There’s another risk in buying a battery that doesn’t appear on a datasheet.
What happens to your money between paying for the battery and having it installed?
I’ve recently been involved with three homeowners who bought batteries from the same retailer.
I won’t identify the retailer. The experiences are the important part.
These weren’t simply uninformed consumers chasing a cheap advertisement.
The first is a sophisticated energy consumer. He already owned batteries, participates in a VPP, recently bought an EV and installed an EV charger. He purchased another 20 kWh of battery capacity.
Bagatelle Energy arranged the installation. The battery was supposed to be available at the nominated depot.
It wasn’t.
We sent the installer home.
After considerable follow-up, the homeowner eventually drove to an unmarked depot himself, collected the battery he had paid for, and we subsequently arranged its installation.
The second customer had previously purchased a system from the same retailer for his Sydney home.
He’d had a good experience.
He returned to the retailer and paid approximately $13,000 upfront for another battery system.
The battery was never delivered.
The third is a retired property owner who bought batteries for two Queensland properties.
He hasn’t received either.
One affected customer subsequently travelled to the retailer’s premises and found a locked gate. Existing customers have reported difficulty getting calls returned, while enquiries submitted as prospective new customers have received responses.
I don’t know the retailer’s current financial position, so I won’t speculate about it.
But the experiences raise an important question:
When you pay $10,000, $15,000 or $20,000 for a battery, what exactly happens to your money?
Has your battery been ordered?
Has stock been allocated to you?
Where is it?
Who owns it?
What happens if installation is delayed?
And perhaps most importantly:
Has the money you paid for your equipment actually been used to secure your equipment?
Price is easy to compare.
Financial resilience and fulfilment capability are much harder to see.
And simply telling homeowners to “do your research” doesn’t solve that.
You can compare specifications all night.
You can’t see a retailer’s bank account.
Sources
- The three customer examples are based on Bagatelle Energy’s direct involvement and information supplied by the affected homeowners.
- The customer experiences reflect the circumstances described when this article was prepared. Locked gates and communication difficulties are reported observations, not evidence by themselves of insolvency, administration or cessation of trade.
- The retailer is deliberately unnamed. Its financial position is unknown; no claim about insolvency or motive is made.
Read Part 1: A 10-year warranty. Will they be there in year 10?