"AVOID AT ANY COST"

Initially, the service is alright. Installed the system in January 2023. Now, no answer to calls. No reply to emails
No after sales service whatsoever.

My bird mesh has broken down. Sent many emails but no response.

Avoid at any cost

"Avoid Avoid Avoid!"

TL;DR: Amateur operation.

Where do I begin, the business model for this company does not work! They subcontract everything out to other contractors, and when things go wrong, it's incredibly challenging and downright impossible to fix.

Here is a list of issues I've encountered:

Issue 1: Survey
Despite requesting an onsite survey, they did everything remotely with "world-class" software (e.g. Google Maps) and still got it wrong. Only after the roofers came did they tell me what was possible.
Lesson learned: get an actual site survey to tell you what is possible regarding the number of panels.

Issue 2: Contract
Getting the contract was a challenge. Multiple mistakes and versions.
Lesson learned: always go through the contract with a fine toothcomb.

Issue 3: Scheduling
Many missed appointments. This comes back to my original point: they subcontract it to third parties, so most of the time, Pivotal is just liaising between you and the third party and not doing a good job. They'll turn up when not expected; luckily, I was home on both occasions, but it’s equally worrying if you’re not home and you get sent to the back of the queue.
Lesson learned: you'll end up project managing them and the subcontractors.

Issue 4: Electrician
The electrician that was used was a proper cowboy. Down to the fact that he said on multiple occasions, "I just want to be paid so I can go". If you ever come across Jema Electricals, just put the phone down and run.
Lesson learned: vet the electrician they use.

Issue 5: Roofer
The roofer's work was very unprofessional. Despite the roofer saying he'd cleaned up the mess, they didn't. As the scaffolding was there, I took it upon myself to check their work and saw a lot of waste materials left in my guttering. I had to clean it out myself. Secondly, they left the DC cable running without cable guards in my garden. Despite telling me he would fit it, he drove off and made some excuse about doing another job. Only when I withheld the payment, did Pivotal arrange for the electrician to fit the cable guards the roofer meant to do.
Lesson learned: check what the roofers have done and cleaned their mess.

Issue 6: Post installation
Absolute nightmare. I have had multiple issues with Pivotal and the equipment manufacturer (GivEnergy). I’ve had multiple site visits, and the system still remains unusable. It takes weeks at a time to resolve the issues.
Lesson learned: keep chasing; otherwise, they'll forget.

Issue 7: Handover pack
Despite telling you that you will get the handover pack within six weeks of installation, it took upwards of 6 months, and when I did get the copy, it was incorrect and did not reflect the installed design.
You may think this is unimportant, but it is, and an insurance pov will not cover you. I had to chase again and eventually escalated with HIES, and they got the correct handover pack for me.
Lesson learned: don't be afraid to involve HIES to mediate.

As you can see, there are multiple issues. I haven't captured the complete list, but there is enough here to give you a feeler of what you're dealing with.

Reece was the only person there who was proactive and showed that he cared. Probably because he is the owner's son. If you're having issues, always try to speak to Reece or Sharon (if she's still there).

Anyway, this is my take on things. If I could go back in time, I would not bother with these guys and wait for the more prominent companies to get involved. Right now, it's the wild west.

"Stay away, no workmanship guarantee as promised and lost MCS certification. "

Had my Solar system installed by Pivotal solar, there is an issue with the panels as the clamps have come loose and panels are rattling in the wind. I have contacted them multiple times since December 2023 and been promising to fix it. I followed their complaints procedure and they ignored my complaint. I sent them a recorded letter to request to address the issue but they refused to accept the letter and sign for it. I tried to raise the issue with MCS but been told they have had their MCS certification removed as requested by NAPIT . I went with them as they said they have a 10 year workmanship guarantee but not worth the paper it is written on.

"Excellent workmanship totally…"

Excellent workmanship totally recommended saves energy and reliable

"I can't thank enough"

I can't thank enough, nothing less than a pleasure doing business 🙌.

"We wanted to take this time to thank…"

We wanted to take this time to thank all the team at pivotal solar for all there help and installing the solar panels in our family home. Every body down to the installers were very helpfull and kind. Everything was installed on time and all warranty on our solar panels battery and inverter was activated and now we are saving money on our energy bills and selling back the access to the national grid. I would highly recommend pivotal solar to our friends and family. So again thank you for all that you have done.

"No refund!"

I paid for a system that took a long time to decide on. Finally a week before installation I called around 4 times in the week to work out what i need to do to get ready for the installation. They did not call back till my 5th call where they told me they could not install the system i requested because their engineer no longer works for them. They offered alternatives - i declined. They said they would refund my money on 27th July 2023. Been chasing over 10-20 times no response. Formal complaint made and even spoke to CEO who assured me they would refund my money 4 weeks ago. Still no refund. Looking at the other reviews they are slow to refund! Taking them to trading standards now.

Just in response to the reply below.
I called the company every week for 8 weeks.
I emailed them 4-5 times. This is after around 6weeks of being patient after being told it would be refunded. Every contact was responded with "it will happened next week" or " the manager will call you back tomororw" when I did speak to the CEO himself he said he would refund it that week! 3 weeks later nothing happened! I highly suggest paying with your credit card as they can not be trusted to refund you money!

"Facts about my installation"

Facts about my installation: They are a sales desk that uses subcontractors. They FAILED to do:
- a safe installation, so I had to pay £1400 to another company to reloacte and recommision the the GE eqt
- install inverter in a location that allows heat dissipation (unsafe!)
- install surge protection
- put the inverter supply on the correct side of the distribution board (was on RCD side)
- support battery cables
- terminate battery isolator correctly
- Protect battery isolator at cable entry
- earth the inverter
- earth the batteries
- install turnable DC isolator switches
- mount the batteries on the wall
- any site survey
- proper planning of cable routing
- install islanding as promised
- explain the I won't get a refund from MCS unless I pay them directly
- sell me a single 9.2kWh battery instead of two 5.3kWh batteries (I paid more for less as you only get 80% of the 5.4s)
- use the correct Cat5 outdoors (will have to have it rerouted internally. They tried to convince me the cat5 was the right "Phase")
- check emails properly, delaying project by 6 weeks
- configure car charger (has to do it myself)
- advise me to get birdproofing
- provide handover pack (still waiting after 6 months).

Update:
- I only asked for a battery as comp because my lawyer said they don't have the money to pay, already have CCJ.
- The email from DNO was sitting in their inbox for 6 weeks, they only found out when I contacted the DNO directly.
- MCS do NOT inspect the installation! The only make sure your installation cannot negatively impact the grid. I should have had NAPIT do the inspection.
- I made Pivotal aware of all the problems as we went along. Not my fault the boss didn't know.
- Jason lied and told me I didn't need birdd protection because these panels sit closer to the roof. Give me a break.
- Scaffolders did a survey, Pivotal didn't which was the cause of many problems.
- Correction, handover pack was provided but has many errors so I'm waiting for the usable document.

"Pivotal Solar"

We had 9 Solar panels, and a 6.5kw battery fitted. We also needed optimisers, inverters, bird protection and a little bit of work done on our attic for everything to fit properly. Pivotal did it all. Total bill came to just under £12k, and the installation took a week. They are a pleasure to deal with, responsive and professional. Communication was excellent with specify shout outs to Sian, Reece, and Soddy. Our last leccy bill, before our installation went active - £461 for a month, after - £26. And that was in Winter, which seemed never ending this year. And the one after that, £21. If this keeps up we'll have payed this off in less than two and half years and that doesn’t include what we get for selling excess back to the grid. Happy customers, hell yeah! PS the guarantees are 25 years on the panels and 10 years on the battery.

"10 Stars! What a Service!"

What a service!

Really, I've never known anything like it, right from the beginning when I made my first call!

I'd already done my research and spoken to a couple of other companies. Narrowed down to the few that use the system I was hoping to have, opting for Pylontech batteries over the Tesla Powerwall due to its modular design in case I want to expand. Pivotal Solar being one of those companies.

What made the experience was Sian and later Jason.

For the most part, I was lucky to be dealt with by Sian. She is incredible. Really patient, she takes time to make sure she understands what you want and is straight-talking too, so you can make sense of what needs to be done, as there are a lot of new terminologies when you first start looking into solar energy! Nothing seemed too much trouble either, regardless of when I called (even when I called past 5pm on a Friday not realising the time!). I even got a follow-up call once when she was at an airport!

Once I'd agreed on a system tailored to what I wanted the ball started rolling instantly. There's stuff that needs doing behind the scenes with your current energy provider and Sian sorted her end the same morning and literally a few days later I had an installation date that was only a few weeks away!

Once the installation was in they didn't leave me to it either. Monitoring my system for me and keeping in touch to make sure it was all okay. This is where I got to "meet" Jason who's the most part the tech guy and he's as keen to help out as Sian.

He's already remotely monitoring my system to make sure it's not all sad and rendered ornamental due to my exploratory clicking! :)

If I could give these guys 10 stars I would! Even if the stars were heavy and you had to post them. Individually. Somewhere really far away. I would do it. 1st class too, with those fancy stamps you get at Christmas.

The end.

Ross