Optama Avis 114

Great customer service from the start, Cheryl, Callum and William all doing their best to get any enquires/answers we had.
We live in an old stone cottage so an ideal project for the full system.
The subcontractors we had were very professional and though there was the odd hiccup, the system is up and running smoothly.
Many thanks to all involved.

The representative from Optama advised that we should have 4 panels on the front of our house and 2 on the back as there was not enough space for 6 on the front. The installers, however, said that there was room for 6 on the front and that this would be more appropriate. We took the advice of the installers.

We had solar PV and air source heating systems installed by Optama. We are very happy with both installations now.

We live in a traditional stone built, two storey house with an old slate roof. Gregor and Craig (experienced roofer and electrician) carried out excellent remedial work on our roof and panels. They did a great job and were courteous, friendly and tidy. They were sent out by Optama to fix the problems created by the first crew from Optama who had left us with a leaky roof, dislodged, cracked slates and PV panels out of alignment. Unprepared for the job, they came with the wrong equipment and rushed to finish it. Although this was very stressful at the time we are satisfied that the company took our complaints seriously and rectified the problems.

The installation of our air source heat pump system and new radiators took four days. John and David worked hard, were friendly, courteous and efficient. There were some tricky problems to solve and they thought them through, consulting us to make sure we were happy and then got the job done. Although this installation touched every room in the house and was quite an upheaval it was inconvenient but not stressful.

Cheryl Paterson has been our point of contact at Optama and we have built up a good relationship with her over the months. She appreciated the difficulties we have encountered and has made sure that our concerns have been addressed by herself or by the management of the company. She has tried to keep us informed.

We applied for loan + grant funding from Home Energy Scotland. Optama installed a hybrid boiler with air source heat pump. The installation only took a day and the workmen were helpful. Part 2 will be solar panels. Fingers crossed it works well through winter.

Everything on the install day went smoothly. Really pleased with the quality of the installation - the panels looks great and the electrical wiring is very neat.

Have a mixed experience with Optama customer service, it took over 5 months from me informing Optama that I had an approved loan offer from Home Energy Scotland to the installation actually happening. During that period I had promises of install dates that never came to fruition, e-mails and phone calls that were never returned, etc.

However, Optama have recently hired Jonathan and suddenly everything is working like clockwork and communication is great. Fantastic job Jonathan and installation team - thanks for all your hard work!

Used Optama to install solar panels, battery storage and an inverter. Had quite a few issues along the way but absolute credit to Brian who, every time I contacted him, sorted out my queries very quickly. I feel the company improved hugely from my first contact with them through to my last contact. I believe there may have been staffing issues which have been resolved.

Recently had an ASHP installation from Optama. From survey till works complete I was kept informed by all the team of what was happening. The system has been up and running for a few weeks now with absolutely no problems! Thanks to Cheryl for communications, to Tony for the surveys completed and the hardworking team who fitted it in 2 days!! They truly made it a unique experience. I have already recommended them to friends who are thinking of making the change to ASHP.

Thanks again for everything.

All of the people involved in the installation were excellent, Gregor the electrician, the people who worked on the roof etc exuded confidence in what they were doing. The stand out star were the guys who dug the trench. They removed the turf put it back exactly where it had come from so you could hardly see where it had been dug! Amazing. Same with the paving stones. System up and running and doing what it is designed to do. Thanks guys.

We commissioned Optama for an ASHP and central heating system as well as a Solar array and battery.

On commissioning both projects we were left in the dark about the majority of the project details unless chasing them. There was almost no consultation. Communication is a real weakness unless you get escalated to Brian.

When they installed the heatpump there was an issue which caused it to freeze during installation. While this was out of their control we had to force them to acknowledge that this had put us out on the coldest night of the year. Overall the quality of the finish was rushed and they left a mess.

This was nothing compared to the solar panel drama. I'm now reliably informed they should have been required to disclose any subcontractors they hired. Obviously choosing from the cheapest they hired a team of young people working without safety equipment. This destroyed my roof, and then my loft and kids bedroom when the rain came in.

While they did eventually accept liability for this getting them to complete rectification works was an uphill battle.

Now the dust has settled with the insurance and all the repairs and eventually after months getting the paperwork and documentation for just one of the projects (others still outstanding at time of review) I can say that I don't feel I would recommend them despite knocking £600 off the price tag for all the inconvenience.

Received a grant at Christmas for a heat pump with help from optima, but since the money hit their account, it was a disaster. Poor communication, delays and errors. Had to do 3 surveys with different advice each time. Install dates changed at no notice then when they finally did arrive, they had ordered the wrong equipment. The folks on the phone tried to persuade us to instal a cylinder that was inappropriate for our family size just to rush the job through.

Two weeks turned into 3 months, but we finally did get the heat pump installed. The actual installers couldn’t have been better. Friendly, clean and hard working. All the problems seem to have been in the office end of the company.

Installation of 12 panels , 2 batteries and inverter carried out as per agreed date on Thurs 4th May.
Specification of batteries and inverter was changed from Sunsynk to Growatt - Additional £700 cost was absorbed by Optama.

Installation team (sub contracted by Optama therefore working to a price) these guys were fantastic and very good to deal
with even though they were not given full details of installation from Optama. ie could only fit 11 panels and not 12 as
vent pipe on roof was an issue (picture was already sent showing this). Also batteries and inverter had to be fitted in
front vestibule as too heavy to lift. Issue with fitting kit in the loft.
These issues were easily resolved if sales person had done proper site survey and also communicated with instal team.

Biggest issue was request for payment (£10500) - extremely short notice ie 60% deposit payment the week before install
and final 40% payment the day after instal was completed. As this was a grant from HES there is no way I could get the
grant that quickly but fortunately had read previous reviews where this has happened before and borrowed enough money to
pay for this.

Overall happy with installation including fantastic support from Cheryl in the office and the installation team. Would have
been nice to have a follow up courtesy call after the installation. Area of concern for the future would be support from Optama?
Still await credit for outstanding panel.

Optama has done a great job in installing solar panels and battery system . Starting with Andy, Who did the survey and explained the entire installation process . Then the installation team who arrived on the promised day and completed all the work in good standard , Finally office staff Cheryl who helped me with all the post installation documents/paperwork/certificates/warranty docs. Overall I am very happy with their service , I hope they continue to provide the same level of customer service throughout the warranty period , which is were majority of company fails to do.

Optama Sales and Solar Installation Teams were excellent. There were delays in scheduling the install but at least one delay was due to winter weather. Would use again and am in the process of investigating Air Source Heat pump solutions with Optama.

Great comms from start to finish and installation of an air source heat pump went really well. No issues at all since then and it is running as well as it needs to be and very efficient in term of energy and cost to us. Would recommend this company - just make sure you agree all specifics prior to the install day as with all builder work as we had some minor complications on the day that were promptly addressed a few days later.

In our case it all tied into our existing Solar PV and Home Battery and only a month ago we were finally able to ditch the gas meter entirely. Thank you Optama, Steven and team with all your help.

I am so impressed with the service and I'm delighted to have the radiators installed. John and Tony who fitted them were wonderful, a real credit to the company.

All the tradesmen from start to finish were fantastic.

Very helpful customer service, everything done on time, new boiler fitted and very happy with it, especially the new heating controls. Would recommend the company to anyone considering to use.

Professional work, air pump, solar panels, insulation replaster walls, electrics, house now toasty, all done very efficiently very happy customer.

Have to agree totally with the other negative reviews on here about Optama for solar and battery install.
They have to be the worst professional company I have ever dealt with. Constantly having to chase them and being ignored, being told lies, rescheduling the job numerous times at the last minute with no communication and giving you empty promises. Then when they do turn up the wrong equipment gets fitted.
Health and Safety by the contractors is also a concern, as no scaffolding was erected when they were installing the panels, something that they quote for in the price!
Nobody from the Optama operations team has ever visited my property to check the install and they just ignore any formal requirements or communication, that is until they need an invoice paid then they continually harass you for payment.
If you are applying for the government backed HES loan funding to support your install then forget it, as they do not fully support the scheme, because they require payment as soon as the install is complete. This defeats the purpose of applying for a loan, as the HES funding can take a few weeks to be released for payment once the install has been done and that is assuming the Optama paperwork has been completed correctly. This results in you needing to find other means to pay the invoice.
I would never recommend this company to anyone and wish I had gone elsewhere.
They don't give a damn about the customer and all they are chasing is the next poor customer in line with a deposit, once that's paid they move on.
They don't even deserve a 1 star review. You have been warned!

Got new air source heating, internal wall insulation and solar panels put in last week by Optama and must say that I am delighted with all aspects of the jjob
From first contact to sign off we found this company to be very professional and helpful in all manners,
We would have no problem in recommending or using this company again in the future
Thank you team Optama