A Moneywise reader gives good advice on warranties and guarantees
I read with interest your piece [in May’s Moneywise] regarding [laser eye clinic] Ultralase. It sounded very similar to our predicament last year. We had bought solar panels from a company called Solar King, with a 25-year guarantee. So when the system stopped working, we contacted the company. And, similarly to Ultralase, the website played on its history and also used all original Solar King logos and phone numbers.
But it is now apparently a completely different company. I was told the guarantee is not valid, but we could pay the new firm to have it inspected and repaired!
Luckily, I had saved the original paperwork and the warranty was with an independent company. It did take some time and we were without any solar income through some of the year’s sunniest months, but it was repaired free of charge.
So please advise readers to check any warranty or guarantee is worth having before parting with hard-earned money.
PC/Liverpool
That’s good advice. The more I come across guarantees offered by firms, the less useful they seem. In many cases, they’re just marketing gimmicks that may never be honoured.
In your case it was a local solar firm, based in St Helens, Merseyside, that offered you the guarantee. The firm – which also appeared to trade under the name Solar Crown – actually went bust in 2016, although a new firm called SCUKL appeared from its ashes before going bust in turn in 2017. The company you contacted has nothing to do with the old firms and so refused to honour the guarantee.
But it obviously sniffed an opportunity for some business, so I’m glad you managed to find the old paperwork and instead get things repaired for free.
As an aside, the former boss of Solar King now runs a thriving six-strong pub and restaurant business in Liverpool and surrounding areas. It’s pleasing to think that he’s made a really good go of things and is not losing any sleep over the broken promises he made to customers.
OUTCOME: Finding old paperwork means reader gets free repairs
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