RENEWABLE energy company Daylight Energy has entered liquidation. It has gone bust owing millions and leaving customers thousands of pounds out of pocket.
Latest energy company to hit problems
Customers of Poole-based Daylight Energy say they have lost large sums of money in deposit payments after the company “disappeared” without any communication.
According to documentation seen by the Daily Echo, Daylight Energy is set to appoint insolvency practitioners Verulam Advisory as joint liquidators with a decision set to be made on May 3.
The documents reveal how the business owes a total of more than £1million to nearly 400 customers who paid deposits.
Customers issued court proceedings
Founded in 2014 by David Humphriss, the energy company specialised in renewable energy systems for homes including solar panels, air source heat pumps and foam insulation.
However, in around December last year, customers began noting a lack of communication from the firm and, upon beginning proceedings to get deposits back, received no response.
In recent months, Daylight Energy has received a slew of scathing reviews on the website Trustpilot. One man said his order was cancelled with no sign of his £2,000-plus deposit being repaid.
A woman said: “I’m absolutely devastated about this. I have called the bank and they have said there is nothing they can do because effectively I have paid them cash in hand. I can’t believe this is happening.”
Another dubbed the company ‘Daylight Robbery Limited’.
Customers who paid their deposits with a credit card have been urged to contact providers and make a claim under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. Some have reportedly received refunds in full.
Others, however, have not. New Forest resident Richard Austin told the Echo he has lost £4,326 after putting down a deposit for solar batteries at his home.
“Every time I spoke to them, I felt something wasn’t right as they kept fobbing me off,” he said.
“I paid by bank transfer so I don’t have any way of getting the money back. They’ve basically disappeared.
“I feel very disappointed that someone could do this to me and I don’t understand how a business in such a booming market can end up like this.”
Report blamed covid
In the report, the Covid pandemic was blamed for severely hampering trade. It said: “As a customer-facing business, the company had to cease trading for that period which had a big impact on turnover for that and the following years.”
Staffing issues and Mr Humphriss’ ill health were also cited.
The report seen by the Daily Echo also stated the energy company owes £74,777 in corporation tax due to HMRC. There are 14 employees with claims for notice and redundancy pay totalling £14,707.
Also, there are 397 customers who have paid deposits totalling £1,014,427 – which are all considered unsecured.
On its website, Daylight Energy says it is an Independent Warranty Association (IWA) approved supplier. It says: “This enables us to offer our customers guarantee insurance, in case the company should ease trading, and deposit protection for up to 25 per cent of the contracted home improvement works.”
Daylight Energy have been approached for comment by the Daily Echo but has not yet responded at the time of this story’s publication.
