SEE - Anyone registered with them and can share their experience?

[pegq462]

Hi. 

Just had my 4kw system installed 3 week ago and am staggeringly happy with it, especially now the sun has finally come out.  Marvelous. 

The day after install i posted my paperwork off to SEE to register for FiT payments. 

1.. So, while it's early days what are peoples experiences of how long they have to wait for a reply from SEE to acknowledge receipt of registration request or actually confirm registration.  I appreciate they are probably busy but just wanted to know when to chase. 

2.. Secondly, what frequency do they request meter readings?

3.. Finally for anyone like me who has an old style  "spinning backwards when it's sunny" meter how quickly do they get round to changing it?

Thanks

Peg

[skyewright]

1.. So, while it's early days what are peoples experiences of how long they have to wait for a reply from SEE to acknowledge receipt of registration request or actually confirm registration.  I appreciate they are probably busy but just wanted to know when to chase. 

For us the process took from initial contact on 30th August to completion of registration just a few days before Christmas... Our first FIT payment covered the full period from 30th August to the end of the first relevant quarter (31st December).

At first it took around 10 days for SSE to "notice" that an e-mail had been sent to them. By the end it was taking around a month. I understand they may have taken on more staff now?

2.. Secondly, what frequency do they request meter readings?

Quarterly, on or about 31st March, 30th June, 30th September & 31st December.

3.. Finally for anyone like me who has an old style  "spinning backwards when it's sunny" meter how quickly do they get round to changing it?

We had a digital meter and so that didn't arise, but IIRC there is another here who has been registered with SSE for some time but is still enjoying the sight of a backward spinning meter. 

[pegq462]

Thx David

I'll be a bit more patient then. 

Peg

[pegq462]

 
mmmm, so a month after sending my FiT app off to SSE I give them a ring just to check they have it and all is well.  They have me on the system and it's being processed.  No worries.  Then this morning I get all my docs returned to me courtesy of Royal Mail with a sticker on saying the postage was underpaid by 10p !!!!!!

Gobsmacking it takes RM 2 months to send something back undelivered but bemusing why SSE said they'd received everything and it was being processed?    I've now put it back in the post recorded delivery and will give them a call next week to find out what is going on. 

So, if you are a newbie to all this make sure you send stuff recorded delivery and keep phoning to triple check stuff is happening.  Assuming nothing.

But I guess there is 25 years to get it sorted so I should relax eh?

Peg 

[pegq462]

 

So, I've been ringing SSE every couple of weeks and get a different story every time about how long it will take but they reassure me all is well and it's being processed.  Then on Saturday morning my forms get reyurned to me as they now want the meter reading from they started to look at it in April       and they say details of the generation meter type are missing but nothing on their form asks for it 

So tomorrow I will send these morcels of info and then presumably wait a couple of months before they send them back asking for the meter reading in July before they can process it.  Why can't they just tell me what they are missing when I ring them every few weeks 

I know they are busy, but I am beginning to see ehy they are busy with all this extra processing.  arrrgghhhh

and relax. 

Peg

[mysterons]

Forget these jokers and sign up with E.On
You can download the form here
http://www.eonenergy.com/NR/rdonlyres/042AEB55-6474-421A-BF18-BC6042CD4394/0/FITApplicationForm.pdf
Fill in and send recorded delivery. I had a contract back by return post and all up and running within 5 days. Plus E.On pay up quickly.
Of course you'll need to submit a generation meter reading no older than 5 days though.

[CeeBee]

Is this 'SEE' really meant to be 'SSE' (i.e. Scottish & Southern Energy - 'Southern Electric' and a few other names on the bills depending on where you live)? I've changed the subject line in this reply assuming that it is.

I have a ROC to FIT converted installation registered with SSE - that one for the most part runs OK - the unbelievable dawdling I had to put up with when registering for ROCs in the first place was all OFGEM's fault, and not SSE. They usually email shortly before the end of March/June/September/December asking for readings and possible that other statements be confirmed (e.g. installation not changed). Then a paper statement turns up after some weeks, following by money direct to bank - so not very quick at paying, but tolerable. I haven't had a reading request for end on June yet - has anyone else?

Not so much luck so far with another installation on a house I let: I posted FITs application form 'signed for' so got a signature for delivery on Royal Mail website. Contract came back in about a week - duly signed one copy and returned. But then, despite me stating in as many places as possible that the 'correspondence address' (and FITs payee etc.) was a different address to the installation, the idiots still wrote to the installation address asking for a meter reading, and still no sign of my payment for end of March reading. I phoned a few weeks ago (used 0800 meter-reading number, then asked to be transferred to MicroGeneration) - all was in hand, they said. Said the 'correspondence address' bit hadn't been entered correctly on their system, but they'd sort it out and get back to me - but nothing after a few weeks. Getting time to phone again (email too likely to result in no reponse other than their auto-acknowledgement). Still - I've got the contract so I'm confident I'll get the FITs money in the end.

I don't know if they are still playing the "You must prove ownership by sending a copy of an invoice marked 'fully paid'" game, but I was wise to this one  before applying, so duly sent them such a thing (a friend has his application returned because of this).

I've not been lucky enough to have a 'spinning backwards' meter, so don't know about this one. And at least I got a free export meter out of them on the ROC-to-FIT system (from which I export more than 50%). A friend's meter still goes backwards after a few months, even though the supply point and meter were moved during this period - they just re-fitted the old meter (but then it's probably a different company who do meters).

[regen]

3.. Finally for anyone like me who has an old style  "spinning backwards when it's sunny" meter how quickly do they get round to changing it?

Hi Pegg,

In my case 315 days and still going - does go forward at night!  They have been told twice by phone and once by email at approx 3 monthly intervals - usually when berating them regarding late payment of FIT- Still at least they are consistent.  Can not fault the staff I get to talk to though always polite and try to be helpful but their words are just not actioned.

Regen

[cj]

I expect fun then.

I thought PV panel supplier said they would advise them, so was a bit slow at informing SSE.

PV supplier only advised DNO, who said Yes OK to connect the 3.92Kwp system.

Commissioned late April, I changed supplier to Scottish Power late May. Both were advised of PV.

So I sent forms to SSE 10 days ago. They replied by return saying will take 6 - 8 weeks to check forms.

So they may say 'not paying as I'm no longer a customer', and SP may say they 'wont pay for the first 4 weeks as I was not a customer'. But someone has had 1/2 my 900kwH and will claim the FiT (I presume) from the Gov, so I hope to get it in the end.

So far as the backward spinning, I would guess it is down to the DNO who doesn't care much for changing the meter. Seems you will gain for as long as it takes a) for you to notice, or b) them to spot a LOWER reading sent to them, and c) for them to get it changed.

Just don't use the immersion heater just to keep your consumption positive!!!

Has anyone had an updated bill in respect of a back spinner? (ie calculated / estimated etc?)