Consumer Alert: Homes Advice Centre

20 January 2020

MCS have been made aware that unsolicited telephone calls are being made, targeting consumers with a Solar PV system, to offer free “health checks”.

The cold caller, states that they are calling from Homes Advice Centre and is incorrectly stating that the MCS certificate for their installation has expired.

If you receive unsolicited calls or letters from companies offering services for your solar panels, we advise you to either ignore them completely or, if you are concerned, to contact your original installer or an MCS accredited installer for advice.

Homes Advice Centre are not registered with MCS. You can search for an MCS accredited installer here.

Sarah Howard, Helpdesk Manager said, “It is always a concern to us when consumers, particularly vulnerable ones are targeted. An MCS certificate would never expire. The Helpdesk team will support any consumers who receive calls such as this and can help appropriately signpost.”

It isn’t evident where Homes Advice Centre have drawn the data from, but they appear to be targeting more vulnerable consumers. If you have concerns over the use of your data, we would advise that you notify the ICO. If you’d like to escalate a complaint, please report the incident to the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 04 05 06.

The MCS Compliance Team have passed this to Trading Standards.