Glasgow homeowners relief after reaching milestone in six-year battle

Residents across Balornock and Barmulloch were told this week that Glasgow City Council had approved retrospective building warrants for energy efficient home improvements such as solar panels, insulation and cladding.

Those affected claimed they had previously been told they did not require the warrants for the work. They signed up through the UK Government’s “Green Deal” scheme which was established in 2013. The programme provided funding to allow homeowners to take out loans in order to pay for “energy efficient improvements” according to the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

The majority of those affected in the north east of the city signed up through the company Home Energy and Lifestyle Management Ltd (HELMS).

The company, which was dissolved in 2018, came under fire for their selling tactics in a report from Citizen’s Advice Scotland in 2018 as well as allegations that they failed to secure the necessary building warrants required to keep home and buildings insurance valid and prove that the work had been carried out to the correct standard.

Homeowners say they handed over life savings or were told that the savings that they would see from their energy bills would cover the cost of the improvements. Many of them now report they are seeing very little in the way of savings and are in fact paying more, just to cover the costs of the work.

The Government ‘s Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has openly accused HELMS of mis-selling loans to pay for energy-saving improvements which brought little, if any, benefit to customers.

A spokesman for the UK Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: “There is a robust process, backed by legislation, for handling complaints about mis-selling of Green Deal Plans. If they remain dissatisfied after approaching their Green Deal Provider and the Ombudsman, consumers may appeal to the Government for a cancellation or reduction in the size of the loan if the evidence support this. These cases are being treated as a priority by BEIS.

“The Green Deal enables consumers to take out loans to pay for energy efficiency improvements in their properties, with repayments made through their energy bill. The scheme was introduced in 2013, but uptake was below expectations and in July 2015 the Government ended public investment in the scheme.

“A number of loans were mis-sold by now dissolved company Home Energy and Lifestyle Management Systems (HELMS), and a small number of others, to customers who ended up receiving minimal savings, and in some cases significant bill increases.”

Those affected such as Eugene O’Brien who lives in Balornock, claimed the financial implications of the scheme weren’t made clear and he only realised he had signed up for a 25 year loan when he started receiving bills from companies he had never heard of. Mr O’Brien is relieved that the council have now approved the work done to his house, but believes there is still a way to go until justice is secured for others who are also convinced they were mis-sold home improvements. Those affected are still waiting on decisions from the complaints process and are fighting for compensation.

He said: “I am over the moon. It is a serious burden off my shoulders. This has been very difficult and stressful to deal with at my stage in life.”

Mr O’Brien believes that the Green Deal should be scrapped and people should be compensated appropriately.

He said “Once it’s up, it’s like a noose around your neck. Fair enough if I was getting something from it, but it’s costing me a lot of money that I don’t have.”

The council’s building standards team in partnership with City Building, which is an Arms Length External Organisation partly owned by the council, applied for the warrants on behalf of those affected as well as undertaking surveys to ensure the work was carried out properly.

Angela Lowe is another Balornock resident who claims she has been mis-sold Green Deal home improvements. Now that she has secured the necessary building warrant, she will be able to insure her home once again.

She said “I’ll be able to comfortably know that when we have bad weather that I won’t have my house destroyed and I’ll be covered. That’s a big thing for me. It’s just knowing we can have our house insured.”

“It means that our house will be of value again. We sacrificed a lot of other things to have a house that we knew was ours forever. We felt as if that comfort was taken away from us.”

Mrs Lowe said: “I believe the UK government department has taken far too long to resolve this. If it was a normal company, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules would have asked them to take responsibility and compensate people. The government haven’t held themselves to the same standards as they do other people. They should write off all the debt and make sure no one is worse off than they were the day that they signed the Green Deal. We were guinea pigs in a failed system.”

Both Mr O’Brien and Mrs Lowe have praised the collaborative effort of residents affected and politicians across the political spectrum. Both Anne McLaughlin MP for Glasgow North East and Paul Sweeney, the former MP who represented the area between 2017 – 19 have campaigned heavily on the issue in parliament and in the community. However, all acknowledge there is still a way to go – especially with resolving complaints that residents have made to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Sweeney said: “Whilst I’m delighted this particular issue has been resolved after long running efforts, it’s a great breakthrough especially for older people, but obviously there is still complications in relation to the solar panels.

“There is still a huge backlog of the loans with the Green Deal finance company which need to be written off. We need to see the government increase the capacity available to the Green Deal finance companies to get those claims sorted out.

“The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy should help fund that effort.”

Anne McLaughlin, current MP for Glasgow North East went as far as helping people with the complaints process, chairing meetings of the “Green Deal Action Group Glasgow North East” and attending meetings of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Green Deal mis-selling after losing her seat in 2017.

She said: “Local working class residents in Balornock and Barmulloch have played a blinder. They keep giving us the credit but it was all them. They have really kept each other going and supported each other.”

This week, Ms McLaughlin asked the Minister of State for Business, Industry and Industrial Strategy, Kwasi Kwarteng, if he would meet with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Green Deal Mis-selling in order to work with them on a way forward.

He said: “This is a critically important issue and we are working through the cases as expeditiously as we can. I would be very happy to meet with the APPG and resolve what has been a difficult issue.”

The Prime Minister Boris Johnson also made a similar promised to speed up the complaints and compensation process last month. Ms McLaughlin is planning a campaign “blitz” to ensure the government see this through by lodging Early Day Motions, writing letters to ministers, media appearances and written questions.

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “Building warrants have now been approved for these properties.  The council’s Building Standards team worked with City Building – who applied on behalf of the group of affected owners -  to deliver this outcome for the residents.”

MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, Gavin Newlands chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Green Deal Mis-selling called on the UK government to compensate victims.

He said: “Essentially I would call on the government to do the right thing. Without the right checks, it will allow companies like HELMS to keep taking advantage. No one expects to be missold or scammed with the government logo on the scheme.”

“Everyone who was mis-sold should be compensated appropriately. The government should back up what they’re saying with action. Rogue traders were allowed to take advantage of this scheme.”

Robert Skillen, former director of HELMS was approached for comment.