Very poor Givenergy aftersales care

My solar panels, plus Givenergy battery and inverter were fitted around 6 weeks ago. The inverter initially reported a comms issue so wasn't fully functional, but which we hoped would be simple to fix with a call to Givenergy, but then shortly after it was first powered up the inverter failed and hasn't worked since.
This was reported to Givenergy at the time and they indicated that an engineer visit would be required. They also indicated that just in case the issue is installer error, they would need the electrician to pay a refundable deposit of I think £200. Despite our best attempts to speed things along, it took Givenergy about 4 weeks to issue an invoice for this and then it was quickly paid. Since then, we have yet to receive a date for an engineer visit despite my electrician chasing them and my last few emails to Givenergy have apparently been ignored.
In the meantime, I can only guess that I've probably missed out on £200 worth of generated electricity and savings courtesy of our battery - we have 2 EVs and a high consumption household. There is also a risk of missing out on a £1,000 incentive offered by my mortgage provider for installing green energy measures, due to that being a time-limited offer. Finally, I have not been able to pay my electrician (a sole trader for whom no doubt cashflow is vital) because I can only claim my loan funds from the Scottish Government once the installation has been successfully commissioned and certified with an Energy Performance Certificate.
Is this the level of aftersales care that others have experienced? I can honestly say that so far, this is probably the worst aftersales care that I've experienced from any firm from which I have purchased technology and it's rare that I've ever spent this amount of money on equipment from a single manufacturer so I had expected much better.
Is there an ombudsman that I can revert to if Givenergy don't rectify this very soon?
Thanks in advance.

Given your install is so new your installer should be out to fix this not givenergy. Your installer should of been back the very next day if the system was left non functional. Your installer should of been in contact with givenergy to get this fixed. You should only need to contract givenergy support yourself later down the line, if you fully working system fails or has issues.

A comms issue isnt necessarily a GE hardware failure. It could well be an install issue. A lose connection or incorrectly wired CT. Has your installer been backed and checked and double checked?

THALL Agreed... BUT if he is not getting the proper level of support from GE what chance does the Customer/End user stand? Why for example does GE need to issue an invoice before the process can start? It should be as simple as logging on and making a 'Service Bond Charge' payment for example.

Everyone needs to be fully focused on "Customer Service" and ensure that issues are promptly resolved. There is no excuse for this taking any longer than two weeks if everyone is committed to it.

In today's environment:
Day 1: Fault reported. Problem not identified with GE assistance..
Day 2: By now - Service deposit Invoiced and/or Paid
Day 3: By now - Engineer scheduled, or Temporary replacement unit scheduled, or arranged shipment of failed unit back to GE
Day 14: By now... if not before, - One very happy Customer who thinks he is valued.

Sadly lacking today is the failure to recognise that Excellent Customer Care is what happens when things go wrong, not when they go right.

Just my humble opinion of course.

Original post

CuparArab This was reported to Givenergy at the time and they indicated that an engineer visit would be required.

I sympathise and went through similar troubles. After install my system partially worked but I had a comms failure which meant the battery management system didn't work. We paid the deposit and then nothing ..despite repeated calls and emails. This is the most unacceptable part of the process. We were given no indication of timescales at all but were told someone would call at some point and arrange an appointment for an engineer to visit. After about 4 to 5 weeks someone did call and the engineer diagnosed a faulty meter that was replaced and the system now works. We are now very pleased with the system, the portal and app that give all the data are great. There should however, be far better communication by givenergy. This should include, as standard, an explanation of their process, an estimated timescale and regular updates. To be left hanging is immensely frustrating and creates all kinds of worry about whether large amounts of money have been wasted with a huge mistake. My advice would be to sit tight and be as patient as possible. You will eventually receive a call and, in my experience, it was givenergys responsibility and they did fix it. If it is an installation issue then it is reasonable for givenergy to keep the deposit.

Been there with GE. It's absolutely dreadful support but when the product works it's great.
My installer spent a few hours at my house on the phone to support, he was really annoyed as it was taking him from other jobs.
The standard operating policy seems to be

1. Blame the install
2. Blame the installer
3. Blame everything else
4. If all else fails, put the customer on a 6 wk holding
   There is always an excuse for the inverter to fail.
   I have had the inverter board fail, followed by EPS. The time to fix the inverter board failure was a few months and similar amount of time for EPS.

My installer has stopped installing GE after having a high number of failed/problem installs.

I have not had the same experience. I have had to call Givenergy for phone support but not for a site visit. They were very helpful in diagnosing the issue and talking me through the steps to get it fixed. This included a manual update via the USB memory sticks of the battery firmware.

So, my experience has been very positive and they have been far more helpful than my installer in fixing initial teething problems.

I suspect Givenergy and the whole industry are suffering from having all resources stretched to the limit due to high demand for their products and installs. I do think Givenergy is doing its best in trying times. The help offered to ex-first 4 solar customers since their failure is an example of trying to do the right thing even though they have no legal responsibility..

GE have been very quick and helpful to me, both with battery firmware update and EM115 connection issue.
Both times the installer was reluctant to get involved but I was not prepared to sit in limbo.
Calls and messages to/from GE sorted everything swiftly.
My installer has been far slower to finish. Install was great, but paperwork..........

CuparArab

Our inverter blew up on 3rd June and informed today it’s a five or more week wait so it will be more than two months before we might see a repair. 16k of hardware which worked for two months now sat around waiting and more waiting

ispookie666 you are scaring me now :-( i am getting Gen 3 inverter and 9.5 Gen 2 installed today.. fingers crossed

I was chatting to my installer the other day (who does mainly GE kit) and he has only had 2 occasions in the last 12 years where he couldn’t fix an issue with them on the phone and it needed a GE engineer onsite.

That’s good going, they’ve only been around about 7 years tops… (although I get where you were coming from)