Questions about finding and checking installers

On the MCS register, "Find an installer": search for heat pumps near your address or in your region, and filter for firms registered for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

It is a checking guide. Listing or ranking firms would mean judging them, which it cannot do fairly. The register is the complete list.

The register shows the regions each firm covers. A firm based further away may still cover your area.

That the firm is on the MCS register and certified for heat pumps, not only for another technology.

Ask which code the firm belongs to, then search for it on that code's own website. Ofgem lists HIES, RECC, MCS for the grant.

Only if the firm claims it. Then check on TrustMark's Find a Business.

The organisation that certified the firm for MCS. It is shown on the register entry.

The heat-loss figures, the unit size, the flow temperature, the radiator and cylinder work, an itemised price, the grant as a deduction (£7,500 for most homes that qualify) and the total you pay.

Usually because they are for different designs: different heat-loss figures, unit sizes or radiator changes. Compare those first.

Yes. MCS certified installers design to MIS 3005-D, and asking for the figures in writing is normal.

No. Installers must deduct the grant and may not ask you for that amount unless the application is refused or the voucher revoked.

It depends on the consumer code. HIES lists deposit and stage payment protection; RECC says its warranty includes financial protection if the installer stops trading.

Often, within a set period: RECC says in many cases 14 days. Check your contract.

The installer first, in writing; then the dispute route of its consumer code.