IBT Controls (Also Trading As EnTech) Promised Me Total Home Automation With KNX, But All I Got Was Added Expense And Months Of Misery

 Approximately thirteen months ago, I signed a contract with EnTech (also known as IBT Controls) of Bredbury, Stockport. I paid them more than £11,000 for the installation of a KNX intelligent home control system as part of an extensive refurbishment of my house. Now, almost six months after the system went live, my buyers’ remorse is absolute.

I’m a writer, so I started this blog to review my experiences with the company. As you can probably guess from my introduction, these experiences have been almost completely negative.

There are many reasons why I wouldn’t recommend IBT Controls. To cut a very long story short, here are the top three:

1)    EnTech/IBT Controls failed to deliver a working installation

Ever since the system went live in June 2017, there has been no part of it untouched by significant problems. Despite numerous visits, three separate project engineers have failed to make it work. Each time an engineer visits, new and mysterious malfunctions arise, sometimes just minutes after the engineer has left.

At the time of writing, the main control panel has failed and half of the house is unheated. Among other issues, I don’t have ‘smart’ control of my heating or lighting.

Unsurprisingly, I have lost all trust and faith in the ability of EnTech/IBT Controls to effect a repair. Their KNX installation in my home is obviously unfit for purpose.

2)    They appear to be institutionally customer-unfriendly

I know that problems and speed bumps occur with every significant project, but what matters is how these problems are explained to the customer, and how they are solved. From the start, IBT Controls/EnTech were incredibly bad at the customer liaison part of this equation.

For example, after a long period of hearing nothing at the beginning of the project, I wanted to know when the original project engineer was likely to be able to start the installation. He replied by email that I’d, “…just have to be patient”.

I’d say that this just about sums up the company’s approach to their customers. It seems as though everything is done purely to suit corporate convenience, regardless of how much expense or disruption this may cause the customer.

3)    They won’t take responsibility for problem solving

Remember the problem-solving equation I mentioned above? Well, the company has also failed to impress with their attitude towards troubleshooting.

This is my biggest issue with IBT Controls/EnTech. Whenever I have reported a specific problem to the project engineers or management, they’ve immediately and reflexively blamed whichever third party they could think of.

Sometimes this even included me, for allegedly not having sufficient familiarity with the system (and, well, if you have to actually study a home control system in depth to get the hang of using it, then I’d say it’s really badly designed).

My distinct impression is that the company prefers to invest time and energy in abdicating responsibility rather than in getting results for the customer.

My review of IBT Controls (AKA EnTech): conclusion

Over a year ago, I paid EnTech/IBT Controls more than £11,000 to install a KNX home automation system in my newly-refurbished house. Their salesman assured me that the system was scalable to include smart control of practically everything in my home: blinds, sound system, security, even automated bath-filling.

Alas, the installation the company provided doesn’t even successfully control the heating, the lights, or monitor the energy consumption of my fridge (at one point, during the hottest part of the year, it spontaneously shut down my fridge and freezer).

I’m so tired of the sheer misery caused by this faulty installation that I’m in the process of arranging to have it removed and replaced with something less smart but more reliable. Don’t tell the company, but I’d rather pay twice than put up with the ongoing problems caused by their unsuccessful work.

Winter is coming, it’s not even very cold yet, and already some parts of my house are permanently freezing, some are sometimes freezing, and some are randomly sweltering. I can’t control my heating or lighting remotely, and my bedside light flashes like a 1970s disco whenever I switch it off.

Enough is enough.

At the time of writing, IBT Controls/EnTech have repeatedly refused to issue me with either a partial or complete refund, even though I am entitled to this under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. They have also refused to remove the faulty system.

“What next?” I’m sure you’re wondering if you’ve managed to read this far. Well, I’m an optimist, so let’s hope I’ll eventually be back to tell you a tale of last-minute co-operation and harmony.

I’ll update this blog as the situation develops. Watch this space.