I mentioned Ebay merely because it can often provide a useful "rule of thumb" on wholesale pricing - no matter what the market sector.
I'm just the OP don't forget, Joe public not trade. But I still try to be price savvy where possible.
And to justify the point, Ebay tells me that wholesale pricing on, for example Sanyo 250w HIT's must be about twice the aforementioned 85p/w of the Suntellites... (not fishing here, honest, but would be interested to know if correct?)

As for my panels stuck in customs X-Ray at Felixstowe, why should I necessarily expect long delays? I've had the same issue in my workplace with volume IT equipment and the "few days" delay stated by my PV installers is similar to my own experience...?

I'm obviously still worried about all this... if I miss out on the 21p FIT then that's another attempt at an "investment" down the drain!... Will I ever learn? C'est la vie!

 

[moggy1968]

sorry, it passed me by it was you that posted the price, thought it was an installer, fair one, as a customer you can post whatever you find if people are daft enough to put it out there!

You won't miss out on 21p, thats in until July as far as I am aware, although, thinking about it I'm not sure when the EPC requirement kicks in, that may be more of an issue. the march 3rd deadline is for if the govt loses it's appeal and the FiT returns to 43.3p

FYI on a 4kW system RETAIL for us on Sanyo is about £3000-£3500 more than a branded 250w panel on our prices. we don't mark them up any more than our other stock, our margins stay the same.

Your supplier is contractually obliged to deliver the panbels by the date agreed so they are on sticky ground unless they have an opt out clause.

 

[screwdriver]

And there I was thinking I was being ripped off at 30p/w :jester:

 

[Mozzerr]

Thanks moggy... interesting.

For the record, it wasn't me that posted the wholesale price (how would I know!)... t'was an installer (or someone with access to that pricing!)...

 

[Mozzerr]

Well, here's an update to the saga if anyone is interested... (I suppose it might be useful to anyone still contemplating taking the plunge..)

So I had a phone call on Friday from one of the directors of my PV supplying company - saying that he had managed to source 32 of the exact same panels we are waiting for. Hooray! He promised they would be 150% (!) with us on Saturday (today) by lunch time - along with the roofing crew - and the Sparky was to follow shortly after.

Well, at 09:30am this morning a courier was at my dad's door in a sorry looking MB Sprinter - with the full roofing kit, 2x SMA 4000TL's and all the panels!

Result? Well sort of!.. The main reason my 75 year old father was ringing was to ask me to come over and help the "young girl" unload the panels... The driver (who, incidentally, looked older than my dad!) said he was "not very well" and couldn't lift any of the panels! His daughter turned out to be quite fit and strong as it turned out!!!

So I unloaded the kit to my dad's garage. Two roofers turned up about 2pm claiming to have just come straight from another job which they had started and completed today, apparently, and had been "on the go since 4am this morning"...!!! The sparky arrived at MY house today (wrong address!) at 4pm-ish... quickly surveyed my own site then I took him round to dad's place.

So far, three roof rails of my dad's install have been erected on his bungallow.

One consolation was the look on the roofers faces when having been told to expect a concrete roof full or Marleys (my house) they were presented with dad's roof full of Rosemary's! I got the impression that, being a Saturday, they were hoping for a short day! Hahahahah!!!

... to be continued...

 

[SolarCity]

Be good to the guys on site - it sounds like they're working their backsides off. Remember that they may be scratching around for work next week.

It sounds like your install will be carried out in time so you probably should give the company a bit of slack. The conditions we've all been working under are not great.

 

[Mozzerr]

Sorry, I did not mean to come across all pessimistic about the on-site guys... I'm aware they will likely be subbies. And to be fair - so far they seem a great bunch!

I'm telling it, warts and all - someone might appreciate the story... All these guys look knackered (my wife's comment - I never noticed, having myself been taking advantage of a full scaffold on the house to get up on the roof and scrape all the moss clumps off it - have wanted to do that for years..!)

The sparky said he's worked the last six weekends solid and will definitely be going back to Scotland to see his wife next weekend!

 

[babba]

Its not the guys on site its the idot running the cowboy company you should have the nark with, as for marleys dont blame him
but dont worry he may get his own back long term, with a leaky roof......did you get a bargin ..or what..????

What gurantee did you get on the system ..???

 

[SolarCity]

To be totally honest, the biggest issue with your situation is that the company didn't ring you to tell you what was happening. Not many of us in the industry have had a day off in weeks and I admit that I've dropped the ball on more than one occassion.

 

[Mozzerr]

, as for marleys dont blame him

I'm not

but dont worry he may get his own back long term, with a leaky roof......

I will be up there inspecting everything as they go!

did you get a bargin ..or what..????
What gurantee did you get on the system ..???

20yr extended warranty on Inverters
Usual manufacturer stuff on panels
10yr extendable independent insurance-backed warranty on workmanship

Time will tell, I hope it will prove to be a good investment all in.

 

[Mozzerr]

To be totally honest, the biggest issue with your situation is that the company didn't ring you to tell you what was happening.

Yes, and again this morning with the courier situation.. or do you find that acceptable? Good job the parents weren't out shopping when they turned up - they didn't have my address!

Not many of us in the industry have had a day off in weeks and I admit that I've dropped the ball on more than one occassion.

I am aware. The PV industry don't hold a monopoly on lack of days off. I install, support and maintain X-Ray equipment in hospitals. I'm on 24-hr standby every other week and rarely see a sub-70 hour week, often much more.
If I drop the ball, people might die. A&E might have to close.
I'm just saying.

 

[babba]

Well I wish you all the best

 

[moggy1968]

I think this is an example of a company taking on more work than they can cope with. I think they just saw the pound signs whizzing round round without thinking through wether they could actually achieve the installs TBH.
guys working this hard aren't working safe. If there's an accident heads will roll.

 

[SolarCity]

Yes, and again this morning with the courier situation.. or do you find that acceptable?

I don't find it acceptable but to be totally frank with you it is not the end of the world either. I very much doubt that this is how the company that is installing for you normally carries out installations but this is just how things are. We're constantly let down by couriers - literally at least 50% of the time.

What you should be concerned with is getting a good install.

I am aware. The PV industry don't hold a monopoly on lack of days off. I install, support and maintain X-Ray equipment in hospitals. I'm on 24-hr standby every other week and rarely see a sub-70 hour week, often much more.
If I drop the ball, people might die. A&E might have to close.
I'm just saying.

When I say 'drop the ball', I mean that I have forgotten on the odd occassion to keep a customer in the loop. Simply because I am juggling too many balls.

Am I taking too much on? Possibly. But I think that a service more erratic than usual but that still delivers a good install is better than no service at all. And lets be honest, nobody is going to die just because some solar panels didn't turn up on time.