Grants, Do any firms take care of the claims?

Antrim_Man

Do any of these firms take care of your claims as part of the service of undertaking the work??

I have also heard these SEI registered firms charge more than normal contractors so there is no real savings??

I would love to get my house done but finding the money to save money is not easy and having a firm take care of the work and claims would be ideal.

Any info greatly appreciated, thanks.

PeteHeat

Hi,

Are you looking for a company to install the system and wait for the grant to come through for the final payment ?

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CJhaughey

If you are going to do it, better move fast.
Bord snip has recommended that most if not all of the SEI schemes should be abolished.

Antrim_Man

PeteHeat wrote: »

Hi,

Are you looking for a company to install the system and wait for the grant to come through for the final payment ?

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I dont know what is involved and was wondering do any firms take care of the lot, but taking a payment and then waiting on the grant as the final payment is another way I suppose.

Antrim_Man

CJhaughey wrote: »

If you are going to do it, better move fast.
Bord snip has recommended that most if not all of the SEI schemes should be abolished.

The current government are a joke and squandered money when it was coming in and its no wonder this scheme will be cut.:mad:

quentingargan

I only know the area in relation to solar water heating, where SEI insists that the job is done AND PAID FOR before it will release funds. So if I install a typical system for €4,500, that has to be paid in full before SEI will release the €1050 grant due.

This is a nuisance, because while someone might be able to lay their hands on €3,500, they might not have the extra cash flow to wait two or three months for the other €1000 to come back.

SEI actually phones me for every job I do and specifically ask if the job has been paid in full.

It would be much better if the grant came to me so I could just knock it off the bill. I can't afford to go chasing money later (and would probably have difficulty collecting it in some cases) if I allowed the €1000 to remain "on account", but if I could just charge €3,500 and wait for the other €1,000 to come in from SEI, that would be a better system for my customers. Q

muffler

Antrim_Man wrote: »

The current government are a joke and squandered money when it was coming in and its no wonder this scheme will be cut.:mad:

Keep her between the ditches. You're going off topic here.

quentingargan wrote: »

I can't afford to go chasing money later (and would probably have difficulty collecting it in some cases) if I allowed the €1000 to remain "on account",

Why would you even do this? You do the work and you have to sign the forms for the people to send off to get their grants. No payment - no forms. Thats your money guaranteed unless they decide not to avail of the grant and at that stage its then a direct money conflict between you and the person involved.

quentingargan

muffler wrote: »

Why would you even do this? You do the work and you have to sign the forms for the people to send off to get their grants. No payment - no forms. Thats your money guaranteed unless they decide not to avail of the grant and at that stage its then a direct money conflict between you and the person involved.

The point is that it would be better if the customer didn't have to pay over that extra €1,000 in the first place, but could assign the grant to the installer so SEI could pay the installer instead of the customer. Many installers could live with waiting 8 weeks or so for the last €1,000 knowing it is pretty much guaranteed, but customers might have a difficulty waiting for their money back.

We usually have no problems getting paid at present because, as you say, no money, no form-filling.

But this might all be theoretical anyhow, looking at the Bord Snip report which as CJ says puts the whole scheme under question. I would argue that the VAT, PAYE and PRSI from each job is roughly the value of the grant, so at present, these grants are revenue neutral. But everyone is fighting their corner on this Bord Snip report, and we're not all going to have our way....

PeteHeat

Hi,

As quentingargen pointed out the grant is paid directly to the consumer by way of bank transfer.

The system is a very easy one to work with compared to some of the previous Govt. grants, the application form is handy enough to complete, the approval / acceptance forms are also short and to the point.

It is very important to submit your invoices, installers commissioning report and proof of payment letter with the request for payment form.

Most installers are familiar with process and as quentingargen pointed out SEI contacts the installer to ensure everything is as submitted, they also ask a couple of key questions relevent to the project.

Feel free to PM should you require any assistance.

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eugenedoc1

how strict is the SEI with regard to "must be in house for not less than 1 year" to get the grant rule?

quentingargan

Well, it is a condition of the scheme. They now ask for your MPRN number which is your ESB meter number. I guess that if you have been using electricity for a year, their detection method might fail:rolleyes:

PeteHeat

Hi,

Under the rules of the scheme for an installer to knowingly help an applicant get a grant they are not entitled to is fraud.

While the consumer may not be aware of all of the rules that one has been made very clear to the installers.

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quentingargan

You're quite right Peteheat. That was a bit glib of me, and I stand humbled and corrected....

The spirit of all this is that the system has moved from the carrot to the stick on new houses. Part L requires new houses to incoporate renewable energy etc., and rightly so.

In any event, I have always said that I thought new houses shouldn't be eligible because in truth the higher cost of a solar water heating system is in retrofitting - it is a no-brainer in new houses to put in a solar cylinder and plumb for panels in the first place. Thus it is only right and proper that the funds available for grant aid should be directed to the more expensive retrofitting.

At the same time, installers can't have any way of knowing how long a house has been lived in, once it has actually been occupied. Also, I've sometimes done installations as part of a renovation which was so total that it looked like a new house.

Also, hasn't it nearly been a year since that rule was introduced? Surely it is time SEI described the grant as availalbe only to houses built before June 2008 or whatever? Otherwise, you just have to live without solar for a year and then apply

PeteHeat

quentingargan wrote: »

You're quite right Peteheat. That was a bit glib of me, and I stand humbled and corrected....

Certainly not my intention Quentin just adding a little info to your reply

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