Am I being unreasonable asking an installer to itemise hardware at 0% VAT?
Looking for a sense check.
System (North East, single phase):
- Fogstar x Luxpower GEN PRO hybrid (10kW) + Fogstar IP65 16.1kWh battery
- Whole-home backup
- 8 × LONGi 480W (3.84kWp) on a flat garage roof
- G99 + MCS (planning to go on Flux)
First installer quoted about £8,400 at 0% VAT as a few lump sums. When I asked for a requote, I asked for the battery/inverter bundle and the panels to be shown as separate lines, at no more than retail ex VAT (£2,808 for the Fogstar bundle, about £85–90 per panel). Everything else could be priced however they liked.
They declined to quote, saying they need their margin to cover long-term warranty and service. Fair enough, and they were polite about it.
My reasoning: at 0% VAT I wanted to see that the VAT saving on the kit actually reaches me, rather than being absorbed into a lump sum. I'm happy to pay a fair price for labour, G99, MCS and aftercare.
Questions:
Is that an unreasonable ask? How do installers normally handle margin on kit?
Does ~£8,400 sound fair for this scope?
Any MCS installers in the North East happy to fit Fogstar/Luxpower?
Happy to be told I'm being unreasonable.