The loans are repayable monthly over a period of 1-3 years and you will need to decide what length of time will be most suitable for you before completing the enclosed blue form. As the loan is completely interest-free you will not pay any interest or additional charges on the amount you borrow and should you wish to pay the remainder of your loan in full at any time you will not be penalised. If you do decide to sell your property before making all of your repayments, you will be required to notify the Council in advance and repay the remainder of the loan in full before moving to your new property.
The loan you receive will be rounded down to the nearest £10, so if the total cost of your installation was £2978.55, you would receive an interest-free loan of £2970, which would need to be repaid to the Council. If your quote is over £4000 you will only be eligible for the maximum £4000 loan, and you will be required to make up any additional cost.
The application process
Please check the eligibility criteria thoroughly before applying for an interest-free loan. If you have any queries regarding your eligibility please contact the Energy Officer directly.
Please contact the Energy Officer using the details at the foot of this page. Included in this pack you will find a white application form, which you need to complete if you wish to apply for a Renewable loan. At the end of this form is a declaration which you must sign to declare that the information on the form is correct. Signing this declaration also means that you are authorising South Derbyshire District Council to carry out a credit check on you and your spouse (if applicable). This is standard procedure when applying for a loan and all of the information that you provide will only be used by South Derbyshire District Council for the purpose of administering your Renewable loan. It will not be passed on to any third parties.
If you have not already obtained an estimate for your chosen renewable energy system, you should contact installers from the Low Carbon Buildings Programme accredited (and Solar Trade Association, if applicable) installer lists. Lists of accredited installers can be found at www.clear-skies.org and www.greenenergy.org.uk/sta. Remember to make use of the installer's knowledge and expertise when they visit to provide your estimate, as they will be able to give advice on how your existing heating system or electricity supply will integrate with your new renewable technology system and can provide you with lots of information on practical considerations and how to get the best out of your system.
South Derbyshire District Council advise that you should obtain quotes from 3 different accredited installers to ensure that you are getting the best value for money and the most suitable system for your needs however 2 quotes will be accepted.
Completing and returning the forms
Once you have obtained a minimum of two quotes (and stated which quotation you prefer, if applicable, either in a covering letter or on the quote itself), you will need to return these to the Energy Officer along with your completed white application form. The Energy Officer will assess whether or not you are eligible for a loan under the scheme and arrange for the credit check. It is important to remember that you should not sign a contract or agreement with an installer until you have received confirmation from the Energy Officer that your loan application has been successful and you have decided to proceed with the loan.
As soon as the assessment and credit check is complete, the Energy Officer will contact you to let you know whether or not your application has been successful and which quote has been approved. At this point you will also need to decide over how long a period you wish to repay the loan as the Energy Officer needs this information to complete your credit agreement (a list of typical repayments for amounts ranging from £2000 to £4000 will be included with these forms). Once this has been agreed the Energy Officer will send you a Direct Debit mandate (peach form) and a credit agreement (blue and red forms). The blue and red forms look very similar, however it is very important that you read the red form (the pre-contract information) before signing the credit agreement (blue form) and keep it for future reference. You will need to complete and sign both the peach and blue forms if you wish to proceed with your loan application.
Once you have completed and signed the blue and peach forms you will need to return them to the Energy Officer, who will check for general compliance. If everything is in order the Energy Officer will return a copy of the credit agreement (blue form) to you for your records. Your Direct Debit mandate will not be submitted to your bank until South Derbyshire District Council has approved the loan and the loan amount has been paid into your bank account. If you have any problems completing the forms you can contact the Energy Officer for advice or, should you wish, to arrange a meeting to discuss your application.
Along with your blue credit agreement and peach direct debit mandate you will also have been sent a cancellation form (green form). You have 14 days from the signing the blue form as a 'cooling off period', so should you wish to withdraw from the loan scheme, you would need to return the green cancellation form (or notify the Council in writing) within that 14 day period. If you are unsure of the duration of your cooling off period, this information can be found in the ‘your right to cancel’ section at the bottom of the completed blue form.
If the Energy Officer does not receive a cancellation form within the cooling off period a pink confirmation form will be sent to you (which should be returned with the final invoice from the installer). You are then ready to sign a contract with the chosen installer and get the installation of your renewable energy system underway!
Once the work has been completed to your satisfaction and an invoice has been received from the installer, this needs to be forwarded to the Energy Officer along with any guarantee or warranty documents (if received). The Energy Officer will arrange for a final inspection visit. The Energy Officer will then arrange for the agreed loan amount to be credited to your bank account via the BACS payment system. This should then be used to pay the installer promptly. Failure to pay the contractor in full within 28-days of receiving this BACS payment will result in the recovery of the entire loan amount and the full costs of recovery by the Council.
Once this has been processed the Energy Officer will contact you to confirm that the Direct Debit mandate has been submitted to your bank or building society. Repayments will be made on 15th day of each month, commencing the month after you have received the loan payment from South Derbyshire District Council.
Conditions of the loan
The loans will be advanced to the borrower via a BACS payment directly into their bank account and can be used for the sole purpose of paying the contractor for the renewable energy installation specified in the credit agreement. Failure to pay the contractor in full within 28-days of receiving this BACS payment will result in the recovery of the outstanding balance and the full costs of recovery by the Council.
If a payment is missed, the full value of that payment must be settled by cheque within 10 working days from the date that payment was due. If you miss more than 2 monthly repayments within a 12-month period, the Council will require the immediate repayment of the outstanding loan amount within 21 days. If full payment is not received within that 21-day period, the Council will commence recovery of the outstanding balance and the full costs of any recovery proceedings.
Also, if you wish to sell your property during the loan repayment period, the outstanding balance of the loan must be repaid in full before the property is sold. It is a requirement that you notify the Council immediately if you decide to sell your property.
If at any point you have any questions or require assistance completing any of the forms, please contact the Energy Officer using the details below.
Contact Details
South Derbyshire District Council
Energy Officer
Civic Offices
Civic Way
Swadlincote
DE11 0AH
Tel: 01283 228719
email: energy@south-derbys.gov.uk
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