Making a complaint
If you have a complaint about your system, it is likely to either be:
- technical and relate to the performance of the installed system
- non-technical or contractual, about the service you have received.
Technical complaints
Step one - contact your installer
If you have a technical complaint we recommend that you try and resolve the issue directly with your installer. If you do wish to make a complaint against an installer, we strongly suggest that you keep a record of all correspondence, including telephone and verbal conversations.
This is how the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) expects a company it has certified to deal with a complaint:
- The installation company should arrange a time to inspect the system within a reasonable time. If the homeowner is without heating or hot water, a site visit should be made within 24 hours.
- The installation company will consider the details of the complaint and report the findings clearly to the customer within seven working days from the inspection. If there is a possible safety issue arising from the complaint, the company will report back as a matter of urgency.
- The company will try to find an agreed course of action to solve the complaint to the customer’s satisfaction. This should include full co-operation with the local customer's advisers or any other agent that the customer consults when making a complaint.
Find out more about the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) at the MCS website.
Step two – contact the relevant MCS body
All MCS-certified installation companies will have received their certification through an MCS accrediting body. If your situation cannot be resolved directly with the installation company, contact the relevant MCS accreditation body. Find out their details by:
- contacting GEMSERV via email at mcshelpdesk@gemserv.com or call 020 7090 1082.
To investigate your complaint, the MCS will need:
- full details of your complaint in writing
- any supporting documentation such as quotations, correspondences or invoices
- details of the company and the technician involved
Step three - site visit
Once the MCS has received these details, they will review all the evidence. They may send an inspector to assess whether the work has been carried out in accordance with relevant Building Regulations, British Standards, MCS recommendations or Codes of Practice. The registered installer may also be invited to attend the inspection. From this a report will be produced.
Step four - rectification notice
If the complaint is valid, the MCS body will usually issue the Registered Business or Technician with a rectification notice to put the work right
If the rectification work is not done satisfactorily or no contract of work was agreed, the business or technician will jeopardise their MCS registration.
Non-technical (contractual) complaints
If your complaint is contractual or relating to customer care, you should contact the REAL assurance scheme to make a formal complaint.
Find out how to make a complaint at the REAL website, or phone 0207 981 0850.
Frequently asked questions about complaints
Q. Do MCS bodies insure the work done by their members?
A. Some MCS accredited bodies do operate a Work Guarantee Scheme. However, you must check this with the installer or the relevant MCS body.
Q. What happens if the MCS company has subsequently gone out of business and there is a problem with my system?
A. Usually, the MCS body will instruct another member of the association to carry out the work. If your original work was not carried out by an MCS-approved installer and has subsequently gone out of business, we suggest that you contact either the Citizens Advice Bureau or Trading Standards.
Go to the Citizens Advice Bureau website.
Go to the Trading Standard Institute's website.
Q. What happens if I am not prepared to let the installer back on site for re-inspection?
A. Generally, you must be prepared to allow the approved installer present at the inspection stage of the process, and allow any reasonable access for any necessary remedial work. If not, the MCS body is unlikely to continue with the complaints process.
Q. Do MCS companies offer financial compensation through the complaints procedure?
A. This is not usually the case
Q. Does it cost money to go through the complaints process?
A. No, it is free of charge, irrespective of the MCS body.
Q. What happens if there is a significant safety issue with the system?
A. The MCS-accredited body may inspect the system without waiting for elements of the process to take place and in some specific cases, without the installer present.
Q. What happens if I don’t want to go through the standard complaints procedure?
A. The complaints processes offer one way to resolve a dispute. You can still seek legal advice, for example from a solicitor or Trading Standards Department at your local authority.
Q. What happens if an installer is expelled from the MCS body?
A. Trading Standards, CLG, CP schemes, and the MCS will be notified; there is a ‘wall of shame’ on some MCS websites.
Q. Is there a time period from noticing the problem to notifying?
A. Some MCS bodies may only inspect work within a set period of the work being carried out - these vary, so check with your local body.
Q. Can I complain on someone else’s behalf?
A. A complaint should normally be made by the person ordering the work
Q. How long will an MCS company take to deal with my complaint?
A. MCS bodies will vary in their turn around times, however, most MCS accredited bodies aim to get back in touch with the homeowner within one calendar month from receipt of complaint, and aim to close a complaint within three months. However, much depends upon co-operation between the installer and the consumer.
