Our experience of the Solgen Energy Group (formerly the Mark Group) has been disastrous. After the sales pitch it was all down hill: poor response time, unqualified people doing work and signing off on other people's names, poor power output, the switch burst into flames, a smashed up roof left with tiles completely missing (explained by Solgen as 'probably been stolen!!??), blocked valleys to the point the water built up and our ceiling caved in, broken tiles under the panels, structure of the roof compromised ... and unfortunately I could go on. the response by Solgen - blaming everyone else, taking no responsibility, minimizing and lying. It has been both distressing and cost us 10's of 1000's of dollars. I strongly advise any considering this group to look elsewhere - anywhere but these immoral, shonky crooks!

We had Garry from Mark group come out to our house for a solar quote and we were very happy from the start with the service we receive, everthing was explained to us so it was easy to understand, having had several people out before to give quotes, Garry was by far the best. Unfortunatly we decided to not have the solar installed as our power bill is quite low and it isn't financially beneficial for us at this current time. When the time comes we will get our solar with Mark group.

Approximate cost: $5400

Initially I chose the Mark Group as their salesperson was very helpful & responsive and I liked the idea of the 'backing of a large company'.
Installation happened VERY quickly ... was a little more expensive as the switchboard needed replacing, but I liked the safety aspect of everything being 'overhauled'.
BUT a few weeks after installation we had a total power failure which ended up requiring a Powercor callout to replace the Main fuse ... the one at the eaves that the installers had to have removed several times during the installation of the system & replacement of the switchboard. The linesman said it was so old & corroded that we were lucky it hadn't caused a fire ... I would have expected that the 'Mark Group' installer should have noticed this & perhaps given us notice & we may have been able to avoid the $600 odd call-out fee.
THEN
Early in February I noticed on my inside meter that although it was a sunny day & no one else was home, there was no power generation ... Checked outside & sure enough the Inverter was dead. Tried all of the recommended steps to restart but no go ... then my nightmare started.

Getting through to the Mark Group was nigh on impossible ... Each time I was told an email would be sent to the Service department and I'd be called that afternoon or the next day - but it didn't happen. I tried calling State & National branches, faxing, emailing even sending a fax to the National Office addressed to the CEO ... NO RESPONSE AT ALL.

A week later I had a heated discussion with some poor receptionist and she was able to get someone from the Service Department to call me (albeit a day later than promised) and by Friday a team called in after an installation in the area & replaced a faulty isolator on the roof.

The moral of my story ... bigger may not be better! If I were the CEO of a the Australian branch of a worldwide organization I would certainly react in some fashion to a fax addressed to me personally - it should never have escalated to that level BUT it appears that the Mark Group have POOR after sales service & little to no local support ... you have to wait until an installation team happens to be in your area.

I doubt I would have had the same indifferent service from a LOCAL installer.

Approximate cost: $10,000

We had a 2.96kw solar panels installed by them just before the government reduced the rebate for electricity and were quite pleased with the quick service although it took awhile for the energy company to process the rebate due to heavy demand at that time. They did a good job & we prepared to change to a larger unit when we requested for it later as it wasn't availabe at the time of installation.

Approximate cost: $12,500

Had insulation done by the Mark Group. They are a reputable company from the UK that is similar to companies like Modern but a world apart. The sales rep that we had was the most genuine sales person I've ever encountered. Our house is small so they even suggested that we could insulate ourselves if we didn't have the budget. We used them with the thought we couldn't get the insulation rebate from the government because we already had solar hot water so we paid them. They still processed the claim anyway and was approved by the government. We called them and they even refunded our payment. I know that with other companies it would have been like getting water from a stone. Excellent work to them for GENUINE service!

Approximate cost: $1000