Energy Saving Trust Reviews 

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Difficult, stressful process and still waiting on money.
Website keep giving error message 'funding portal says....' site hangs and you lose info.
When Loan is agreed they ask you for further info. Why not ask all at one time?

When finally all is agreed the money isn't forwarded in the specified 10 days to buy the kit
You have to push back installation dates. Had to outlay a lot money to get ASHP ready.

If there is so much problem with cash flow within EST why do they force people to take Both Solar and ASHP?
I was marginally better taking Gas but that would have meant I couldn't go for Solar grant and Loan.

Further I don't understand how people on the ECO4 grant didn't seem to have any problems getting the Grant and Loan timely. Does their installer do all the paperwork and chasing the monies?

The payment has not been made within the promised timeline and they cannot tell me when it will be made. I've been waiting months now.

I have had to pay the supplier for installation and now I cannot pay my other bills.

Despite confirming they have everything they need from me repeatedly (and occassionally requesting that I resend them information because they lost it or it wasn't visible because it was on another system).
Eventually they promised me an urgent payment would be made and to call within a couple of days if not received. It wasn't received and when I called again they said there would be no payments this week, perhaps there would be some time next week but they couldn't confirm which day and so it could be up to another 10days waiting.

Who knows when or if this payment will ever turn up and it is causing me significant financial problems now!!

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Deborah Gilbeert from this company contacted me and I don’t think I’ve ever interacted with a kinder more understanding and compassionate human being. There’s not many people who hold those qualities in this world anymore. Great advice and very helpful make life so much easier with people like Deb

We started our application for solar PV and heat pump in August 2023, we received the final grant funding on 6th June 2024.

This process was complicated, stressful, full of obstacles with very little help to navigate it from the staff. Every email I wrote to the Energy Savings Trust was replied to by a different person and sometimes weeks would go by without a response.

This grant scheme is supposed to help people reduce their carbon footprint and at the same time reduce their energy bills, it is not supposed to be so complicated that the people who need it most are the ones who will be most challenged by the whole process.

The information you need to supply to qualify for the scheme is not easily defined, more than often buried in paragraphs of text in an email. The scheme is only open to those who have exhausted all other possible improvement measures to their property (again, not clearly defined up front) which again excludes lots of people who only want to reduce their bills.

The whole process took a little under a year from application to final payment of grant. If you can stomach what seems like a law degree course then this scheme is definitely for you. For everyone else, good luck because this was not easy and certainly took the shine off what could be a fantastic opportunity.

We received our grant payment very quickly after works were finished and all went smoothly. Very pleased with results. Thanks to all.

The process was fairly simple and the support team were very helpful. I communicated with the team via email and phone and they were all really polite, well informed and always responded to queries in good time. The only thing I would have liked when I started the process was a flowchart telling me how to start the process and outliniing the steps and decisions along the process.

Initial application and acceptance was quick and smooth. But if you have any changes required or have any questions it is very difficult to get things moving. Every time you call up a different operator advises you have to wait at least 10 days for any action to happen. I was getting very close to missing the 2 month deadline so asked my MSP to help. One email from them and the director got involved and it all got sorted and I got my loan in the nick of time. I almost lost the car due to the time taken. The whole process after the application approval needs an overhaul. One operator in particular was so rude and unhelpful I really hoped the recorded call was listened to by superiors for “training purposes”. I would not recommend this process for the faint hearted!

I applied and received a grant for loft insulation. The online application and claim processes were reasonably straight forward but still room for some improvement. The time taken for each stage of the application was within the stated time frame so all good there!

The people I spoke to were always extremely nice and did their best to help. However, the system seems to break down slightly when you need to speak to a specific department or person and the promised follow up calls / emails never happen.

The advisor provided a clear, succinct summary of the information required, what product would be provided, and how this might be useful. The process was completed efficiently, with the product providing reliable information on which to base decisions.

Applied for the Grant & Loan scheme to complete the installation of renewables systems in my property. Although the whole process from start to finish was lengthy (4 months), I found the individuals that I spoke with or emailed were always polite and helpful.

They work at snail's pace and think the money they are loaning out belongs to them. Deliberately complicated process in order to stall payment.

Staff are rude and do not answer emails, nobody ever picks up the phone.

The EV loan was not sorted within 3 months, lost out on numerous cars, so in the end got a loan from the bank in a day.
No dealer is prepared to wait for a bunch of administative sloths.

The grant and loan scheme from HES allowed us to replace an old heating system with a more environmentally friendly system which we would otherwise not have been able to afford.
All the staff I dealt with were helpful and friendly.
The only downside was the lack of communication at payment processing stage, which I understand is due to the volume of applications (which is actually a good sign for the future of green energy) Some indication of how long payment will take would be helpful. However overall I would highly recommend this service.

Was granted a used EV Loan. I contacted many car dealers, every single one declined to accept the loan due to the time it had taken previously for them to receive funds. Contacted them about this and received reply which was of no help. Scheme is now not open (which I didn't receive any warning of in advance). If you can't process in a reasonable time, take on less applicants and do it properly so it's worthwhile.

I applied for & received a grant to install gas central heating, I found Energy Saving Trust staff very helpful.

Home Energy Scotland Follow Up RE:06550926
I just wonder how long it takes to read an application. Could you please tell me how much longer we have to wait until you make a decision. David Clark

I had to apply for two extensions due to the time it took to get the air source heat pump installed. This was a straightforward procedure and both extensions were granted.

The advice I received from the Energy Saving Trust was helpful and comprehensive. I applied for, and received, grant and loan funding which enabled me to install the recommended technologies. The process is robust, but not especially quick. You may have to find the full funds for your project before finally receiving grant or loan funds.

I certainly recommend anyone in Scotland looking to install renewables or upgrade the efficiency of your home to contact the Energy Saving Trust.

Excellent service, friendly and knowledgeable, will get you quickly and painlessly to the best solution for your energy needs.

No response to emails or phone calls. Friendly staff but you can't speak to anyone directly on your case. It seems they have no case management system in place to properly follow-up. When you call/chase they can't promise any timings to follow-up/respond - this is quite basic SLA (Service Level Agreement) information they should at least be able to share.

We're a small business in the Scottish Highlands and after a very long and lengthy process we finally received approval to get support for an ASHP installation. We have now completed the installation, received the invoice (now overdue), and shared all requested files/docs with EST/Business Energy Scotland.

But now I can't get a response from EST/BES to A: arrange a possible site survey (not clear if we actually need). B: Release the support payment.

We only invested in the ASHP due to the promised EST/BES support, but this is now causing unnecessary stress.

As others have mentioned, in theory it could be a great service and we appreciate the support (if/when you can eventually get it), but seems completely understaffed, poorly managed.

Excellent scheme and would definitely use again if the scheme was applicable.