Selfsufficientish.com

For those of you who can see UK TV, I see that on BBC1 tonight (Mon, 8:30) Rogue Traders is exposing "An unscrupulous solar panel salesman".

For the sake of balance, it has to be said that Rogue Traders is hardly the height of investigative journalism. In fact, it's probably pretty near the bottom.

There was something on BBC breakfast about how he has had to dress up as various people.

It is a shame that there are 'rouge traders' even in the green movement. I guess it shows that there is a trend shifting.

there's hordes of the b*****rs! - dodgy solar hot water systems that'll leak, or blow all the water out if you go away for a few days, in our area, at prices up to £11k, where £3k would be more than enough, and legions of chocolate teapot salesmen - the whole miserable panoply of the worst of double-glazing sales tactics!!!!!!!!!!
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I thought you meant the group!!

So how do we know who is a reputable tradesman in the solar panel market? Do we ask for references from previous customers that we can follow up or is there an industry standard that organisations should have?

In a twisted way, I suppose it's a sign that solar panels etc have come out of the niche market area: now that mainstream scumbags are cashing in.

Many moons ago, when we were considering block paving for our driveway, we spent a lot of time looking at driveways that were being done, noted who laid them, and then watched them for a year to see if they lasted. We actually moved

BUT

the point of it was - if you see a house with solar panels, go and ask the homeowner who put them in and if they are any good. Someoe who has bothered to put them in obviously feels fairly strongly about green issues, and will most likely batter your ear on their doorstep for a goodly while in enthusiasm.

Word of mouth is a hundred times more reliable than these so called 'testimonials' they put in their advertising guff. Let's face it - they aren't gonna advertise all the letters of complaint!

The problem is that there ARE no reputable trade bodies - you can "buy" your way in - take "BWEA" for instance - claim to represent the wind industry (self-appointed!!!!) - for just under £4,000 pa we could become members - and stand alongside such industry grates as Windsave!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'd go with the "ask your friends" route - recommendation is all!
I'd avoid - any company who mailshots, any company who tout "grants available", and if the guy who visits is wearing a suit and tie, he's a bloody rep! - kick him out!

They did mention a trade association on the programme (the 'expert' was from them), but it's important to remember that any trade association represents its members, not the consumer, so don't expect it to be impartial.

As an example, for those of us who run our cars on LPG, there is the LPGA, who are, indeed, the self appointed regulators, and who have set about becoming a monopoly, marginalising the self-installer, and driving out of business many honest and decent installers who didn't want to be a member of an organisation like that. They have left a bitter taste in the mouths of many, ensured that prices have been hiked, and seem to be no guarantee against the cowboy installer. Next stop, world domination. Such is the way of capitalism

I think PD has it; look for houses with panels on the roof; keep your ear to the ground; etc.