Posted by: @editor

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I come from a publishing and editorial background and this is a tread lightly moment. What I found interesting was the speed and co-ordination in which we were contacted. Not only that, it was the heads of major organisations that made contact. The tone was polite and respectful, acknowledging issues that do exist in the industry, but one has to read between the lines. It was also interesting to see how they rallied – I have shared posts from these forums with the very same organisations about horrific installations to get their assistance, and it's been deafening silence in every instance... then one of their own is identified and called out by another installer (with the same accreditations) and it's been a frenzy. 

While heacol has taken precautionary measures from his end, information (whether it is true or not is another matter) has been shared me with to present the installer's side of the story – not directly from the installer, but via proxy. I feel obligated to hear from them and to present their side. This is why the post has been pulled.   

@kev-m - not sure which version you saw (maybe it was cached) but there are no personal details barring the name of the company involved in the edited version. The entire final section has been deleted. I've just signed in and seen the "old" cached version too... but that's not the version that will appear if we get a reply from the installer. 

PS – I've just cleared the cache.

It was the cached version I saw then, complete with personal details.

@editor - very glad to hear about your background, it puts you in a good place to deal with this. Despite being legalistic in my earlier post, I also agree this is very much a tread lightly moment. Not a time to pour petrol on flames. Last time I caught a whiff of libel in the air I did stand my ground but did the absolute minimum necessary, on that occasion underlining a doubt which I had not emphasized enough in the original post, to keep the peace. Nothing got deleted. The threats died a natural death.  

Posted by: @editor

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What I found interesting was the speed and co-ordination in which we were contacted. Not only that, it was the heads of major organisations that made contact.

Still treading lightly, I merely observe that to me, this suggests the article touched a raw nerve. They are already spooked, ready to quash bad press the moment it appears. Indeed, the whole renewables industry, from lofty government aerations sorry aspirations down to the lad in a hoodie who has just accidentally drilled a hole in your rising main has enough in it to make a damn good Tom Clancy novel. The Hunt for Bob the Builder. I suspect we are going to see the full gamut of government and corporate denials.

It is all such a pity. Good outcomes are very possible, and do happen - I count my installation, which many said couldn't possibly work, an overall success - but I had to persevere long and hard, and fight more than one battle along the way, including firing an utterly incompetent yet officially endorsed installer, to get there. Unfortunately, there is precious little chance that things will improve until government, its quangos and the industry stop quashing bad news and instead acknowledge there are serious problems in the sector that require both public acknowledgement and remedial action. Regrettably, naming and shaming bad installers is a necessary part of that remedial action.