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Are Homeowners Being Silenced Over Faulty Heat Pumps?

 
Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs)
Last Post by Mars 1 day ago
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Mars
 Mars
(@editor)
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Topic starter 31/03/2025 3:46 pm  
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Over the past few months, I’ve noticed a potentially troubling pattern emerging, and one that raises questions about accountability, transparency and consumer rights. Homeowners who have experienced poor heat pump installations have sought recourse with their installers, only to find themselves hitting a brick wall. Nothing new here. In some cases, however, when it became clear that the issues stemmed from the heat pump itself rather than the installation, manufacturers also washed their hands of the problem, citing issues with the installation rather than the heat pump unit.

In three separate cases that have been brought to my attention this year (ones I cannot disclose due to confidentiality and potentially legal issues) the fault lay squarely with the heat pump unit itself. After significant back-and-forth, with homeowners desperately trying to get their issues resolved, the manufacturers in question withdrew from the situation entirely, leaving their customers in the lurch.

Faced with no other options, these homeowners resorted to the only leverage they had left: the threat of sharing their negative experiences with the manufacturer publicly. Astonishingly, rather than addressing the complaints in good faith, these manufacturers escalated matters to external legal counsel, instructing solicitors to send formal warnings to homeowners. These letters explicitly threatened legal action if scathing or negative reviews were posted online, effectively using legal intimidation to silence dissatisfied customers.

This is a deeply worrying development. Homeowners invest thousands of pounds into heat pump systems, often in good faith that they are making a responsible, long-term decision for their home’s heating and the environment. To see some of them not only abandoned but also threatened into silence is unacceptable.

Even more concerning is a post I recently saw on the Renewable Heating Hub forums where the member wrote: "If you want to direct message me, I would be happy to share my experience with you, as it's not been good. Don’t want to get involved in public forums on this, [because] it's still under warranty.”

This raises an entirely separate but equally troubling issue. Are some homeowners fearful that if they speak out about their problems, they could risk their warranty coverage? If so, this signals a serious imbalance of power between consumers and manufacturers, where people feel they have no recourse except to suffer in silence.

I want to get to the bottom of this. If you’ve had a similar experience (where an installer or manufacturer has refused to acknowledge a faulty heat pump, or where you’ve been warned not to speak out) please get in touch with me at editor@renewableheatinghub.co.uk.

This could be a few isolated incidents, but if there is a wider pattern at play, homeowners deserve to know, because if manufacturers and installers aren’t willing to stand by their products and their customers, it’s something we need to expose, challenge and fix.

Let’s find out if this is just a few bad apples, or a systemic issue that needs to be addressed. I hope it's the former.

This topic was modified 1 day ago 2 times by Mars

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cathodeRay
 cathodeRay
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31/03/2025 5:28 pm  

@editor - well done for posting this. Manufacturer/installer ping-pong is as you say nothing new, even if unacceptable, but actual legal threats of gagging orders or just the chilling effect of warranty toast takes things to new depths. Like you, I hope it is just a few bad apples, but I fear it may not be. I do encourage anyone with a bad experience to get in touch with Mars (editor@renewableheatinghub.co.uk) who will I am sure treat anything in absolute confidence unless and until you say otherwise.  

Midea 14kW (for now...) ASHP heating both building and DHW


   
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 Terry1812
(@terry1812)
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31/03/2025 7:27 pm  

@editor , Mars I think this is very important issue, because I think the manufacturers are ducking issues. The resolution foundation is holding an interactive session, both in person and online about the further rollout of heat pumps and I thought that might be a platform for raising a number of issues, the issues you raise above, plus the problem with maintenance, that has been discussed elsewhere in the forums here, the issue of installation quality. Anyway, if anyone is interested, here is the link and you can register for the webinar. Questions can be asked/ posed.

This post was modified 1 day ago by Mars

   
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Mars
 Mars
(@editor)
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Posts: 3076
Topic starter 31/03/2025 10:15 pm  

Posted by: @cathoderay
↑

I do encourage anyone with a bad experience to get in touch with Mars (editor@renewableheatinghub.co.uk) who will I am sure treat anything in absolute confidence unless and until you say otherwise.

Spot on. Last month, a homeowner booked a consultation with me, and after following my advice and guidance, I’m pleased to say they reached a successful resolution. Today, they informed me that the heat pump manufacturer they were having issues with (one of the biggest players no less) agreed to settle, offering £4,200 and removing the unit. The homeowner has since replaced it with a different brand.

Buy Bodge Buster – Homeowner Air Source Heat Pump Installation Guide: https://amzn.to/3NVndlU
From Zero to Heat Pump Hero: https://amzn.to/4bWkPFb

Subscribe and follow our Homeowners’ Q&A heat pump podcast


   
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