The industry relies on self-regulation. Many of the organisations that provide consumer protection on behalf of the installers only do a partial job. The result is that consumers rarely understand what protection they are getting from their installer, are sometimes misled by the installer as to what protection they are getting and, are left on their own should a problem arise.
Good intentions do not provide protection, and many consumers suffer misery and distress when things go wrong and problems are not rectified, often leading to the customer not having anyone to turn to. DGCOS has been designed to protect consumers.
The detailed analysis and comparisons in this report show that there is a vast difference between the protection offered to consumers. Many of the organisations are trade associations set up for the benefit of their members (the installers) offering some limited form of consumer protection. Others are deposit protection and insurance backed guarantee providers that offer limited protection. DGCOS on the other hand, has been set up to provide a comprehensive consumer protection service.
