People search for the solar ombudsman because something has gone wrong with a solar installation: panels that produce far less than the salesperson promised, a roof damaged during fitting, an inverter fault nobody returns to fix, or a finance agreement that costs more than the savings it was sold on. Here is the fact that shapes everything else: there is no single body called the Solar Ombudsman. Solar complaints are split between three different routes, and sending your letter to the wrong one loses weeks. This guide shows which route fits your problem, and then how to write the letter itself.
First, match your problem to the right route
Route 1: the installation or the sales pitch. Faulty workmanship, roof damage, underperformance against what you were told, pressure selling, or a system that was simply mis-described. This is a complaint against the installer, and it starts with a formal letter to the installer. If the installer does not resolve it, the escalation route depends on which consumer body the installer belonged to when you bought. Most reputable installers are members of HIES or RECC, the two main consumer codes for home energy products. HIES runs a free dispute resolution service for customers of its members; for RECC members, new complaints are now directed to the Green Homes Dispute Resolution service, with RECC itself handling only cases registered before 20 January 2026. Membership is the key word: these schemes only cover installers who belong to them, so check your contract paperwork or the scheme websites before you rely on one. If the installer has ceased trading, look through your handover pack for insurance backed workmanship cover, which can respond even when the company is gone.
Route 2: the energy supply side. Problems with export payments under the Smart Export Guarantee, feed in tariff payments, metering or billing sit with your energy supplier, not the installer. Complain to the supplier in writing first. If it is unresolved after eight weeks, or the supplier issues a deadlock letter sooner, you can take it to the Energy Ombudsman. Our Energy Ombudsman complaint process guide covers that process step by step.
Route 3: the finance behind the system. Many solar systems were bought on finance arranged by the installer, or paid for by credit card. If the system was mis-sold or the contract broken, the lender can be responsible alongside the installer. Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, a credit card provider is jointly responsible for a supplier’s misrepresentation or breach of contract where the cash price of the goods was over 100 pounds and no more than 30,000 pounds, subject to the Act’s conditions. For fixed sum loans arranged by the installer, a linked lender can carry similar responsibility, and complaints about how the finance itself was sold go to the lender directly. In every finance case the sequence is the same: a written complaint to the lender first, then, if it is not resolved after the lender’s final response or eight weeks, the Financial Ombudsman Service, normally within six months of the final response. Paid in cash? Then there is no lender route, and your complaint stands or falls on Route 1.
Not sure which route fits, or stuck with more than one problem at once? It is common for a mis-sold system to need two letters, one to the installer and one to the lender, saying consistent things. Our guide to UK ombudsman schemes maps the wider landscape.
What your letter needs to contain
Whichever route applies, the letter that gets taken seriously has the same bones:
- Who you are and what you bought. Installation address, installation date, system size, the installer’s name, and every reference number you hold.
- What you were told, against what happened. This is the heart of a mis-selling complaint. If the salesperson quoted generation figures, savings estimates or payback periods, quote them back precisely, from the sales paperwork if you have it, and set the actual figures beside them. Twelve months of generation data from your inverter or app is strong evidence.
- What went wrong and when. A dated timeline of faults, visits, calls and promises. Short entries, in order.
- What you want. Repair, part refund, contract cancellation, or the shortfall made good. Name it, and give a reasonable deadline for a response, fourteen days is typical.
- The documents you attach. Contract, quote, sales brochure, photographs, generation data, correspondence. List them at the end so nothing is overlooked.
Keep the tone factual throughout. The reader who decides your complaint has never met the salesperson and was not on your roof; the letter has to carry the whole story on its own.
What happens after you send it
The business or lender must respond within its complaint timescales, and in the regulated routes the eight week rule applies: after eight weeks without resolution, or sooner with a final response or deadlock letter, the relevant scheme is open to you. The schemes are free for consumers, and a decision usually ends with a choice to accept or reject it. Accepting generally makes the remedy binding on the business; rejecting keeps your court routes open. We cover that choice in detail in can you appeal an ombudsman decision.
If you want the letter prepared for you
A solar complaint is one of the harder consumer letters to write well, because it usually mixes technical performance evidence with a sales conversation from years ago and a finance agreement in between. Our ombudsman complaint letter service prepares the letter from your paperwork, routed to the right recipient, for you to review and send.
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Explore our letter writing service by area, or learn more about complaint letter writing, dispute correspondence, and Subject Access Requests.