Green Deal Providers are the professionals who help to coordinate The Green Deal Plan, a scheme that aims to improve the efficiency and eco-friendly nature of British homes. There are certain things you need to know about the service you should expect from your Green Deal Provider and this blog aims to guide you through each phases of finding the provider for you.
What is a Green Deal Provider?
When you decide to pursue your own Green Deal Plan for your home you will need to have your house assessed so you can decide on the appropriate improvements necessary. Once you have had an assessment of your home, you will need to contact a Green Deal Provider to get a quote. Each Green Deal Provider must carry The Green Deal Quality Mark o prove they are meeting the Green Deal standards. You can double check that your provider is genuine by searching on the department of Energy and Climate Change website.
Finding your Green Deal Provider
You can find a Green Deal Provider in your local area who will give you a quote for your environmentally friendly improvements to your home. Most Green Deal Providers can be found on the Department of Energy and Climate Change website. They will base this quote on the suggestions made in the assessment of your home. The provider will provide the finance and draw up the loan contract between you and the provider. You will then have the improvements installed in your home.
What should you expect from your Green Deal Provider?
You Green Deal Provider should evaluate the assessment made on your home and discuss with you the options available. You should discuss each option and decide what is right for you. It is then the responsibility of the provider to draw up a Green Deal Plan unique to you and your home outlining the improvements, the costs, the interest, the repayments and any additional terms or charges. The Green Deal Provider should then be the connection between you and the provider, ensuring all the improvements are installed and each job is completed to a high standard.
What to watch out for
Your provider may offer you a ‘free’ assessment, however this is more than likely to mean you have to choose that provider for all the improvements and so on.
You need to check if this is the case, as you may end up paying for the assessment if you go with another provider.
Unsatisfied with the service?
If you are unsatisfied with the service you Green deal Provider is giving then you should firstly contact them directly with your complaints. You are protected as a consumer by the Green Deal code of practice so you can use this to your advantage in this situation. If you continue to be unsatisfied with the service then you can contact the Green Deal Watchdog.
So you have decided to go for The Green Deal Plan but not sure what to do next? This blog explores the role of the Green Deal Provider and gives you advice on what to expect from that system.
Why is this article headed choosing a Green Deal Advisor, but does not mention them at all and explains all about Green Deal Providors??
This article is titled Choosing a Green Deal Advisor but does not deal with this – discusses the GD Provider and confuses nomenclature.
So how do you find a GDA; do you have to go through a GD Provider or Installer?
Who pays the GDA for the Report, bearing mind the essential ‘no cost upfront’ rule; who pays if, after consideration, the customer decides not to go ahead?
I thought the customer takes the report, get quotes for the various measures (most-cost effective and attractive to themselves) then, after selecting their preferred Installers, contacts a GD Provider who then arranges the installation, pays the installers and sorts out the repayment with the Utility.
If the Provider selects the Installers (‘preferred’ by them) then there is no competition, the price might be higher than it should be, does not agree with the costs estimated in the GDA Report and the customer is out of the loop and paying more than they should.
Thanks for pointing that out Mike, title now updated to reflect this error
Hi, I’ve been qualified as a Green Deal Advisor since May 2013, and qualified as a DEA in 2009 via NHER but for me to operate as a GDA I need to join a GDAO (organisation), lots of adverts but never any replies to applications. I live in the Nottinghamshire area but never find any demand for GDA, can anyone recommend a GDAO to work for that covers Nottinghamshire.
Thanks Keith
Mike – you have touched on one of the most significant problems with GD.
Keith – there are a number of GDAO’s you could use, the GDAA, Green Deal Consortia to name two of many