During the past decade, the solar industry in Australia has experienced a massive growth in the residential and commercial markets. This growth was driven by vast solar resources, government incentives and high electricity prices. The demand for clean and cheap energy pushed a lot of people to open solar companies for the sake of making a quick buck from the government rebates and the high demand.
To enlighten you more on this matter, let us tell you the story of a company called: Whack-a-mole Solar PTY LTD
Whack-a-mole Solar PTY LTD was established right at the beginning of the solar boom, when the feed in tariff rates were much higher than they are now. It created an attractive website, hired some friendly sales staff and installers to get itself started.
The first tough decision for Whack-a-mole solar was choosing between having its own warehouse or simply just buying and picking up all of its panels and inverters from local distributors. In the end, Whack-a-mole solar decided to get a warehouse with its own office and so off it went to get some customers……
At the beginning, business was great! The “solar boom” was only at its early stages in the residential market so very little information regarding solar panel brands and inverters was available. There was little to no solar blogs or forums available for people to ask for unbiased opinions and advice on solar. This was great for Whack-a-mole as it could sell cheap brands at crazy prices and not get caught. The fact that government rebates can be claimed directly by solar companies was a HUGE plus for whack-a-mole, as it meant they will have an assured steady income.
Year after year passed and more competitors were beginning to enter the market. This forced Whack-a-mole Solar to be more competitive with their prices and to be ahead of their rivals with sales. As a result, costs were cut with quality and customer satisfaction declined. To add on to their despair and to cater for the high demand , solar info websites and blogs were popping up on the daily , offering reviews of panels, inverters and even on solar companies.
This was an issue for whack-a-mole as their strategy to overcharge for cheap panels was now at risk of exposure. To save its sinking ship, whack-a-mole solar was forced to cut more in costs thus abandoning its warehouse. But the website still had a fake address! Whack-a-mole solar didn’t want its customers knowing that they didn’t have an operating office.
The final nail in the coffin for whack-a-mole solar was the warranty claims. Once it began cutting costs, the quality of the materials and workmanship deteriorated to the point where warranty claims were out of control! Eventually, after 4 short years in the industry, whack-a-mole solar went into liquidation, abandoning all of its customers with unfulfilled warranty claims.
Unfortunately, the story does not end there. Whack-a-mole Solar later resurfaced but with a different business name. Guacamole Zolar Inc it now called itself, with only a website and a fake office address. At least now it has no warranty claims to worry about!
But we all know how that story is going to end …
You will be surprised to know that Whack-a-mole Solar actually represents many existing solar companies in Australia? Except in reality it is much worse. There are companies operating without licenses, which is a huge safety concern!
If you would like to avoid doing business with companies like Whack-a-Mole Solar, refer to our previous blog-post on how to decide between good and bad solar companies. Also, if you have been affected by a company like Whack-a-mole Solar, have a look at this blog-post as it includes a lot of useful advice.
