These notes have been prepared to assist applicants to understand the membership application process.

Firstly, applicants must complete an Application Form in full, including Parts 1 and 2. Both parts of the Application Form (complete with supporting documents) must be completed and submitted before a business can be considered for membership.

The form must be completed by a director, owner or partner. Please do not ask a junior member of staff to complete the application on your behalf. Each application is considered on its merits and applications are scrutinised carefully. By providing any false or misleading information in any part of the application process is a disciplinary matter which is likely to result in your application being rejected or expulsion from the Scheme.

Completing the Application Form

General details

The first part of the Application Form asks you for some general details about your company such as contact details, the technologies you deal with, regions you operate in and how many employees you have working with renewables (including office staff and sales representatives).

If you sign contracts with domestic consumers directly, please choose ‘domestic’ under work types. If you sign contracts with other businesses only, rather than directly with consumers, then please choose ‘Commercial’ only.

You will also be asked to pay the Application Fee at this point.

Declarations

In Part 1, you will also be asked to make a number of important legal declarations. For example, the form asks you to declare that no director, senior staff, partner etc. of your company has been involved with a company that has gone into liquidation in the past five years.

It is essential that you make these declarations truthfully, and that you inform us if any relevant circumstance should change during the application process.

Part 2 - The Self-Assessment Form

Once you have completed Part 1 of the Application Form and paid the Application Fee, then you must complete Part 2 - the Self-Assessment Form.

Part 2 of the form is an important aspect of the application process. The purpose is to ensure compliance with the Code and consumer law. As you run through the form you will see that there are several key compliance areas.

As a member of RECC you will have access to various compliant model documents that you can use. If you intend to use these then please choose RECC model documents on the Self-Assessment Form, where appropriate. Using these documents is the most effective means of ensuring compliance with the relevant sections of the Code.

Supporting evidence

As part of the Self-Assessment you will be asked to submit supporting documentation to demonstrate compliance with the Code. You can find a full list of what supporting documents are required here. For example, if you indicate on the Self-Assessment that you currently protect your Workmanship Warranty through an insurance backed guarantee (IBG) scheme you will be asked to upload evidence of your registration with an IBG provider. Similarly, if you operate telesales you will be asked to submit your telesales script.

What happens after you have submitted your form in full?

Once you have completed your Application Form in full, including uploading supporting documents and paying the Application Fee, your application will be officially submitted to RECC for consideration. You will receive an automated email with an application reference number and temporary log in details to access RECC’s model documents on its website.

Your application will then be reviewed by the membership team. We aim to start reviewing applications within 2 - 3 weeks of receiving them, but please be aware that the process can take longer if we require additional information or evidence as part of our due-diligence checks.

Due-diligence Checks

As part of a comprehensive monitoring programme your Application Form will be reviewed by the membership team. We review advertising and documentation for compliance with the Code, consumer protection legislation and Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) standards. We also review director and business trading history. If we require further details or additional supporting evidence someone from the membership team will contact you directly.

Acceptance or Rejection

The majority of businesses, and individuals associated with those businesses, that apply to join RECC are ‘fit and proper’ and compliant with the Code. These companies will be asked to pay the annual Membership Fee, before being sent a welcome pack, including their RECC certificate.

However, RECC might be minded to give the applicant temporary membership and set conditions, or reject an application in line with the circumstances listed in the Bye-Laws. In these cases, an applicant can choose to be referred to the independent Applications Panel.

The Applications Panel process is set out here.

The decision of the Applications Panel will be final. Applicants are not barred from re-applying in the future, although the same criteria will be applied in reviewing their application.

Further Questions

If you have any further questions about applying for membership please contact membership@recc.org.uk or phone 0207 981 0850.