HIES | The Home Insulation & Energy Systems Quality Assured Contractors Scheme

FAQ

Reviews

• 

  J A

  12-05-2023
• 

  Bob

  All pretty pointless and really not worth the paper it’s written on. I paid an upfront fee to First4Solar. When they failed to deliver and wouldn’t give me my £3k back, I contacted HIES. Apparently HIES tried but basically they said “it would be quicker to contact your bank and use section75” So, I reached settlement with the card company instead. Lost £500 in total. Basically even if HIES want to help, they have absolutely no power. And I’d be surprised if anyone ever gets a deposit back from them.

  12-05-2023
• 

  Val Barnes

  Having dealt with HIES after Daylight Energy went under it was a complete waste of time. The insurance was incorrectly sold by David Owen and my deposit was lost. I would never use them again. Total shambles….

  12-05-2023
• 

  Paolo Mangieri

  HIES have been great at communicating with me and also to help me get sorted for my MCS assessment. Jonathon Moorhouse has been extremely friendly and helpful, whenever I have needed a direct and quick response he and the company have continued to deliver for me. I hope we can continue to build a great relationship with HIES as a company going forward.

  26-04-2023
• 

  Jon Lacy

  I was a customer of the solar panel installation company, Daylight Energy, that closed down it's operations at the end of Feb 23 leaving me with a part install of a solar panel system. As the company was affiliated with HIES I hoped that HIES would be able to resolve the situation as the MD would not communicate with customers by phone or email. I was surprised when HIES said that the company had not registered my contract with them and therefore I was not eligible for any of their protection. They advised me to sit and wait until a liquidator was appointed and then some company might then be willing to pick up the missing part of the contract. As the DNO process had not been completed and this two stage approach would mean that I would have to pay VAT on the battery install I was not impressed. They appeared to be unable (or unwilling?) to put any pressure on the MD to sort out the mess that he had left his customers in. If they are supposed to be focused on consumer protection then I am not impressed.

  26-04-2023
• 

  Martin Holmes

  This scheme is an absolute sham, don’t be fooled into thinking you have any projection if you use a HIES affiliated installer. My solar installer (Daylight Energy) ceased trading in February and the MD has basically ran away. HIES had arranged a deposit insurance policy with a company called Safeworld. The moment I knew my installer had ceased trading I immediately tried to claim. However the insurer has a whole list of loopholes that stop them having to pay out. I’ve just received a final response from Safeworld stating they won’t be paying out as Daylight Energy weren’t shown in admin or liquidation on companies house before the 25th of March when the 120 day policy that the installer facilitated via HIES expired. Daylight Energy ceased trading in February but with the MD having ran away he has fulfilled none of his obligations of insolvency so my policy has now expired. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is a deliberate delay tactic that has been agreed to time out people’s policies. The ‘insurance’ arrangements they have in place clearly isn’t fit for purpose. HIES have provided no updates in weeks other than copy and paste responses. I’ve even contacted the Chief Executive of HIES, he didn’t have the decency to respond himself but got one of his staff to respond that again provided zero help or reassurance. So basically HIES provide you with no help, no protection and no security unless a company that ceases trading does things by the book, if someone runs off with your money you’re certainly not covered. I’d almost recommend avoiding using any HIES affiliated company.

  26-04-2023
• 

  Paul Wolf

  I Paid to have solar panels fitted by daylight Energy and when they stopped trading and i contacted HIES to clam my deposit back they were very unhelpful and did`nt want to know,not worth the paper it wrote on

  26-04-2023
• 

  Ian Watson

  Had problems with service from a PV installer. Contacted HEIS for help in resolving the problem. This worked and problem resolved quickly. Thankyou.

  26-04-2023
• 

  Jordan Andrew

  After having an Air Source Heat Pump installed, we discovered a few months later that the installer we had chosen left out vital information and under calculated a lot of the outputs of our current radiator setup. We got no where with our complaint to the installer and even NAPIT were unable to help us. However, we contacted HIES and Darren who dealt with our complaint immediately got the ball rolling. Thanks to Darren, we now have a resolution from the installer to amend the issues we have faced. I can’t recommend HIES enough as we would have had no outcome from this complaint without them. Darren is a credit to their team!

  26-03-2023
• 

  Shivananda Sahoo

  I got an ASHP installed by FDG Group and as they didn't deliver as per our agreement, I reached out to HIES for help. I contacted HIES ADR in Mar 2022 in relation to my complaint. I explained to HIES ADR person that my contract with the installer was to get installed a "Coastal Unit" and 250 L DHW cylinder, but the installer installed a standard unit and a 210 L cylinder. HIES ADR person's response to this was "Don't be unreasonable. It will cost the installer too much to replace the unit and cylinder to what was agreed in the contract".. What about the customer? Isn't HIES Consumer Code supposed to protect a customer??? On March 15th I received a copy of the HIES Settlement Agreement signed by the installer (HIES Accredited). I was apprehensive of making the final payment before all the work was complete, but HIES ADR person assured me that once the payment is made the installer will complete the remaining work. I don't believe HIES should have convinced a customer to make the final payment before the work is complete to a customer's satisfaction. Once I had made the final payment, the installer showed no interest in completing the remedial work and HIES ADR also washed their hands off it stating that "Our agreement is not legally binding". So basically, the installer conveniently got the payment, but the customer continued to suffer. I contacted HIES on 12th April about the installer not fixing the Legionella Protection issue and I am worried about my family's health as Legionella protection hasn't been on for weeks. To this HIES ADR person's response was "You are overexaggerating". HIES ADR person apologised the next day only after I sent them a URL from NHS website that stated that Legionnaire disease can be fatal. I tried to make a second complaint with ADR against the same installer, but that complaint wasn't registered and I was advised to go to DRO instead. DRO appointed by HIES was a joke. For over 3 months, I didn't hear a word from them. I got fed up waiting for DRO to respond despite multiple messages from me. So, finally, I sought help from my Credit Card company's Dispute Resolution team and as soon as I informed HIES ADR about this, DRO wasted no time to close my case Following my review and chargeback via the Credit Card company, I received multiple harassing/abusive messages from the installer trying to bully me to remove my review and revert the chargeback. I informed HIES, but HIES compliance didn't seem to have done anything about it and the installer continues to be "HIES Accredited". So, now I have an 10 years IBG from HIES from an installer that I can't trust at my property (given the abusive messages) and yet, HIES won't help me by appointing another installer to look after my heating system. Overall I feel that I would have had much better chance of getting my problems sorted if I wouldn't have gone with HIES's advice. I have stated the facts above. I will let the readers make their opinion wrt whether in this case HIES ADR have been biased towards the installer. If you are planning to use HIES's service or HIES Accredited installers, please do your research carefully and be mindful of the following - 1) HIES do not seem to have any authority over the installers 2) HIES Settlement Agreements are not legally binding 3) Even if an installer blatantly disregards agreement mediated by HIES, HIES ADR do not have authority to enforce 4) HIES IBG is for workmanship only and that only applies if the installer ceases to trade. So, the HIES IBG won't help in cases in which an installer is incompetent or goes rogue or unprofessional or is abusive... So, please read the small prints carefully 5) In my opinion, the good old way of not making a payment until the work is complete, is still the best. In my experience, chargeback/DRO etc... has been an absolute nightmare 6) I would strongly recommend that customers add clauses in the contract that safeguards them against false promises.

  26-01-2023