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Carol Heaney v The Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy & Anor

16 November 2022
[2022] UKFTT 416 (GRC)
First-tier Tribunal
Ms. Heaney was tricked into a loan for home improvements. The company didn't give her all the details in writing, breaking the rules. The court decided she shouldn't have to pay anything back because of the dishonesty involved.

Key Facts

  • Carol Heaney entered into an energy plan with HELMS, a Green Deal provider, for energy efficiency improvements to her home.
  • Ms. Heaney was allegedly mis-sold the plan; she believed the improvements would be cost-free due to a government grant, but it involved a loan repaid through deductions from her energy bills.
  • HELMS was dissolved, and GDFC Assets Ltd became the payee of Ms. Heaney's instalments.
  • Ms. Heaney complained to the Secretary of State, who imposed a 30% reduction in her payments.
  • Ms. Heaney appealed the decision to the First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber).

Legal Principles

For an energy plan to be a Green Deal plan, it must meet all requirements of s.1(3) and s.4(a)-(e) of the Energy Act 2011, regulations 30-36 of the Framework Regulations, and regulation 29.

Preliminary Decision, paragraph 24

Breach of a qualifying condition does not automatically lead to cancellation of a Green Deal plan. Proportionality of the sanction must be considered, given the harm to the bill payer.

Reasons, paragraph 30d, 81-109

Notices under the Framework Regulations must be in writing.

Reasons, paragraph 59

The Tribunal's role is not limited to reviewing the Secretary of State's decision; it reaches its own decision based on the evidence.

Reasons, paragraph 29

Outcomes

The appeal is allowed.

The Tribunal found that a qualifying condition (regulation 30(3) requiring written notification of instalment amounts) was breached, rendering the energy plan not a Green Deal plan. The appropriate sanction, considering the misrepresentation and significant harm to Ms. Heaney, was cancellation of the plan.

Substituted Decision Notice: Cancellation of Ms. Heaney's energy plan with effect from 19 March 2019.

The Tribunal determined that the breach of the qualifying condition, coupled with the mis-selling and resulting harm to Ms. Heaney, warranted cancellation as the proportionate sanction. The effective date was the date of the complaint to the Secretary of State.

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