‘It’s bad news when someone tells you your pension’s gone’

Andy Tulse, 59, whose name has been changed, invested £800,000 in Dolphin Trust in 2014 and has only received £100,000 back in interest payments. Mr Tulse said he feared he would never see his money again. He invested after coming across the group on the SippClub website of introducer Brian Bennis. Mr Tulse funded it partly with the sale of a business and partly with his self-invested private pension. He said: “It is bad news when someone says your pension is gone. It makes my blood boil but we won’t give up without a fight.” Mr Tulse said the brochures were convincing and, having previously worked in property, he was confident that the investments could generate large returns. Comprehensive brochures sent to British investors in 2016 claimed the loan notes were for “safety-conscious investors” in a 36-page long marketing campaign. German Property Group sent prospective investors charts, explanations of the business process and facts about the German property market.

A £1bn funding cut and admin problems mean 450,000 households will miss out on Green Homes Grants worth up to £5,000 each.

The Government has extended the scheme until March 2022, but it has quietly opted not to roll over the unused funding to the next financial year. This means only £320m worth of vouchers will be available in the coming 12 months, equivalent to a £1bn shortfall, and only enough for 80,000 households.

Under the scheme, homeowners can apply for grants worth up to £ 5,000 ( or £ 10,000 for those on lower incomes) to make energy-saving changes to their homes.

It was designed to help 600,000 homeowners save up to £600 a year on bills. But due to the funding cut

‘There aren’t enough installers and customers can’t get quotes. People are losing patience’

and admin issues, approximately only 150,000 will get vouchers – 25pc of the target. The Government cited low interest due to the pandemic as justification for cutting the funds. But wider problems have hit uptake.

Jess Ralston, of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, a non-profit organisation, said: “Actually demand is really high. The application process can’t keep up.”

Paula Higgins, of the HomeOwners Alliance, an advice website, said: “There aren’t enough installers, customers can’t get quotes. People are rapidly losing patience. They are finding it almost impossible to access.”

Government figures showed 66,900 households had a total of 100,200 applications in progress at the end of January. Of these, only one in five had a voucher issued. Just 2,600 households have had any work done – 0.4pc of the 600,000 target.

A Government spokesman said that the scheme was designed as a shortterm stimulus.

“However, the prevalence of Covid-19 since the scheme’s launch in September last year has led to an understandable reluctance on the part of the public to welcome tradespeople into their homes,” he added.

Proportion of property in Gwynedd that is a second home 10% House price growth in the past two years in Gwynedd 4% New surcharge on additional property transactions in Wales from April, up from 3pc