Why Are There So Many Dodgy Boys in the Industry?

Any industry with Federal or State Government funding brings out the Dodgy Boys. Part of the trouble with these programs is that public service designs them, and hence, public servants with limited understanding of economics and how opportunists will take advantage of holes in the system. Vet Fee was a classic example, as were Cert III training programs (think Face to Face) and NDIS, where somehow 1 in 7 children have been classified as having a disability, and one ice addict can cost $880,000 a year with two full-time carers in their accommodation around the clock.

Take NDIS for example. It is a massive cost to the Australian system promoted by the Socialist Agenda. When I worked in Vet Fee, I visited many commission areas. These people had quickly worked out how to scam the system. A specific Doctor would sign people off with a disability or mental disorder. They would then go on NDIS and get their partner or friend classified as a full-time carer. They would then sell the Zoloft or Ritalin to school kids, making extra dollars. It is now totally out of hand. Recently, we installed a system for a nurse working in NDIS. He was worried about his future as he could not see how the program was sustainable. The 34 Billion extra Government Revenue from higher Commodity prices went straight to NDIS. The nurse told me his patient, a psych patient from drug abuse (Ice- half the people in the psych wards are from ice, and the other half from the harmless drug Marijuana, according to the head of the AMA), was costing $880,000 a year for one drug addict to have private housing and 24-hour care with two people. Which public servant/social science graduate has such a low value of money that they think this is your tax dollar well spent? In any case, the Nurse gets $30.00 an hour and the NDIS body gets $90.00 an hour.

Vet Fee, Insulation, and Face to Face are other Government programs with holes big enough to drive a bus through.

One of the most significant issues with solar is that the dodgy boys get in the game thinking it will be a quick, easy way to make a buck, then bolt. Phoenixing is in their business plan. They use every scam method they can, from non-qualified staff to low-grade wiring (a study found 40% of solar systems had non-compliant wiring—read cheap and dangerous).

As with the other government programs, one of the problems is how they are regulated. That is certainly the case with the solar industry. To make it short, this is my own opinion. The Clean Energy Commission governs the quality of installers. In my opinion, they are almost as useless as tits on a bull. For those who are into Gender Diversity Theory and have limited knowledge of Bovine Farming and the species, unlike humans, bovines are a binary gender species with only males (bull) and females (cow). Not having a degree in gender studies, I may be wrong, though, and there may be Male bulls who can get pregnant and lactate. We as humans, of course, have over 99 genders, and trans-men might chest-feed. Bovines being binary, the bull’s tits are redundant (non-functional), unlike in trans-human males.

We have often been called out to inspect systems installed by the Dodgy Boys Solar Inc. The installs were shockingly non-compliant, slovenly, and dangerous (enough adjectives to get the point across). I have called the CEC many times to report dodgy installations and found they have no interest. They send out emails saying what a great job they have done, but I speak to many in the industry who are frustrated with what they perceive as the CEC’s lack of a “give a damn” attitude. I no longer bother to call them. On several occasions, we have been called out to jobs installed by the Dodgy Boys Solar Inc. Dodgy Boys Solar, of course, won’t come out and fix the problem or even answer the phone. We usually have to pull the system off the roof, throw it away, and put a new one on.

As long as the CEC maintains a policy of what I perceive as not giving a damn in eliminating the Dodgy Boys, the industry will still have problems with shoddy installers. Recently, we went to a job that almost resulted in a house fire caused by a shoddy installation. Amongst the many faults, the Dodgy Boys’ installer had put 24 panels in a string. On another site, the system did not work. The installer had charged for a three-phase upgrade. The system did not work. The installer had put all 38 panels in one string and then ran three dummy strings down to the inverter, so it looked like the system was installed correctly. Thank God the system did not work, or it would have blown up. The installer showed a total lack of integrity combined with incompetence. In addition, at three other sites of that installer, he did an upgrade to three phases, but only put the cable 100 mm down rather than the required 900 mm. I knew a woman whose husband died planting a tree because an electrician did not put the cable to the required depth. That installer is still in the industry.

If the CEC had been motivated to give a damn and visit the site, the installer would have been issued demerit points and told to correct. Why would someone who has shown themselves as incompetent and dishonest be allowed to return and repair the job?

I am having a house renovated at the time of writing. I caught the builder taking a significant shortcut. He was sprung by the woman managing the renovation. He yelled at her, telling her she knew nothing about construction. A quick check by myself and his dishonesty and sloppiness were as evident as dog balls (note I am a farm boy, so I use country colloquialisms). He offered to fix the problem. First, he argued, denying his naughtiness (the first rule of liars: deny, deny, deny). When the builder realized I was not swallowing his story, he offered to correct the faulty work. Why would you let someone who has just lied, done sloppy work, denied it, then realized they were caught go correct the problem? I fired him on the spot and told him he was not welcome on-site again. It is like letting a convicted pedophile work at a childcare facility (they have a 90% re-offend rate). I had to spend $5,000 to correct the job. Why would the CEC only give a default to someone dishonest and incompetent and allow them to continue in the industry? For example, on a larger scale, Sunboost (Bell also owns Arise) is still fighting in court to keep operating after doing 140 installs without a qualified installer onsite. To delay the action in court for a period, probably a couple of years, then Phoenix leaving their customers out in the cold.

There is no effective scrutiny of installers in the industry. We recently went to a faulty installation from another company (we have had two of those this week—I am considering adding a shaming page to put these reports up). The clients called the CEC, who had no interest in the issues, many of which were major safety concerns.

Many of these cowboys run ads warning about cowboys in the industry