First4Solar Bewertungen 372

I’m very unhappy with my experience with First4Solar. I’m not going to share all of the details because there is not enough space here.

The long story short - After paying deposit I was asked to pay in full 2 days before the installation (April 2021). Unfortunately day after they got my money I was told that they don’t have what I have ordered (LG all black) and offered me substitute pv panels that I was not interested in.

LG had stopped manufacturing new solar panels in early 2022 and they were available when I ordered them. At that time every 2-3 weeks I was told by First4Solar that they will get them in sock in few weeks. This happened multiple times and was always postponded last minute when I called to ask for an update. The same story with the installation dates that were usually cancelled last minute. Once the installation was booked and not cancelled so I have changed all other plans to be at home that day just to find that nobody came.

Between September 2021 and November 2022 I had to send three formal letters to First4Solar and I’ve never rećeived requested written answer. I was in touch with Citizens Advice Beauro, Trading Standards and I had to ask HIES for help multiple times. It all took a lot of my time and was very stressful to me. After long time I’ve finally got my solar panels delivered but I had to drop all of my work and help driver to manually unload the panels. I also paid for a battery but because they couldn’t supply the one I’ve ordered after very long time of wait I decided to ask for a refund so I could purchase it elsewhere. The process of getting my refund was also very difficult, stressful and time consuming. It required further intervention from HIES and after long time of waiting and many phone calls I did got my refund.

At the end I was promised a „goodwill compensation” by 2 different people (owner and his son) and I was told twice that the money are on their way to my bank account but they never arrived there. At some point owner decided to stop answering my messages and I got nothing. What I have experienced is lots of broken promises, huge amount of stress, uncertainty and wasted time.

Before dealing with this Company please make sure that you will read other people reviews! I’m sure that you will get attractive quote from First4Solar but you need to be very careful with this Company and if you’ll decide to deal with them make sure that you’ll never pay them in full before the job is actually done!

This is my honest opinion based on what I have went through with this Company. It’s based on experience from 4th October 2022 when I was promised compenastion for previous horrible experiences but got nothing.

455 days from order to completion plus 7 months awaiting an agreed compensation offer which has not been delivered.

The positives first.

The website is wonderful.

The installation team/individuals when onsite were wonderful.

The Negatives.

We placed our order in late January 2021 with an installation date of early February 2021.

It took me 3 attempts to actually get what I wanted to purchase on the order.

The company requested full payment before installation (something we were later told should not happen).

The weather was projected to be bad the day of installation so we offered our home number to be given to the installers so they wouldn't have a wasted journey if it was too dangerous to be on the roof.

The day of installation arrived and the weather was terrible.

The installers arrived after driving for 3 hours in a blizzard, we asked them if they had been given our contact details by First4Solar so they could contact us, they said no they hadn't, so they waited until lunch time only to be told the equipment wasn't to be delivered because of the weather.

Whole day wasted because of a lack of communication.

So, we accepted a new appointment.

We found this to be a trait of First4Solar, they provide an appointment and then cancel at 5pm the night before.

Our worst experience, we had a confirmed appointment on a Monday, midmorning and no installers.

I contacted First4Solar to be told they did not have us booked for the Monday but booked for the Tuesday, so we accepted the next day (not much choice), at 5pm on Monday evening we received a call telling us they unfortunately were overrunning on a job and would actually now be coming on the Wednesday.

5pm Tuesday evening we received a call to say they weren’t coming after all so we had to make a new appointment.

We had approximately 10 cancelled appointments and all cancelled at 5pm the day before.

When we did actually manage to get someone to turn up, the panels were delivered (no inverter or battery)

Next appointment (many weeks later), the inverter was delivered (no battery)

We were constantly told by First4Solar the batteries were out of stock.

The company that provided the equipment was Midsummer Wholesale and when I contacted them with the order details, I was told a battery was sitting on the shelf with my name on it and all that was required was First4Solar to pay for it and it would be delivered the next day.



We finally had the battery installed on the 15 November 2021

We finally received all the outstanding paperwork on 27th April 2022.

If you have managed to read this far, my advice would be to think very carefully about using this company as they make promises, they either are unwilling or unable to keep.

This dreadful saga has caused both my wife and myself many sleepless nights, and reduced my wife to tears on numerous occasions.

The equipment has so far been excellent (GivEnergy) but I have absolutely no faith in First4Solar if it develops a fault.

Like many customers, the delays experienced are off the chart. As others said, initially advised about 6 weeks from order confirmation to completion. My order eventually placed in May of last year after big delay in getting site survey done, that took more than a month with the surveyor cancelling originally at last minute.
(Should have taken that as a sign of whats to come). I'm still waiting for my install, with the latest install date given, after prior cancellations and delays, of 24th Jan, cancelled with 2 hours notice. Its almost impossible to speak to the install team and you can expect to call day after day for a week or more before you may get lucky and speak with someone. Hasten to add that Kelly and Jake probably doing their best but with 100's of customers calling wanting to know what's going on you start to get an idea of the omnishambles that is this company. After chasing everyday since 24th actually got hold of someone who said rescheduling meeting, likely to be next Monday, 2 weeks after the failed install, and someone would call either Monday or Tuesday with new date. I'll put updates on until everything up and running to see whether the 1 star rating is likely to change.
Update.
Was contacted by office manager who apologised for all the grief. Gave me new date if 20th Feb and said she'd look after it personally. (She did not).So you can imagine my disappointment when yet again was advised that the install was cancelled. Eventually given new date of 2nd March. Right on cue this afternoon, a few hours before the install,advised this was also cancelled yet again and will get a new date soon. So far by my recollection I have now been the next to be installed for over 4 months!
Trying to see if it's possible to give no stars at all!
UPDATE TWO
no show on 2nd march, what a surprise. Scaffolding erected on 3rd with install team due on Monday, Hooray! Alas no show on Monday, the van broke down so I was eventually told after having to call them several times to find out what's happening. Now to today. Surprise surprise yet another no show, furthermore 5 calls to them before I was told they're not coming and will be in touch in a few days time to reschedule. Told them in that case to remove the scaffolding for health and safety reasons (blocks all usable upstairs windows from opening in case of fire) and not re-erect until they are actually coming. still looking for a no star button!

Due to a diagnosis that requires imminent surgery, and having a financial impact, I was forced to cancel my battery installation just before Christmas. Company has refunded my deposit. Many thanks to Keely and Daniel.

This review is based on my own experience and feelings when dealing with Tanrec/first4solar.

Prior to booking I was given a 6-week lead time. Upon paying the deposit 3 weeks later, I was then given a lead time of 6 months.
Once I accepted this, the process halted for two months. I then chased for a site survey, as this had not been conducted.
Upon completion of the site survey, I was heavily encouraged to sign off the same day of receiving it even though I was on holiday and prior to this, the whole process had seemed very relaxed.
The electrical wiring did not take into account any batteries which were a large proportion of the cost, so I was uncomfortable signing off on the design without the battery included. I was told their software did not take into account batteries.
In my case, this was a major flaw, as the batteries were originally planned to be attached to the garage (approximately 35m away from the house). We would then need to run a communications cable between the house and the garage. There wasn't any communication between the site surveyor and the design team in the office on how this could be achieved. To me, this was the last red flag I needed to stop the installation. As for a successful installation, we would need good, clear communication between all parties (survey, design & install).

--
5th of December: Refund requested

--
20th December:
After multiple people tried to get me to stick with the installation they finally took me seriously and accepted I wanted a refund

---
6th February: Refund successful
After multiple phone calls to the front desk & the director. I had an explanation for why the refund had taken so long.

Should Tanrec wish to discuss any of this any further. I'm happy to be contacted via email. Please do not have your solicitor cold call my wife whilst she is at work at the NHS.

-- Rating Update --
Rating increased to 2 stars as I have now received my refund plus a £200 gesture of goodwill.

What a fantastic company First 4 Solar is. I had my install after 20 weeks from my first initial call which is impeccable as I thought it would take longer and I couldn’t be more happy with the result. First impressions I spoke to a gentleman called Rob in sales who answered every single question I had and kept me updated throughout the whole process, every conversation I had with him was extremely funny not just a monotone person in a sounded like they were in a dead end job but was also very professional. I’ve already recommended 4 of my friends who are getting quotes.

Avoid First4solar they are an awful company and the director is a very unpleasant man
PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL DEALING WITH THIS COMPANY THEY WILL MESS YOU AROUND.

Ordered a solar and battery system beginning of April at first they were great and helpful but once you have paid the deposit it goes down hill rapidly. First installation date 31st oct cancelled last minute, second date 23rd nov cancelled last minute, third date 2nd dec cancelled last minute. Three different excuses broken down van, job before over ran, now team on the sick.
Asked for my deposit back and put a review on here, still waiting for the money back, their managing director contacted me a David Tanrec promising to deliver the earth if I removed the bad review. The next fitted date 14th Dec they didn’t show nothing no phone call or nothing.
At 9:47 on the 14th dec first4solar phoned blaming the weather which had been with us for a number of days.
Then David Tanrec said he get someone out on the weekend before Christmas to fit I heard nothing as I was due to have all the stuff delivered and scaffolding erected I phoned them and they weren’t coming. Was told it would be now mid to end of Jan before fitting could be done.
I phoned them on the 9th of Jan even though they said they would be phoning me to arrange fitting next available date end of Feb.
I have now cancelled my contract and waiting for my deposit back let’s hope they do refund it.
They are full of excuses and lies do not use this company, if I could give them zero stars I would.
Update no refund had been given waited the 14 days still no refund, not really surprised by this.
I’m glad I had paid via my credit card i put in a section 75 claim and now have had my money back.
A useless company that promises everything but delivers nothing not even the promised refund of my deposit.
I’m glad now that I’ve cancelled as I can’t imagine what their installation or after care would be like.

Order place was placed on 20/09/2022. 3 failed attempts to carry out a survey and I had to chase them after deposit was already payed.
Sales rep has promised an installation within 6 weeks, maybe even sooner because I'm local to them but as soon as deposit was payed contact from first4solar has stopped. After waiting for couple weeks had to chase them again to get installation date. I was told that wait is up to 12 weeks. I was unhappy but fair enough covid and all the rest of bs (that does not stand for British standart!). So multiple attempts to get install date and voila install date is 23/01/2023.... Probably everyone can guess that happened there.... Day before installation it was cancelled, excuse I was given is that they all jobs running over due to fog, icy roofs... I've asked for another install they could not provide one.... Thing is to cancel now would be like throwing money away, solar panel and battery pack prices are up about 20-30% and I would probably would get charged £250 to get my money back. Let's see how this will play out... After reading all comments I should get a phone call tomorrow haha
19/02/2022 update:
Another 2 installation dates was canceled and I was not aware of one them, just received a call and been told they will have to cancel.
Installation was arranged for 20/02/2022. After all cancellations I decided to confirm with them is installation still going ahead. I've managed to get an answer Friday around 16:00!!!! Another 2 days of holiday entitlement wasted.
This company is all promises and no delivery of services and goods arranged.
STAY AWAY and find someone who cares about their customers.
Update 20/03/2023
Got scaffolding erected on 13/03/2023 and had another 5 cancellations for an installation.
I do urge anyone thinking about using this company do not do that. They take your money with a smile but can't deliver on their promises!

First4solar was so helpful with the buying process. The site evaluation was terrible, with surveyor sending them wrong details and they designed solar panels for another roof not ours. This we raised but it was not corrected until the install date came and had to be sorted out over the phone. They took responsibility of the mistake.
Couldn't fault the installation, Chris the installer is the most hard working guy we ever came across, offering to come and finish on Saturday since he was a man short and could finish on Friday. He job was neat and properly done.
Overall a very good experience with this company.
Thank you.
Ps. Due to system installed (19kw battery) we have instantly seen a 50% drop in our daily electricity cost from battery storage. This will increase in summer when the solar panels kick in at full capacity.

If i have read this reviews before signing the contract, I would never chosen this company, 6 months leadtime

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY.
Started the process earlier this year, nothing but trouble all the way through.
Complete lack of correspondence throughout the whole time.
Have resorted to contacting the CEO, which has proved not much better.
They keep taking orders, even though they know they cannot fulfil them within the stated timescales.
 Continuous phone calls and emails from myself to try and gain updates - no success.
 Complete lack of attention to detail.
 Was supposed to have installation carried out Thursday this week (15/12/22), after contacting the CEO Monday, received a call today (13/12/22) stating they are unable to complete the installation until well into the new year.

Asked politely to remove my initial review by Keely, as she would take control of this.
Advised the equipment would be delivered between Christmas and new year and installation late January - nothing arrived.
A date of 18 Jan was agreed for battery and inverter installation and panels a week later - contacted 16:15 on 17 Jan to cancel installation of batteries (just what is needed, when time already booked off work).
Cannot take any more hassle, 8 months after paying deposit.

06/03/23
Update (requested by First4Solar):
Spoke to several people about the erection of scaffolding - only to be told it is in hand (week of installation).
Afternoon before installation, concerned about lack of scaffolding. Contacted for update, told it will be sorted (not sure if panel fitter levitated to complete the work).
Contacted by the scaffolder at 7pm that evening.
Scaffolder arrived promptly on day of install.
No installers arrived, informed would be started next morning (completed in one day).
Received contact 09:30 Friday morning, informing no installation that day (new proposed date - Monday).
Monday - again, no installers.
Another 2 days booked off work (wasted).
Received contact Monday for delivery of equipment.
1 week later installation complete.
Happy with the installation and the install team.
This company appears to expanding the office staff to cover the increase in demand.
The installation staff are the ones that require expanding and organising better.
Received compensation for having to take time off work and asked to update review (given extra star for installation team expertise).
Final settlement requested immediately after install, not given time to check if full system worked first (sure there is a 28 day settlement process).

Update 10/05/23
A dedicated complaints procedure for existing customers is now in place - a great step forward (so I thought).
This is just another filtering channel to stop you talking to someone.
Promised a 10 year warranty on the inverter - checking the GivEnergy portal regularly (still only have 5 years).
Processed a complaint through first4solar - have now been waiting 3 weeks.
Called yesterday and spoke to someone who said they would pass the complaint on - guess what, no reply.
Even after sales is non existent.
I have experienced a brief time when someone was helpful with the app and setup - but this is where it stopped.

Would like to thank Trustpilot for providing a platform for honest reviews.

We had to wait a few months but it was worth the wait. The install Team was very professional, even in the snow they worked like Trojan’s. Finished the install without fault, very neat finish and left the property like they found it but with our very own generator on the roof helping save the world!! And our electric bills from breaking the bank!!! Thanks to Dan and the rest of the Team.

I've received an amazing service from first4solar. A professional company with experienced staff.

Difficult journey dealing with this company. The sales reps completely lied about lead times to get my business, then wouldn't answer phone or email for ~6 months. The installation guys and electrician were faultless, though. Would not put down any money until you have a installation date agreed with someone not in the sales department. Did not provide documentation within required timeline by MCS

The solar PV industry experienced problems in sourcing supplies throughout 2022 which meant that our installation of panels, hybrid inverter and batteries was constantly put back following our acceptance of First4Solar's quotation in August 2022.

With installation looking like early 2023 we were delighted to receive an early morning telephone call in the first week of September to offer us Fox 4100 Cube batteries as replacements for the HV2600 batteries we had originally ordered. We accepted the offer without any hesitation and the panels, inverter and batteries were installed 10 days later taking just the one day.

The new installation was separate to an earlier one and both have worked side-by-side without any issues with the batteries being charged from the panels and then topped up overnight during our Octopus tariff's off-peak period when necessary.

Though frustrated with delays, which were not First4Solar's responsibility, we were more than happy with the way Daniel searched for solutions and with his success in finding an early supply of batteries, along with the installation and its subsequent performance.

First4Solar are easy to deal with. All the people I have either spoken with or emailed have been prompt in replying and open in the information supplied.

First for solar offered excellent value for money and made sure the install was done in a timely fashion (the weather has a big say in the process).

Come next year I will be getting more panels from them,

First4Solar from start to finish have been amazing. I did lots of research prior to starting the process and watched lots of YouTube Videos. There is a great YouTuber called Allen Hart – search for him and the EV man. Both give a very balanced view of the good, the bad, the ugly and the fantastic benefits of Solar and Batteries from First4Solar.

There is a massive global shortage of Batteries and PV panels that has impacted our install, however Jessica, Jake and Bethany have always kept me informed, Kelly has been amazing with regards to dates - she should get an award for most patience. Point to note: Daniel (CEO) had to drive to our house to off load the batteries late at night because the courier refused to off load them. It was a freezing night as well and a very long drive to and then home for him. Now that is SERVICE

The install team, call outs for Rich, big Ron and Steve who endured -7c weather to get the install done for us and 3 others in the village. Their technical knowledge was great, each roadbump we found we worked as OneTeam to solve them (the cold, the internet, the wireless solution) they all exceeded my expectations – hats off to you guys.

The not so good – I should have asked for more panels  and its winter, short days ….. hurry on summer.

Update:

We have now had our system for almost 4 months and in that time, First4Solar have been amazing insofar that they have added to our system, been in touch also to ensure we are OK several times.

Of note HIES did an unexpected Audit on the workmanship and quality of install this Jan 2023.

This went through well, a couple of very minor snags that were addressed immediately and with so little fuss - Daniel Hawkins CEO/MD came to site to receive feedback from HIES and all I can say is ... his interaction with the HIES Auditor was one of ... how do we continue to improve our service levels and continually improve the quality of our installs.

In my opinion First4Solar have and continue to Exceed our expectations and the level of service .. just keeps on improving.

Just wish they did domestic WIND Turbines ... now that would be a game changer as all the people in our village with PV installed recently by First4Solar and there has been now a few - would jump at the opportunity

I am really pleased with my system and the service I received from First4solar. The quotation was clear and detailed, the staff I dealt with in the office were knowledgeable and friendly. My deposit was covered by a 3rd party insurance policy by SafeWorld and I was emailed the certificate, so I knew my deposit was safe. The fitting team were friendly and professional. They explained to me how the app worked so I could monitor my system and set my batteries to charge from the grid overnight on economy seven with cheaper electricity in the winter, when the panels don’t generate much electricity. My documents were e mailed as soon as I made my final payment. I would definitely use them again.

Very efficient and informed site staff with good back office support. Looking forward to the benefits this will now give us.