Whilst the rise in solar panel projects are good news for scaffolders, it also means an inevitable rise in solar panel scams as one Doncaster couple discovered to their cost.

Balby couple Mr and Mrs Jennings paid out £1,500 to Yorkshire Solar Panels Ltd to have solar panels fitted on their roof, but before the company started any work on the couple’s home, the firm vanished into mid-air, taking the couple’s money with them.

Trading Standards are investigating the company after the couple’s story, in the Doncaster Free Press, prompted dozens of similar calls reporting the same company for fraudulent practices.

Luckily, along with other disgruntled customers, three local businesses also read about the couple’s plight and decided to step in to help. Solar panel company Green Energy Solutions along with Libra Energy and local scaffolding company QC Scaffolding all clubbed together to fit solar panels on Mr and Mrs Jennings’ home, work that would have cost around £4,000.

The story is a fantastic example of how local companies can help their local communities. This is one of the reasons why Hampshire Scaffolding employs local scaffolders who know their areas and their communities well. Hampshire Scaffolding has also been contracted to provide scaffolding for reputable solar panel companies and are proud to have served the people of Hampshire and helped to make families greener by using clean energy that can also slash their energy bills.

The problem of cowboy solar panel companies is not a new one. In 2010 the website Which? Investigated a number of solar panel companies and found that exaggerated claims and hard selling were common complaints. The website recommended that customers do their own research on how much savings they could make, and that they shop around to find the best quote. Beware of exaggerated claims on how much you could save or false information on subsidy grants and if a quote seems too good to be true, then it probably is. Most solar heating panels cost between £3,000 and £5,000 as a general rule of thumb.

Also, as most solar panel companies tend to sub-contract out scaffolding jobs to local firms, make sure that the scaffolding firm they use are also reputable and reliable. Hampshire scaffolding have a full portfolio of local scaffolding jobs completed for solar panel companies and are experienced scaffolders who won’t let you down.