Non-existent customer service
I have a solar system provided by Metis in partnership with Oxfordshire County Council. I can't fault the installation, which was carried out by Solar Systems 365, but Metis has been poor at every step. I have never been able to contact them, either by email or by phone, either before or after the installation. There was no communication about when the scaffolding would go up or the system installed, except from those respective installers on the day before it happened. There were long periods without any communication from Metis, nor any sort of timeline provided, and no response to any contact.
SS365 surveyed my property and recommended four panels on either side of my roof; following this, Metis provided a proposal showing eight panels on one side of my roof (which would never have fit). This was remedied only by speaking with SS365 to check that they knew about this change of plan when they contacted me the day before my scaffolding went up. They were then able to contact Metis and a revised proposal was rushed out to me, and scaffolding arranged for both sides of my roof.
The premise is that Metis won't install a system unless they think it can save you £40/month - which is the fee you pay to them, so it should be at least cost-neutral. However, the financial proposal from Metis was based on an electricity tariff that I cannot use (Intelligent Flux) because it requires my battery to be managed by Octopus, whereas the battery must be managed by Metis. This was misleading. Once my export tariff had been set up, I contacted Metis to understand what to do here and which alternative tariff they would advise, but again received no response.
I have been contacted by the county council seeking feedback on a few occasions as it was an early installation, and they have been very responsive. The app developer attended the installation and has likewise been answering queries from me in place of Metis, which he shouldn't have to do.
I continued to give Metis the benefit of the doubt, but the situation has never improved. The scheme itself seemed too good to be true, as I could never have afforded panels any other way, but the fact I am tied into a five-year contract to pay them a monthly fee, without any ability to contact them, is fairly worrying. I have at various points wondered whether it is a scam, but it is backed by the county council and Metis has a reputable parent company (SMS Energy), so it appears that they are legit but useless. There is a substantial financial penalty to exit the agreement, so I have to hope that things improve at some point over the next five years.
Update 28/05/2025: a manager at Metis phoned me today on the basis of this review to reassure me that they are working to improve their customer service situation. They have offered me their direct number in the event that I am unable to reach their customer service team in the future.
20. März 2025
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