5 Most Common Solar Panel Scams and How To Avoid Them

Installing solar energy on your roof has a lot of benefits, since most people are going solar each and every day there are a lot of scammers out there trying to get them, here are the 5 most common solar panel scams and how to avoid them.

5 Most Common Solar Panel Scams

No one wants to be scammed, and it makes me very sad to see so many people fall for these scammers, here I am going to share with you, the common solar panel scams so that you can be able to spot them.

Deceptive Lease Agreements

There are many solar companies out there that will try to sell you a lease or power purchase agreement (PPA) under false claims.

They package their offer as “$0 down on owning solar panels” or “solar panels at no cost.”  and they tend to make people sign long-term contracts with them and pay almost double the amount of money under contracts that are almost impossible to get out.

They take advantage of people who do not have enough money upfront but want to go solar. To be honest, these agreements can be a great way to go solar but only if there is a fair and honorable contract.

In another post, I write about how you can get out of these types of contracts, you can read it here.

Fake Utility Representatives

This is another of the most common solar panel scams, this scam works like this, the fraudulent company will appear as a utility representative and try to hook the homeowners to sign a solar panel contract with them.

The easiest way to spot this type of scam is when speaking to a homeowner, they will make any number of claims, such as:

  • There are new state or federal tax credits.
  • State or federal tax incentives are running out.
  • You can save up to 70% on your electricity bill.
  • You can eliminate your electricity bill entirely.

If the claims seem to be too good to be true, probably they are.

Fake ads

This is another common scam, this scam works like this, the fraudulent solar panel company or its associate will create a fake ad that will target a certain group of people or area.

They will offer you an incentive to give them your email and/or phone number, they will tell you that you need to provide some info including your zip code, phone number, and email address so that they can verify if you qualify for the offer.

If you provide them with such information, they will start to contact you all the time to try to sell you their scam.

Cold calls

Some companies have this bad habit of harvesting your information online, or they will buy it illegally, the problem is that if they get your information, especially a phone number, they will start to call you nonstop to try to make you purchase their scam solar panel system.

High-pressure sales tactics to sign up on the spot

This is another common solar panel scam, the way this scam works is that the salesperson will use high-pressure sales tactics to try to pressure you to buy into their scam.

If you the salesperson start to offer things like instant incentives, and cashback, this is a good sign that it could be a scam.

How to avoid solar panel scams

No one wants to get scammed. it is sad that still many people are falling for these scams. 

Yup, scammers are running rampant these days, especially within the solar energy industry.

The last thing you need is to get scammed when you’re trying to put solar panels into your roof. here is how to avoid solar panel scams.

Do your research

Of course, there are a lot of good companies out there, do your research and figure out what companies you can trust.

What I recommend to do is to find someone who already has solar panels and ask them about the solar company that did the installation.

Also when you speak with the solar company ask the right questions, listen to their answers and take notes, here are 20 questions you can ask a solar company.

Don’t give in to high-pressure sales tactics

Scammers are out there doing everything they can to get you. Those con artists want to provoke an emotional reaction that would cause you to give in to their requests without thinking it through.

Take your time and know that a legitimate company won’t pressure you to act. If someone is using aggressive sales tactics on you, it’s best to cut off communication immediately.

Get Multiple bids

When you decide it is time to go solar, contact several solar installers if you plan on going solar and get bids from each company. If someone is pulling a scam, it will be much easier to spot this way.

Conclusion

That is it, those are the 5 most common solar panel scams and how to avoid them. Installing solar panels can be one of the biggest investments, make sure you invest your money in the right way and not give it to scammers.

 

 

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