Cowboy heat pump fitters ‘destroyed’ homes… this council was paid to recommend them ...Middle East

Councils have come under fire for recommending a “rogue” green retrofit company that has left residents with problems including leaks, no radiators and holes in their walls.

Consumer Energy Solutions (CES), a Wales-based firm that employed almost 300 people, went into administration earlier this month amid scrutiny over the poor quality of its work.

Now local authorities face questions over their decision to recommend the company, including Birmingham Council, which was paid £125,000 by its “sister company” before work was carried out by both firms in the area, The i Paper has discovered.

This payment was to cover council costs including promotion and approving grants, and there is no suggestion any rules were broken.

However, residents who have been left in the lurch as a result of the company’s actions say their council should “take responsibility” for recommending the firm.

It comes as more details emerge of the failings of the Government’s ECO4 scheme, which has left tens of thousands of households with problems in their homes including damp, mould and faulty heating.

A report published by MPs today found failures with the system have left families facing paying for repairs out of their own pocket and called on the Government to launch a fraud investigation into the failed scheme.

How the ECO4 scheme failed

ECO4 is a programme set up by the Conservative Government that provides grants to pay for insulation, heat pumps and solar panels. Grants typically range from £7,000 to £20,000 but there is no top limit and some homes have received over £60,000.

Households on means-tested benefits automatically qualify for grants, but local authorities can also team up with installers to provide grants to a wider range of households, including those on low incomes or with certain health conditions.

At the Budget last November the Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the scheme would be scrapped after widespread problems with the quality of the retrofits emerged.

Tens of thousands of homes are known to have experienced issues including damp, mould and faulty heating due to problems with the installs.

Some green retrofit companies have gone into administration since the scheme was scrapped, including CES, a Wales-based firm that employed almost 300 people.

The i Paper has spoken to CES customers who have been left with work unfinished in their home, including some who were in dispute with the company over major repair issues.

Multiple CES customers experienced major flooding in their homes due to leaks, while others have been left without heating due to issues with the design of the retrofit.

Councils recommended CES

Several councils, including Birmingham, Swansea and North Devon, have promoted CES on their websites as a “trusted” or “approved” installer.

Birmingham Council said it was paid £125,000 this year by what it described as CES’s “sister” company, City Energy Network (CEN), to be listed as one of three “trusted contractor partners” on its website.

Both firms were later listed on the site alongside one other company. Consumer Energy Solutions is also described as “part of” City Energy Network on the website.

The agreement followed a public tender in 2024, in which the council said it would “secure an annual concession fee from each installer” to cover the cost of the council promoting the scheme and approving households for grants.

The local authority said it secured an agreement for CEN to retrofit 1,000 properties and that CES had only carried out three of these retrofits.

The council said CEN “are liable for ensuring all measures are installed to a high quality”.

It is understood that councils are permitted to charge companies to work with them in this way and there is no suggestion that Birmingham Council broke any rules.

Swansea Council lists CES as one of three “approved” installers on its website, under the banner of the City Energy Network, a network of companies that included CES.

Helen Creswell, a Swansea resident who was left without heating for two weeks during a CES install, told The i Paper she was told by the council she had to select one of these three companies to be eligible for the grant.

Other councils, such as North Devon, have included CES on a longer list of “approved” installers, however, the website states that it does not “endorse” a specific company.

A spokesperson for North Devon Council said: “Before any installing company is approved, they are required to submit evidence of qualifications in line with those required by the scheme, as well as relevant insurance and consumer reviews… We meet with each installer regularly to review its caseload, processes and feedback.”

‘It’s ruined everything’ 

Helen Creswell qualified for an ECO4 grant to pay for a heat pump, insulation and solar panels in her home in Swansea.

She qualified due to her health conditions, including arthritis and Crohn’s disease, and Swansea Council told her she must select from one of three suppliers, including Consumer Energy Solutions. 

Creswell experienced several problems during the install by CES, including the radiators being too big for her house and being installed in front of plug sockets. 

She complained about the issue and was then left for two weeks without heating and hot water in November waiting for CES to come and fix the problem. 

“They knew I had the grant for health reasons… and I was living in damp, cold conditions,” said Creswell.

She said the experience led to a flare-up in her arthritis and she is still struggling to get back to work. 

The work in her home remains unfinished and she is still waiting for solar panels to be installed, which means her electricity bill has shot up due to the cost of her heat pump. 

“I did actually approach the council about the problem, and they said they only signed the grants off, they didn’t deal with complaints,” she said. 

“Nobody will take responsibility. Because what I want to know is if my house has had this grant, who has got this money? Where is this money? Why can’t I have the money and then get my own company to come and do my solar panels?” 

Weak regulation and oversight

Councils are not officially responsible for approving the work of installers, however residents and campaigners argue authorities should step in and support households who are facing problems due to the companies their local authority has approved.

Liz Saville Roberts, MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd, who is supporting constituents left with problems following CES installs, said councils now have “a duty of care” to support those affected, many of whom are vulnerable.

She said she has heard from people including a man who has had a stroke and been forced to buy a caravan to live in, and a cancer sufferer who is having to boil hot water to wash.

“I would direct people to the council’s website, because you trust the companies that they are prepared to associate themselves with more than you trust somebody who just turns up at your door or puts a flier through your letterbox,” she said.

Jonathan Bean from the campaign group Fuel Poverty Action said: “It is shocking that rogue companies like CES were allowed to leave thousands of vulnerable people suffering in cold, damp, mouldy and damaged homes.

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“The fact many local councils had approved CES, whilst others rejected them, created a cruel postcode lottery. Affected councils should support victims, and the new £15 billion Warm Homes Plan must have much stronger protections to stop unskilled contractors damaging more homes.”

On Wednesday the Government unveiled its Warm Homes Plan, which will replace ECO4 and provide households with grants for solar panels, batteries, heat pumps and insulation.

A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said it was “urgently working with TrustMark, MCS and ECO scheme providers to ensure customers of Consumer Energy Solutions are supported”.

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