大象传媒

When it's dark and cold outside, a good boiler will keep you warm inside.

So to help people upgrade their heating systems, the Welsh Government spent a fortune on the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme.

听

And the company they trusted to run it was Eaga Heat - now owned by Carillion Energy Services.

The scheme ended two years ago but X-Ray's had loads of complaints about poor service and dangerous boilers - and Anglesey seems to be a particular hotspot.

Andrew Coulter, of Anglesey Trading Standards, said: "Within the complaints we have noticed a pattern - they're mainly to do with poor workmanship, customer service and general poor aftercare."

Someone who knows all about that is 77-year-old Gwilym Jones. He got a grant for a new boiler in 2009, but a service two years on found a faulty flue. It couldn't be fixed because the boiler had been incorrectly fitted in a kitchen cupboard.

And when Carillion suggested chopping up his kitchen to gain access, Gwilym refused.

Eventually Carillion sent another engineer who condemned the boiler - so they gave Gwilym and his wife two fan heaters.

He said: "They couldn't care less I don't think - they'd had their money and that was it."

On the other side of the island lives 88-year-old Jeanne Perrott. Eaga Heat fitted her new oil-fired boiler in March 2011, just before the grant scheme finished.

But then the problems started. The programmer had to be replaced, the timer clock and thermostat stopped working, and on several occasions the boiler wouldn't light.

Each time, Jeanne had to call Carillion but says she struggled to get through to them.

She said: "It really has been awful, it has. I wish I'd never heard of it quite frankly."

After X-Ray contacted Carillion, they sent someone out again. And when Gwilym threatened Carillion with court action, they agreed to give him a new boiler and 拢250 compensation.

The Welsh Government, which funded the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme, have confirmed to us that Carillion is still responsible for sorting out Eaga Heat's botched installations.

And Carillion's apologised too. They admit they should have resolved Gwilym's case more quickly and say Jean's trouble getting through on the phone was down to "high call volumes" - but promise they're trying to improve their service.

When one family got in touch with X-Ray about their creaking rafters, we thought it sounded like more of ghost story than a building problem!

Andrew Luther bought his four-bedroom house in Llansamlet, near Swansea, three years ago for 拢170,000.

But two years in, his sleep was being disturbed by a strange creaking noise in the roof. As he told X-Ray鈥檚 Lucy: "Just lying in bed and I could hear a constant creaking, as if someone was scraping their nails down a blackboard. That sort of irritating thing that goes through you."

With their master bedroom on the top floor of the town house, the creaking noise was particularly bad during stormy weather.

Andrew explained: 鈥淎s soon as we have a bit of wind or rain you can hear it. You know we don't have much nice weather over here so it's pretty constant."

He called out a surveyor who told him the most likely explanation was probably the nails rubbing on the rafters that span the roof and keep the tiles in place.

Andrew telephoned Charles Church, the builders who sold him the house. They said they couldn鈥檛 help as he was now out of his two-year warranty.

听

So he tried the National House Building Council, which had issued a ten-year guarantee on the house.

听

But the NHBC also told him they couldn鈥檛 help as the problem wasn鈥檛 a building defect, and didn鈥檛 fall under the terms and conditions of his cover.

听

So Andrew, his partner Lisa and their new born baby Ruby have been forced downstairs into the spare room. And he鈥檚 been told it could cost almost 拢5,000 to get it all fixed.

听

He said: 鈥淪o I am left with a pretty expensive bill for a new build which you shouldn't be paying for yourself."

X-Ray wrote to Charles Church. They have now agreed to come out and visit Andrew鈥檚 house to investigate the problem. And they say if it is found to be a building defect, they will repair it.

When Sarah Williams, from Saundersfoot, decided to buy solar panels for her home, she thought she was dealing with a reputable company.

Lloyds Renewable Energy of Nottingham were a member of all the relevant trade associations and seemed very professional.

They quoted her 拢5,445 for sixteen panels.

Sarah said: 鈥淲e had a lot of questions - because we had done our research we did know what we were looking for. They responded as well as, if not better, than the other companies we'd spoken to.鈥�

Lloyds asked Sarah for a deposit of 拢1,300 last December, and promised her it would be protected under the official REAL insurance scheme.

Sarah said: 鈥淭hat would guarantee if ever there was a shortfall in the work or the standard of the work we would actually have some way of getting our money back.鈥�

But just three days after she paid the deposit, Lloyds were back on the phone asking for the next instalment of 拢1,900 - and they were getting pushy.

Sarah said: 鈥淲e were getting two or three phone calls a day. We did ask them whether it would be possible to pay via our credit card knowing there would be extra protection through our credit card company, but they weren't happy with that.鈥�

Sarah paid the second instalment after being assured the money would also be protected.

The solar panels were due to go up at the start of January, but the date came and went and there was no sign of anyone from Lloyds Renewable Energy.

Sarah finally discovered the company had closed down. Worse still, she discovered her 拢3,000 wasn鈥檛 insured.

Sarah said: 鈥淚 was absolutely devastated when I found out that they hadn't placed our money on deposit.鈥�

Lloyds Renewable Energy appears to have shut up shop at the start of this year, but even before then a brand new solar firm, Mr Green Energy, had sprung up next door.

The new firm seemed to be employ many of the old Lloyds staff. That included Russell Lloyd, the director of Lloyds Renewable Energy.

Mr Lloyd has failed to respond to letters and emails from X-Ray asking where Sarah鈥檚 money has gone, and also about links between the two firms.

Sarah said: 鈥淲e worked really hard for that money, and obviously we're in a position now where we're 拢3,000 poorer and unlikely to be able to afford to install solar panels in the future.鈥�