True Value Solar Reviews

True Value Solar is one of Australia's largest solar installation companies. But big is not necessarily better, and in my opinion they are nowhere near to being the best.

They don’t have the worst reputation of a large solar installation company in Australia. But my opinion of True Value Solar is still not good.

While they are better than they used to be, as recently as April 2016 the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) took action on account of their business practices.

They still have long way to go before SolarQuotes would ever recommend them as an installer.

When reading reviews and looking at ratings for True Value Solar, be aware that they have been investigated by the ACCC for paying customers for positive reviews, so there are definitely grounds for suspicion about any review rating totals you see for them.

True Value Solar Today Tonight Exposé

The True Value Solar company was founded in 2009 and did not get off to a good start. This Today Tonight segment from 2011 exposes True Value Solar forging signatures and performing incompetent and potentially dangerous installations.

True Value Solar Improperly Claimed 9,661 Renewable Energy Certificates

On the 2nd of June 2011 the Australian Government Clean Energy Regulator required an enforceable undertaking from True Value Solar for creating 219 Large-scale Generation Certificates (LGCs) they were not entitled to between 22 January 2010 and 26 August 2010.

True Value Solar was required to:

“...compensate for the creation of the certificates.”

I presume this means they were required to surrender 219 certificates that had been created.

True Value Solar was hit with a second enforceable undertaking for the creation of 9,442 Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs) they were not entitled to between 13 October 2010 and 23 March 2011.

The Office Of The Renewable Energy Regulator stated:

“True Value Solar (Vic) Pty Ltd was not entitled to create those Certificates - namely, the units were not designed and installed by the person who was nominated as the accredited installer for the purposes of the creation of the Certificates.”

True Value Solar was required to have an independent accredited installer return to check the installations in question and ensure they met the requirements for the issue of certificates.

True Value Solar ACCC Infringement Notices For Misleading Advertising

In January 2011 True Value Solar advertised a 1.52 kilowatt solar system as being a 3 kilowatt system. In other words they stated it was twice as large as it actually was. That is like a butcher giving you one kilogram of steak and charging you for two.

As a result, they were investigated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and issued with infringement notices totalling $13,200.

ACCC chairman Rod Sims stated:

"Companies need to ensure that their advertised claims accurately reflect the product or service being offered."

The ACCC has reported that True Value Solar has acknowledged its advertising was likely to have contravened Australian Consumer Law. Personally, I am sure as hell that selling one kilogram of steak as two kilograms and selling a 1.52 kilowatt solar system as a 3 kilowatt system contravenes Australian Consumer Law. As far as I am concerned there is nothing “likely” about it. It is bloody obvious.

True Value Solar also undertook a court enforceable undertaking regarding misleading advertising, which means they would be in more trouble if they did something similar again. But it appears they did not learn their lesson and were investigated by the ACCC again in 2016 for paying customers to provide favourable reviews.

True Value Solar Is Owned By German Company M+W

In 2011 the German engineering firm M+W purchased 65% of True Value Solar and in 2013 they acquired the remaining 35%. Why they did this I do not know. But M+W started off in 1912 making ventilation systems, so maybe they are just nostalgic about things that suck.

The letters M+W used to stand for Meissner and Wurst. As True Value Soar has improved since the Germans took over it appears that taking a turn for the Wurst has made things better. However, they have not improved nearly enough to rehabilitate their reputation as far as I can see.

M+W is a large engineering firm involved mostly in electronics but also in both solar and nuclear power, which is an interesting mix. As a large multinational company they definitely have a vested interest in maintaining a good reputation, so I would like more people to be aware that True Value Solar is owned by M+W and its behaviour reflects upon them.

True Value Solar ACCC Investigation Into Paying For Positive Reviews

In 2015 True Value Solar began offering a free solar system servicing for which they would normally charge $199 to customers who wrote reviews. They only made this available to people who said their experiences were positive and they did not disclose that these reviews had been paid for.

After being contacted by the ACCC in April 2016 True Value Solar discontinued this particular example of paying for positive reviews. Of course it would have been nice if they didn't need the ACCC to tell them they shouldn't be doing this kind of thing.

True Value Solar Fake Reviews From Eastern Europe

The SolarQuotes site has received fake positive reviews for True Value Solar from Eastern Europe. There is no way to know that anyone at True Value Solar had anything to do with these fake reviews, but it is not a good sign. Sending fake reviews about solar companies to Australia is probably not the sort of thing Eastern European teenagers do for a laugh.

True Value Solar Bosch Inverters

At the time of writing in July 2016 True Value Solar advertising prominently features German made Bosch inverters. But while they were German made, they are no longer made anymore as Bosch has discontinued them. This is not to say they aren’t good inverters and Bosch will still back its 5 year warranty, but people should be aware that Bosch inverters are now a thing of the past. It appears that True Value Solar has bought a very large consignment of them at a low price and it will be interesting to see how long they can manage to keep using them.

True Value Solar Panels

True Value Solar Panels include quality, tier 1 brands. However, they have also used panels that are not tier one on any list that I am aware of. If you use True Value Solar, make sure the panels they install are of good quality.

Servicing True Value Solar Panels

True Value Solar recommends having their rooftop solar systems serviced every two years and as of writing they currently charge $250 for this service. In my opinion no rooftop solar system that is competently installed needs to be serviced every two years. For peace of mind I'd recommend getting it checked every 5 years, but every two years is a waste of money and suggesting they need such regular servicing is fleecing the customer in my book.

True Value Solar Prices

True Value Solar's prices are low. This is how they bring customers in. While bringing down the cost of solar power is a wonderful thing, it only makes sense if quality is maintained. In my experience a low cost system is often a false economy that results in more expenses down the line.

The good news is the average quality of True Value Solar's installations appear to have improved since they were taken over by M+W. Their prices are also no longer quite so low, compared to the competition, as they were. If the extra expense is going towards more competent and reliable installations, and better service then that is all for the good.

True Value Solar Is Not A SolarQuotes Client

SolarQuotes has never recommended True Value Solar as an installer through our ‘Get Quotes’ service. Our goal is to make sure people have a great experience buying solar and, in my opinion, recommending them won’t help us achieve that.

The good news about True Value Solar is that they seem to have become better over time. But they can’t seem to shake off all their bad habits. They were dinged just recently (April 2016) by the ACCC for paying for positive reviews.

If they could lay off the unethical behaviour and continue improving the quality of their installations and service then I’d encourage them to do that. But they are still a long way from becoming an installer I’d recommend to friends.

Full Disclosure: SolarQuotes is a commercial site, albeit one run by a solar enthusiast. We make money by referring you to installers we trust, if you ask for quotes through this site. When we make a referral we get paid by the installer. We have about 200 solar installer clients throughout Australia that we've built up slowly since 2009. These clients pay us every month for those referrals whether they result in a sale or not. True Value Solar have asked about becoming a client, but we have always turned them down because we would not be comfortable referring them to our friends, so we won't refer them via this site. In the spirit of transparency, True Value Solar are welcome to respond to our criticism, and we'll link to that response here.