Solar customers in sunny Nelson want to be free of their panels and contracts after years of unresolved issues.
Seven small businesses spoke to Fair Go about signing up for solar powered savings with the company, Supercharged Energy.
The solar provider was on Fair Go last year for failing to supply customers with products or refunds.
READ MORE: Solar power company leaves customers in lurch over refunds
Issues arose in 2018, when the business owners were offered a solar system that claimed it would provide 80 per cent of their power needs and save them more than a third on expenses.
The customers were to pay for the solar panels in monthly instalments over seven years to a finance company. Instead, they say they haven’t saved nearly as much as they’ve been promised.
For example, Murray Thorn’s power bills, over a recent 12-month period, show that his home system saved an average of 14 per cent in power, while saving just nine per cent at his shop. Because he is still in a contract to pay monthly instalments, he says his bills "doubled going solar basically".
The business owners say their livelihoods – that range from a holiday park, motel, restaurant, dairy, bakery and motorcycle shop – have been hit hard by the expenses.
Antonius Bakery owner Larissa Balkhausen explains, "everybody's stressed. We can't sleep, we can't properly eat".
Supercharged Energy’s director, Richard Homewood, declined an interview on Fair Go and supplied a statement instead, saying that the company has already offered individual solutions in attempts to resolve complaints.
"The customers in your story have been engaged in ongoing dialogue with Supercharged Energy. In some cases, these have been rebuffed whilst in others, attempts to find equitable resolution continues. Supercharged Energy is committed to fair dealings and completes its installations to a high standard."
Two of the business owners have taken Supercharged, which goes under the registered name Auckland Commercial Solar, to the Disputes Tribunal and won. The company was found to have made misrepresentations over the solar systems and all up, was ordered to pay the customers more than $21,000.
The Sustainable Energy Association (SEANZ), which represents New Zealand’s renewable energy industry, told Fair Go that Supercharged Energy is not a member and wouldn’t be allowed to join if it applied. SEANZ says members are vetted "rigorously" and operate with a strict code of conduct.
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