Beaurocracy versus solar tiles!

Driven into another deep hole I find I need to talk about electricity! Sorry about this...

I have touched on this subject before but it just gets worse daily. It's not the fuel itself of course. It's the company in charge of its distribution.

After David died I tackled the problem head on by going through his post and seeing who we paid the direct debits to. I needed to change it to my account so I rang them. The whole thing took about an hour. I answered all the questions as well as I was able.

About a month later I got a letter saying they had got the wrong account information. I would need to set it up again.

I rang. It took another hour being asked all the same questions as the first time! I tried to cut to the chase having done it all before but they insisted I had to do the whole thing again.

I did it.

Then I got a letter asking me for the FIT reading. This apparently was "Feed in tarif" We put solar panels on the roof after several sermons where I preached green ethics. .

I didn't even know where the FIT meter was and called the local electrician. He found the meter had been switched off during a power cut. He turned it back on and took the reading. I sent it in!

By this time they had taken money out of my account on direct debit. I assumed it would be easy to get any payment back then.

But this was just the start of a whole new round of anxiety. I got a letter with a form to fill in. They needed proof of my identity, proof of my address , the death certificate and a solicitors letter saying that I owned the panels! Four separate bits of paper were asked for. I sent them.

I have now got two bits of paper sent back to me ...they need more!

I actually paid for half of those tiles but of course I can't prove it....or anything else come to that to satisfy this electricity company who had no difficulty in taking my money by direct debit but have so far not paid for the electricity earned by the tiles.....which to be fair won't add up to much given the winter we've had!

At a time of deep grief when the person left behind is struggling with all the changes involved in being widowed it has been a hassle too far. I regret the solar panels more than I can say...and if you are thinking about them...be warned , if one of you dies the survivor has to jump through multiple hoops to satisfy the beaurocracy of the Electricity company!

The death certificate is enough for most firms and in any case in this instance do they imagine a stranger somehow breaking into the house, reading the meter and claiming the money fraudulently...

Somehow their insistence that they have be certain as to the ownership of tiles owned jointly has a very hollow ring to it!

Now I've got that lot off my chest it can all be summed up in one sentence. Let the buyer beware!

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