Blood in the water

Here we are, another year in the world of solar power and renwable energy.

And as usual, its that time of the year when the databases, the metaphorical blood in the water, are being put to use.

A slightly panicked phone call from a client I have looked after since 2010 this morning. They had a phone call on Friday from a company claiming to have been instructed to carry out maintenance on their system.

This maintenance is "free", allegedly as the client paid for it on purchase of the system, and as the company that installed it have gone now, they are owed this "free" service.

Utter cobblers, possibly even balderdash.

Now I did not sell this original system, I was a subcontract electrician to the company that did back then. And whilst its true they are no more, I have been taking care of this client ever since. I also know that the original seller did not offer maintenance beyond the usual workmanship warranty setup.

The company that called also told, not asked, my client, that an engineer would visit today between 10 and 11. Something my client has not agreed to.

Now its possible they wont even show up, but this has caused some distress to my client. Had they not been able to rely on me for support, it is entirely likely that this other mob will be in there upselling all sorts of nonsense.

The sad truth is they target a specific demographic of those more vulnerable. It's gross behaviour and something our industry needs to have assistance in dealing with. Perhaps not selling data would be a good start.

Its time for installers, those of us in the business for the long term, to start doing the rounds of our own customer base, just letting them know we are still here, still ready to help and advise.

Perhaps we will save a few people from the sharks.