Anyone else had any dealings with this Leeds based company? At the moment they seem to be targetting elderly people in Beachief and some of their practices seem extremely dodgy.
My Mum signed up to one of their contracts (you know, they won't leave your house until you sign on the line) believing that there is a weeks get-out time, just to get rid of them. She is partially sighted and couldn't read all the small print anyway. They really hassled her.
Now they are being extremely threatening and saying they will take her to court as she cancelled the cheque.
She is elderly and is upset about all this.
I am thinking about taking this to Trading Standards or whatever and would be interested in any other similar stories from other people.

I would just let them know that you are going to take it to the Trading Standards.
I would also suggest Citizen's Advice Bureau, I am sure that there are certain cool off clauses that have to be adhered to.

also the star any other papers might just highlight these people to warn others not to fall for it?

I am presently having problems with this company and am interested in what happened with your mum.

now why does that company name ring a bell? :suspect:

Have they been on watchdog or something?

There is legislation for this, I think the Consumer Credit (Distance Selling) Act 199?/2??? which entitles people who have been sold goods on a consumer credit contract in their own home to a cooling off period, I think 7 days or something of that ilk. It would be a very good idea for you/your mum to speak with the CAB to get this sorted out.

I would also be inclined to agree about contacting Sheffield Trading Standards, however they are extremely difficult to contact on any basis or at all.

Better still might be Consumer Direct www.consumerdirect.gov.uk and phone number 08454 04 05 06. They will also refer complaints to your local Trading Standards Office.

Hope you get it sorted because it doesnt sound very pleasant for your mum

Hi , just picked up the reply to my (I thought dead) thread. O wonder what problems you are having?
My Mum wanted out of the contract after signing it- I think she came to her senses about how much it was.
A friend of mine who knows a lot about solar stuff said they are a difficult company to deal with and people have had problems. I scoured the internet, but couldn't find any references to anything bad. However he was horrified that she was only offered 1 year guarantee, wasn't told what king of solar panels they were fitting, and told her that it would enhance the value of her house. Apparently this is not true. Most people rip it out when they move in...
I thought too that you had a cooling off period, but they told her she didn't and apparently this was true according to Consumer Advice, though I don't understand it myself. Something to do with her registering interest in a survey she filled in. I am especially angry as Mum is nearly blind and certainly can't read small print.
So she now has the wretched stuuff installed and I am just praying that it diesn't break in 13 months.
Let me know what your problema are. Mx

Hi, thanks for that. Like you I had searched the net, but had not found much apart from in 1999. I found your thread on search engine. I don't live in sheffield, and am not elderly, but know of older lady in this area who lost a hefty sum of money when she broke the contract. my problems are ongoing so i best not give too much detail but i too broke the contract and am trying to get money back as i believe i was given false information. Trading standards are very helpful but can't take case on as it is my word against theirs and no other complaints have been made. I have passed your thread to them so they are aware, hope this is ok? I was upset to hear that they did this to your mum and this made me more determined to persue the issue. I am sure panels should be ok though and i imagine they are giving plenty of hot water at present!

I would be grateful if you could let me know how your issue with Sunuser is progressing as a relative of mine is now in a similar situation of wanting to cancel and is having problems doing this.

Nothing more to report really. Mum has the stuff installed and it is working fine. My main issue is with this "not being able to cancel" stuff. I dont know much about the law, but I assume thay have some sort of loophole going to get round it.
I do feel they are taking advantage of vulnerable people. Unfortunaately when Mum was dealing with it I didn't have the time to take off work to visit solicitors etc with her to follow it all through.

My issue with sunuser now closed, please email me if you want some info. kagkilvert@aol.com

I am having similar problems with them. Please email me on joanneslater.64@virgin.net if you are having similar problems.

... Most people rip it out when they move in...
I don't understand? Why would someone take it out of a house if it were there?

Sorry Melody but I was reading your thread and felt strongly that to be fair to this company the service I received and the information was extremely good and truthful. Yes I paid a bit more for my system but having listened to people like smart energy who are shallow and only tell half a tale I believe sunuser had some integrity. They do make it clear that you cant opt out of the deal as there is no credit involved. Anyway my system is working well and even works in the winter. They said you dont need the sun to make this work and they were right, even in Sheffield!

Sorry Melody but I was reading your thread and felt strongly that to be fair to this company the service I received and the information was extremely good and truthful. Yes I paid a bit more for my system but having listened to people like smart energy who are shallow and only tell half a tale I believe sunuser had some integrity. They do make it clear that you cant opt out of the deal as there is no credit involved. Anyway my system is working well and even works in the winter. They said you dont need the sun to make this work and they were right, even in Sheffield!

Why do I get the feeling that you either work or own the company??:huh::huh:

Also why are you targeting old people:huh::huh:

as a plumber living in western australia i would be interested to know if solar hot water would pay for it self in sheffield,it would be a huge outlay to have it fitted,over here quite a few have solar as the sun shines for over 300 days a year.Also the gas system is popular cause gas bills are very cheap:huh:

I called Sunuser to put off the meeting as was feeling rather poorly. Was told the rep would call me, but instead of putting it off, the time was brought forward about two hours. I agreed to get it over with at the earlier time.
After waiting ages for the rep to stop going on about the "Golden Home
Agreement", which knocked down the price from £10,000 to approx £8,000, he finally had a look around my property. Yes, I was the ideal candidate!!!
Various letters were required for me to write into the company telling them what the figures are for my fuel consumption after installation. These are required for other prospective buyers to browse, while listening to the salesman waffle on about the scheme. When I asked if I could copy the letter, he said I could if I wanted to, but I didn't get the chance. The phone numbers from these supposedly happy customers on the scheme were clearly visible for all to see, but was told that they never give out the numbers to anyone without first going through the company to check it's convenient to call. This makes me suspicious, as they are calling them, and not myself. Surely if Sunuser can call them, why not an interested would be customer? The call is still made whoever makes it.
I was handed an agreement form which states how much I would be paid if I entered "the scheme". I told the rep I was not going to part with my hard earned cash till I had time to research this more,and get other quotes, where upon he said I could have done this before he arrived. The testimonials are on their website. But as he kept repeating - none of these testimonials are relevant unless one can verify them, so why didn't he call them there and then? Yeah I wonder why?
The whole thing went through so quick I had no time to do this. The call came from Sunuser within a short time of my going on their website, and asking for a visit. I was astonished how quickly they acted.
In the end I felt so bogged down with this scheme idea, and not really considering the solar panel installation. This caused me hours of mind searching and worry, plus wasting the loveliest sunny day for ages, stuck indoors, and as I am not at all well, I decided they can install their solar panels where the sun DOESN'T SHINE!!! :hihi: :):huh:

Having been through a gruelling 3 hour meeting last night with Sun user I thought I would look up other people's opinions.

There seems to be a pattern emerging about this company and their sales tactics which doesn't seem right. If the company is the biggest in the UK by far (their claim), is the oldest provider of solar panels and they offer a premium service - why do they need to try such hard selling tactics?

The pattern seems to be: no ID provided, no written information despite requests, no firm quotation to leave with people.

It seems I fell for the same tactic of being offered the special price for being an ideal reference and yet as soon as my wife and I wanted to carefully consider the deal overnight and look at the actual finances involved we were told we were no longer the right kind of people and the offer was withdrawn.

This was particularly annoying as I had said very clearly I would not be making a decision tonight either way right at the beginning of the meeting some 3 hours before!

The irony being we liked the sound of everything and potentially would have purchased but I now have a feeling of mistrust to the company following the hard sell tactics.

I cannot believe that they are using this method if they are a reputable company - why would they need to if they are SO confident their system is the best and worth paying a bit more for?

If any one does want solar heating it is something me and the other plumbers on here do
please contact me for any advice.

dont waste your money on solar on average it takes 5 years to get your investment back before you make any profit.

I have just endured 3 hours of sales talk from Sunuser. My 85 year old neighbour asked me to join her as she had an interest in solar water heating and had invited them to quote.

She started off by saying she had done some research (she is a very intelligent lady) His response was to say that (in a nutshell) everything on the internet was basic and people got the wrong idea from it. I pointed out that some information was from CAT. He said (again I paraphrase) they were behind the time and had no idea what they were talking about. He also said that evacuated tubes only lasted 10-15 years and then had to be replaced and everyone in Germany was now going over to his specially designed flat panel Swiss made design.

We then got on to the letter. Had my neighbour read this? It was basically one of those ‘we have chosen your home out of thousands to be a show home for the area so you get a discount letters’ My neighbour told him couldn’t remember it and if she had she would have thrown it away anyway.

He then spent about an hour telling us about this wonderful scheme over and over again. (it was again in a nutshell-‘Write us 3 letters saying how wonderful it is over 12 month period, then get £250 pounds if you introduce someone else and £35 if you talk to a prospective customer on the phone’) and showing us letters received by customers.

My neighbour stopped his at least twice in this period to ask him for details of the system, not the scheme and also to speak slower and louder. He ignored these requests and carried on talking about the scheme.

Eventually he had a tour of the house and bathrooms. The house has a 12 degree sloping roof which is facing north. My neighbour has a cold fill washing machine and an electric shower, she bathes 3 times a week and obviously uses very little hot water. He said they could construct a frame on the roof that faces south and the trees wouldn’t make little difference to the efficiency.

We then got on to the system. He sat about 8 feet from my partially sighted neighbour and showed her diagrams of the system whilst explaining the construction of the units. Again he ignored and evaded any attempt by us to get technical details or even a leaflet in our hands.

He eventually asked what my neighbour ‘wanted to do’
2 hours had now passed. I was getting extremely frustrated at his approach and asked him what he meant by this, what did he think the next stage should be as we still hadn’t had any proper information about the system. He was obviously annoyed by my interruption and could see that I might have him sussed. He told me that he knew I was cynical from the moment he shook my hand and then proceeded to try to ignore me and concentrate on my neighbour.

He the changed tack and said that my neighbour would not be suitable for the scheme (she obviously wasn’t going to sign). She still asked him (probably for the 8th or 9th time) for more info and how much it would cost. He eventually said if she wasn’t part of the scheme 3 panels would cost £10,000. He then had the cheek to go back to the ‘scheme’ and say that she could be part of it for £7750 ish.

My neighbour said this was far too much and said the conversation was over. He still didn’t leave again going over the same ground. Eventually he left

It seems that this company is targeting older people and making them to sign up to this scheme by applying high pressure sales and refusing to move until they have a signature. They are also asking for far too higher price for their product

Either Leeds folks are thick, or Sunuser employees are posting favourable comments on a review site, personally I think both :hihi:

http://www.leedsonline.co.uk/allreviews/14968/

Interesting that your neighbour was partially sighted like my Mum Boppsy.....
Well Mum's system is working fine, and they are pretty good at fixing things if there is a problem. My main issue is with the price and the selling techniques.
The targetting of the elderly and vulnerable is very worrying.
Watchdog anyone?

Dear all

There is a certification scheme for anything to do with renewable energy installers called MCS (micro generation scheme). All government approved installers must carry this certification.

I have not long since attended the MCS accreditation course and customer satisfaction and how companies treat thier customers seems to be higher priority to MCS than the actual installation itself.

So if you feel too pressured or you feel that salesmen are overstepping the mark or installations not meeting expectations, I suggest you get in touch with the MCS im sure they would be very interested in these matters and take complaints very seriously.


You can find the MCS contact form on thier website, Just google MCS



honesty is always the best policy

Hi Guys,

If anyone requires free and friendly advice regarding solar panels electric and heating please don't hesitate to contact me!

Solar works well when installed correctly both for electric and heating. Solar Thermal (heating) has had some bad press in the past due to installers not knowing how to properly size and install the systems and miss selling the product. We are a fully MCS company and you will only get genuine advice and no sales talk.

James
0114 2447194

As local business Sunuser Limited reaches its thirtieth birthday today it is definitely cause for celebration. The Leeds based solar power company proves that hard work and dedication to a greener future are vital ingredients for long term success.

I really can't believe that Sunuser are still up to their old tricks after all these years. I fell victim to their high pressure sales tactics 20, yes 20 years ago and from what I read nothing has changed. They were exposed on Watchdog by Alice Beer all those years ago where unbenown to their salesman their descent on apparently unsuspecting prey was recorded. I managed with the help of a solicitor to extracate myself from their clutches although as I recall I received several menacing 'phone calls from their Head Office in Leeds.I would advise anyone interested in the installation of solar power to give this Company a wide berth.