Royal Mail delay causes deadline day worries

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Adverse weather conditions in the run up to the March 3 deadline might have caused some installers to miss out on registering FiT systems in time to beat DECC’s latest reference date.

Speaking to SPP, Mike Collison at Eco Solar Potentials explained that on February 29, the company registered three new installations with MCS and its customers received their relevant certificates.

On March 1, the customers filled in their FiT applications and sent them via Royal Mail special delivery to the Scottish Power FiT offices in Glasgow. However, due to a combination of bad weather and poor visibility, flights were delayed and the mail was not delivered until the morning of March 5.

Collison said: "I only knew of the problem because we tracked the deliveries on Friday and Saturday - if you use Royal Mail tracking system it only tells you if it is delivered or not. It does not tell you when it was delivered, so anyone checking to see the day the paperwork was delivered needs to talk to Royal Mail directly"

After a series of frenzied calls between Royal Mail and Scottish Power, a representative from Scottish Power confirmed that due to the delay by Royal Mail they would accept FiT forms sent by Special Delivery and received today.

Mike Collison at Eco Solar Potentials said, “I am greatly relieved that Scottish Power have taken such a common sense approach to this problem, and I hope that other companies do the same if they are similarly affected."

Collison concluded: "This has been just one more hurdle to overcome, in a difficult time for the industry. I would urge any installers to double check that their customers have had their FiT claims accepted in time"

If you have been affected by any delays in Royal Mail’s service in the run up to the deadline please let us know in the comments section below.