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Financial Protection

Financial Protection Consultation

MCS Consultation Outcome – Proposed changes to MCS requirements for financial protection

MCS published a four-week consultation on proposed changes to its requirements for financial protection as a core element of our redeveloped Scheme.

This consultation invited feedback on the ‘Requirements for Appropriate Financial Protection’ document, which will establish MCS requirements for consumer financial protection in the small-scale renewables sector.

Home|Installers|Redeveloped Installer Scheme
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THE REQUIREMENT AND IMPORTANCE OF APPROPRIATE FINANCIAL PROTECTION

Under the redeveloped scheme, our Installer Operating Requirements state that an Installer must provide an approved financial protection product to their customer. Approved financial protection products will be those in compliance with ‘MCS Requirements for Appropriate Financial Protection’; the subject of this consultation. 

These requirements are intended for reference by financial protection providers who wish to secure MCS approval for their products and, as such, offer financial protections to the UK’s low carbon technology sector via MCS certified Installers. Once approved, protection products will be listed on the MCS website for selection by Installers. 

In summary, the requirements are: 

  • extend the definition of “cease to trade” beyond legal insolvency to include bankruptcy, receivership, retirement, striking off, sale of assets, etc,
  • afford protection if an installer refuses or fails to deliver the remediation determined necessary as an outcome of the MCS complaints management process and if applicable, subsequent ADR,
  • incorporate failures in design,
  • extend the period of cover for an installation to 6 years compared to the current 2 year minimum mandated today under IBGs, and
  • offer protection that a consumer can rely on that is independent of any other financial protections that a consumer may or may not have access to.

In response to feedback from the consultation, MCS will publish an updated version of the “Requirements for Appropriate Financial Protection” document.

When MCS can help

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When MCS cannot help

How to complain about your MCS certified installer or installation

 A complaint might include the following:

  • Faulty system or individual components.
  • Issues with the standard of workmanship.
  • Electrical or safety issues.
  • Issues relating to the system’s design, size or performance.
  • Non-compliance with relevant installation Standards.
  • Handover pack incomplete.
  • Missing or incorrect MCS certificate.
  • Any instance which may bring the MCS Scheme into disrepute.

If you notice a problem, you should first contact your installer. It’s in your installer’s best interests to solve any issues quickly. This can be done in the form of a formal letter of complaint.

You should explain:

  • what the problem is
  • what you would like to happen

Allow a reasonable amount of time for them to respond. How long this takes, and what the process looks like, will depend on your individual installer. Some organisations may have a complaints process on their website and have published set timescales.

Please note you should be prepared to allow your installer access to your installation to enable them to address or resolve your complaint.

14 days (10 working days) is a reasonable maximum time in which you should expect a response. It may not be possible for them to fully resolve the issues in this time – but they should at least have agreed on a plan of action with you.

Your installer will be a member of a UKAS accredited Certification Body – these are independent organisations responsible for certifying and monitoring installers to ensure they meet MCS Standards. 

They will also be a member of a CTSI approved Consumer Code who are organisations that set and enforce additional rules for businesses to protect consumers.

If your complaint is related to technical issues with the work completed, you should escalate your complaint to the Certification Body.

Your Installer’s Consumer Code can assist with pre-sale and contractual issues, this may include:

  • Communication issues and customer service problems
  • System installed is not what was agreed in the contract
  • Wrong brand of product
  • Damage to property
  • Failure to refund a deposit or advance payment
  • Incomplete installation and/or contract
  • Incorrect provision of information relating to eligibility, deadlines or application procedures for grants or other incentive schemes
  • Deposit insurance or insurance backed guarantee
  • Misleading information regarding the financial benefit of the system
  • Potential breaches of the Consumer Code
  • System faults arising during the period of the insurance backed guarantee

To find your installer’s Certification Body and Consumer Code, this information will either be available on their website, or through their profile on the MCS Find an Installer tool. 

If the Certification Body and/or the Consumer Code are not able to resolve the complaint, they may refer you to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), which is a way to resolve disputes without going to court. It helps consumers and businesses settle disputes fairly and quickly. An independent expert reviews the issue and makes a decision.

If you would like MCS to review your complaint to see if there is anything that we can do to help secure a resolution, you will need to report it to us using the form below. This will provide us with the information we need to understand the nature of your complaint.

We can only investigate after the Certification Body or Consumer Code has fully exhausted their complaint process or if they were unable to resolve the issue to your satisfaction.

If you are in dispute with your installer however, MCS will be unable to help as we are not accredited to perform dispute resolution. You should instead, consider ADR and discuss this with whichever Certification Body and/or Consumer Code has been managing your complaint.

If an installer is found to be non-compliant, the ultimate sanction is the removal of their MCS licence, based on factors like their complaint history.

Please note, MCS cannot:

  • Award compensation or financial redress
  • Arrange installation removal or refunds
  • Appoint another installer for remedial work.

Whistleblowing

If you’re not a customer, but you want to let MCS know your concerns about the safety and/or compliance of an installation you’ve seen by an MCS certified installer, you can follow our whistleblowing procedure.

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