Solar part recall: Electricians left to wear cost of replacing devices after Advancetech collapses

Updated

Electricians have been forced to wear the cost of replacing allegedly faulty solar devices produced by collapsed Sunshine Coast company Advancetech.

Liquidators were appointed to the solar and electrical distributor last week, just days after the Queensland Government recalled 27,000 devices that had been sold in Queensland and New South Wales.

The Avanco DC isolators used in solar electrical systems have been linked to dozens of fires, although nobody has been injured.

A notice on the company's website said the liquidators, SV Partners, are not required to comply with the terms of the product recall order.

"As liquidators, we are not trading the company's business and unfortunately we are not able to assist with the replacement of the isolators the subject of the recall orders," the notice said.

"Unfortunately [we] are not able to directly assist customers of the company or the end users of the products recalled."

Queensland Master Electricians chief executive Malcolm Richards said that meant the electrical contractors who installed the isolators must wear the cost of replacing the recalled devices.

"The reassurance for the customers involved is that the contractors are still obligated to replace their product for free," he said.

"But then the drama starts for the electrical contractors who have to then pursue the funds back from the liquidator.

"There are a lot of small, mum-and-dad operators who are involved in the solar industry, who have installed solar panels under the government rebate scheme, who are now going to be left high and dry and have to stump up the cost of replacing this product, which they bought in good faith as an approved Australian product at the time."

Advancetech was sold to another company the day after the recall.

Mr Richards says his organisation has asked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Fair Trading Queensland to investigate what happened.

"We've asked Fair Trading Queensland and the ACCC just to look into the nature of the business exchange and the liquidation in this case," he said.

"There's obviously some concerning issues there we want looked at to ensure everything was done properly."

Topics: solar-energy, electricity-energy-and-utilities, industry, consumer-protection, company-news, kunda-park-4556, qld, nsw, australia

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