Solar Hub NZ is in liquidation, and the deposits went in first

Solar Hub NZ Limited went into liquidation at 3:30pm on Tuesday 13 October 2026, by a special resolution of its own shareholders. Its website came down the same day. The customers now talking to Stuff and Newsroom tell the same story in the same order: a quick, friendly quote, a deposit of around 60% paid in June or July, an install date, then a cancellation within days and months of excuses. The founder and sole director, Yogesh Chand, was chief operating officer at SolarZero before that company collapsed in 2024. The industry body suspended Solar Hub six weeks before the end and found out about the liquidation a few days after it happened. Creditors have until 11 November to lodge a claim.

Key Points

• Liquidated 13 October 2026 by shareholder resolution. Liquidators Chiragkumar Patel and Gareth Hoole. Claims must be lodged by 11 November 2026.
• Customers describe deposits of $6,000 to $13,140 paid from June, installs cancelled within days, new invoices in the final week, and silence from 1 October.
• Founder Yogesh Chand was SolarZero's chief operating officer. The company sponsored Auckland FC and the Blues and sought $5m from investors at a $22m valuation on a $33,000 profit.
• SEANZ suspended Solar Hub's membership about six weeks before the liquidation and then revoked it. A membership logo on a quote is not a guarantee on the day you pay.
• A deposit to a company in liquidation is an unsecured claim. Lodge it with the liquidators, ask your card issuer about a chargeback if you paid by card, and register with SEANZ.

What happened, in order

Solar Hub was founded in 2021 by Yogesh Chand and his wife Sangita. The Companies Office shows the Chands holding 99.84% of the shares, with 19 small shareholders holding the rest. The company sponsored Auckland FC, which named it official energy and sustainability partner in 2024, and the Blues. Late last year it opened a capital raise on the Catalist platform, seeking $5 million at a $22 million valuation. The information memorandum showed revenue of $6.2 million in 2025 and an after-tax profit of $33,000, and told investors to expect $13.4 million of revenue and a $4.2 million profit by 2028.

The customer timelines run in parallel. In Taranaki, Carey Rielly paid a $6,000 deposit in early June and was given a late-July install date. Two days after the deposit cleared the install was cancelled, and the months since were excuses, missed calls and unanswered emails; a lawyer he hired got no reply either. In Moeraki, Lesley Campbell signed in June and paid $13,140. Her install was booked for early September and cancelled on the day because the panels were not available. The last contact she had was on 1 October. In Te Aroha, Ted Wensing and his wife paid $12,600 for a 22 September install. On 21 September it moved to 8 October because of the crew; on 7 October they were told there was no stock. New invoices for money owed "at the start of installation" kept arriving, one of them on 8 October, five days before the liquidation. On Facebook, another customer says they paid $26,000, and installers say they have not been paid for Solar Hub jobs they completed.

On 13 October the shareholders put the company into liquidation under section 241(2)(a) of the Companies Act, and Chiragkumar Patel and Gareth Hoole were appointed joint and several liquidators. The website was taken down the same afternoon; Campbell found out the next morning. The liquidators have fixed 11 November 2026 as the last day for creditors to lodge claims. The Commerce Commission says it has received four complaints about Solar Hub: two assessed with no action at this time, two still being assessed. SEANZ says Chand had returned to Fiji and was running the company from there. Reporters could not reach him.

What SEANZ did, and when

Solar Hub was a SEANZ member. Chief executive Brendan Winitana told Stuff the association worked a growing list of complaints through its dispute process over several months. The early ones were technical faults and jobs not finished. Then a customer who could not get a deposit back took Solar Hub to the Disputes Tribunal and won, and the company did nothing about the ruling. SEANZ contacted Chand in Fiji. More complaints followed. "The alarm bells went off," Winitana said. The membership was suspended about six weeks before the liquidation, and revoked when the company failed to respond to repeated requests to fix the outstanding cases. "Then we found out a few days later they were in liquidation."

SEANZ now runs a registration page for affected customers and is asking them to record their circumstances so it can look for support options with manufacturers and installers. It also points buyers to Solassure, its new certification for installers. The lesson for anyone reading a quote is narrower than that: a membership logo tells you the company was a member on the day it joined. Check the directory the day you sign, and check it again the day you pay.

If you paid Solar Hub a deposit

• Lodge a claim with the liquidators before 11 November 2026. A deposit is an unsecured claim. It ranks behind secured creditors and employees, and the Disputes Tribunal cannot order a company in liquidation to pay you, so the claim is the route.
• If you paid by credit card, ask your card issuer about a chargeback today. If you paid by bank transfer, you are in the creditor queue with everyone else.
• Register on SEANZ's affected-customer page, so the industry's support effort knows your job exists and what state it is in.
• If your system was installed, the panel and inverter warranties belong to the manufacturers and survive. The workmanship warranty died with the company. Make sure you hold the Certificate of Compliance and the Electrical Safety Certificate from the electrician who signed the job.
• If your install never happened, do not pay the "money owed at installation" invoices some customers received in the final days.
• If you think you were sold a date the company knew it could not meet, complain to the Commerce Commission. It has four complaints on file and is assessing two.

How not to be next

Solar Hub is the fourth New Zealand solar company to fail since November 2024, after SolarZero, Guru NZ and Solar Group. The checks that would have flagged it are the same four every time: cap the deposit at 10 to 20% and pay by credit card; verify the company at companies.govt.nz and each electrician at ewrb.govt.nz; get the panel and inverter model numbers in writing; and make the contract name who holds the deposit. Our solar scams guide walks through each one and now carries Solar Hub as its fourth case, and the quote guide shows what a complete quote looks like before any money moves.

Right of reply, and our corrections policy

Keep reading

29 April 2026StudySolar

Solar Scams in NZ: Real Cases and What They Look Like

Read the guide

29 April 2026GuideSolar

How to Read a Solar Quote: The Kiwi Buyer's Guide

Read the guide

28 March 2026ReviewSolar

Best Solar Installers NZ (2026)

Read the guide

Sources

All fetched 19 October 2026.

Primary

• Solar Hub NZ Limited (in liquidation): notice of appointment of liquidators and notice to creditors, NZ Herald public notices, 15 October 2026
• Solar Hub NZ liquidation: support for affected customers, SEANZ, October 2026

Reporting

• SolarZero exec's new firm liquidated, leaving customers once burnt, twice shy, Andrew Bevin, Newsroom, 15 October 2026
• Solar company collapses, leaving customers thousands of dollars out of pocket, Stuff, October 2026
• Solar company goes bust, leaving customers chasing thousands in deposits, Indian Weekender, October 2026