Director slams government’s decision on green deal home improvement fund
Posted on 01/08/2014
The Director of one of the UK’s largest online lead generation and installer support companies has hit out, following a decision by government to pull the brakes on a popular scheme.
Government ministers decided recently to curtail a cashback scheme offering £7,600 to people to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.
Called the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF), the scheme was intended to give a boost to the government’s flagship energy efficiency programme.
But the scheme proved too popular and an announcement by government that it would cut the maximum pay-out sparked a mad rush of applications; and the final £70m of the allocated £120m was snapped up in a matter of days.
The decision has caused anger in the heating and plumbing sector and across the construction industry.
Leads2trade has many members in the sector and has become a go to resource for installers looking for business. Its Director Andy Royle comments: “we operate in the heating, fenestration and renewable sector and have hundreds of members, many of which are livid at the way this has been handled. After the debacle that happened regarding the FIT rate we expected future energy schemes to be handled better. It appears we are back to a boom and bust way of operating.
“It’s a setback for the industry as the scheme was working and companies had geared up for it. We now need a long term strategy to provide stability and avoid peaks and troughs going forward. To just can an initiative like this is a very poor show and many members have been in touch with us to vent their frustrations.”
Andy also says that the announcement raises further questions over the Green Deal’s future and is another PR body blow for the UK’s beleaguered energy plan.
But he said there were positives going forward for boiler installers due to the efforts of Leads2trade. He comments: “Our contractor members should feel confident in the fact that Leads2trade were generating boiler replacement and insulation leads for at least 2 years before the increased consumer awareness of this type of home improvement, due to the announcement of the GDHIF.
“We did have specific online marketing campaigns to generate GDHIF leads but these were immediately paused on Friday (25th) once the DECC announcement had been confirmed. This lead type only contributed to around 20% of the total number of Boiler replacement and insulation leads.
Leads2trade generate double-qualified home improvement leads via an 800-strong online network of sites (which fall under the banner of Trusted Local Suppliers) where homeowners register to find tradesman to carry out work such as conservatory, solar, boiler and double glazing installations.
The company also offers installers support, finance options and other member benefits.