We Name and Shame the Guilty Parties

Ultimate Energy PLC - Ultimate Conmen

The only energy used here is taking your money ...

... and in return you get nothing!!

Our correspondent warns ...

If you are looking for a company to provide solar energy, please avoid a company called Ultimate Energy PLC of Poole, Dorset. They are totally untrustworthy.

We paid a deposit of Ł2,300 to this company but we never received any further contact from them. Each time we contacted them, they had a new excuse for not getting in touch with us. After weeks and months of these delays, we decided there was definitely something untoward happening and we cancelled the contract.

Ultimate Energy PLC agreed that we were entitled to a full refund but it never worked out that way.

First, they claimed they could not reimburse our credit card.
Then they sent a cheque (which arrived one week after they claimed to have sent it by first class post).
Finally, the cheque was returned by our bank with 'PAYMENT STOPPED' printed across it.

I have attempted to contact the company many times to find out what is happening but my calls go unanswered.

I am looking to add this company to some kind of 'on-line blacklist register' so that other people can be alerted to this problem. Does such a thing exist? JV, Ipswich

Important Disclaimer

We have been asked to point out that Ultimate Energy PLC (the subjects of this article) have no connection with a company called Ultimate Energy Services of Evesham who specialise in underfloor heating.

We are happy to make this distinction as all the complaints we received related to the company in Poole.

Editorial comment:

They may already be on a blacklist as they were investigated by the Office of Fair Trading in 2007.

On 29th October 2007, Floyd Lewis and June Lewis, the directors of Ultimate Energy PLC and Solar Technik Ltd, gave personal undertakings that they would not:

give the misleading impression or make misrepresentations that products will: provide heating (including background heating) if they will not; reduce a person's fuel, energy, gas, electricity or oil bills or level of usage if they will not; or that people will save money equal to or more than the cost of a product.
supply goods which are not of satisfactory quality, reasonably fit for purpose or do not correspond with their description, or fail to repair or replace goods (where appropriate) within a reasonable time and without causing significant inconvenience
fail to carry out a service with reasonable care and skill, or
fail to inform consumers, where required, of their cancellation rights.

Solar Technik Ltd was put into liquidation in March 2007 but Ultimate Energy PLC continues to trade. Their website - http://www.ultimateenergyplc.com - makes extravagant claims about their core values, business ethics, professionalism and caring service - this is not exactly the experience of our correspondent!

So, be warned ... Ultimate Energy PLC looks like a decidedly dodgy company.

Footnote:

Happily in this case, our correspondents did get eventually their deposit back but the story has a quirky ending.

After Ultimate Energy PLC were threatened with legal action, Floyd Lewis contacted the customer to ask for details of their contract. When they told him they couldn't supply the details as all the paperwork had gone to their solicitor, the deposit was credited back to their account within hours!

The moral here, as we so often find, is that you must fight for your rights. If you don't, conmen will continue to fleece potential customers and they will make a lot of money by doing nothing!

Visitors' Comments

With hindsight I believe the system was misrepresented to us and is highly overpriced. The system for domestic hot water heating is excellent; quality of materials and workmanship was very good. BUT communication with the company is very bad, if not impossible, and appointments and promises are constantly broken.
Do not go anywhere near this company if you want to get good value and stay sane. Their core values are brilliant but don't believe a word of them.

JD Varley, Peterborough

I have had a system installed and so far am satisfied with the performance. However, the firm took and cashed a cheque for Ł3,000 and charged the same Ł3,000 to my Credit Card. Although I tried very hard to get this refunded with several letters, e-mails and telephone calls, I had no luck. In the end the Credit Card Company refunded the Ł3,000 plus penalties.
Perhaps the technical side is OK but the Office management side leaves so much to be desired that I would not recommend them to anybody else.
PS I am hoping that the system does not break down!!!

Douglas Lock, Ferndown

We had an Ultimate Energy System installed last September which is working perfectly and has not given us a moment's trouble. We can now afford to heat our whole house to a temperature of 21°C day and night.
DO, Camberley

My experience has been similar to that of JV of Ipswich, except that we have still not had our deposit returned. My credit card company has not had any success either and I now intend to seek redress through the Small Claims Court.
Prof CL, Hertford

Our experience is exactly as described. The salesman from Ultimate Energy, Steve Connick (Mr Con for short...) has broken the promises given by Mr Lewis. He said the domestic water heating system would cut our oil bill by 40% and if we went for the more complicated system, which also provided heating, 60%.
We foolishly signed on the dotted line in October 2007 and.... NOTHING. I have today given notice of cancellation to Mr Lewis, taken legal advice and started proceedings to recover my deposit.
Avoid this company as they are conmen. The only disappointing thing is finding this info out having personally parted with money. I can't believe with the prior failure of Solar Technik, the tax man after Mr Lewis for unpaid taxes and a thick file of unhappy customers that there is nothing the OFT, Taxman, Government seem prepared to do to protect the consumer.
LR, London

We have had a Ultimate Energy system for 6 months. It is so good that we got our friends to buy one and they reckon they are spending 60% less on energy than they were. I have found them to be very helpful and would use them again.
MG, Ipswich

I'm going through the same process to get my deposit back but only a month into it. I cancelled the contract within 24 hours of signing after taking some gas readings and calculating we would only save about Ł70 a year against an expenditure of Ł7000. Just about to go thru the small claims process and have raised an issue with the OFT.
MW, Winchester

We had an Ultimate Energy system installed over a year ago. It broke down back in April and we contacted the company. What followed were 13 appointments made by various people in the company, including it's managing director, that were never honoured.

The guarantee with this company's product is worth nothing and after daily phone calls to the company we have now had to repair the system at our own expense. If we knew a way to get them closed down to protect others then we would!

CC, Carterton

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