Tivium escapes prosecution after Green Deal payback agreed

Tyneside pensioner Adam Harvey paid £199 but did not receive a new boiler

Directors of a firm that failed to provide home improvements in a government energy efficiency scheme will not be prosecuted after agreeing to pay back victims more than £100,000.

The now defunct Gateshead-based Tivium Limited charged up to £299 to assess properties for Green Deal improvements.

Father-and-son Andrew and Jonathan Matthews agreed via solicitors to refund payments to 372 people.

A trial at Newcastle Crown Court had been due to begin on 20 March.

Trading standards officials in Gateshead have confirmed it would no longer be in the public interest to pursue the firm.

Their investigation into the firm began in 2013 and the BBC highlighted customer concerns the following year.

'Appropriate refunds'

The Green Deal was a Government-backed scheme offering incentives on energy efficiency measures such as double-glazing, insulation and boilers.

Customers paid Tivium £299 for an assessor to make a report into whether their household qualified.

A trading standards spokesman said: "This week at a pre-trial hearing, their solicitors agreed that the directors would refund 372 consumers a sum amounting to £108,146.

"As a result, we felt it was now no longer in the public interest to pursue a costly prosecution given that the appropriate refunds had now been provided.

"We therefore decided to discontinue legal action."

The directors' solicitor Sam Healey, welcomed the decision.

The Department for Energy and Climate Change announced in July 2015 that Green Deal funding would be scrapped, citing low take-up and concerns about industry standards.