Several homeowners have very limited knowledge when it comes to solar panels, leaving them vulnerable to mis-sold solar panel scams. The hard truth is that misold solar panel scams are common. When you look up online for solar panel installation, you will see one article after another about solar panel companies and their schemes. This article will address some of the most common solar panel roofing scams and how you can avoid falling prey to them.
1. The Vanishing Solar Panel Installer
One of the most common solar panel roofing scams is the vanishing installer act. This scam is quite straightforward: you pay a down payment to a solar panel installer and they disappear forever. Victims to this scam are usually homeowners who cannot make an insurance claim. That is because, without an insurance claim, the mortgage company will not be involved, and scammers can run away with the money fairly easily. Even with the mortgage company in the equation, you should still be skeptical as there are some solar panel companies who would go as far as forging an approval from the mortgage company.
How to Avoid:
The easiest way to avoid this scam is to not give a solar panel installer the money in the first place. A good and honest roofer will not ask you for money without offering you anything in return. If they insist on getting their downpayment before doing the work, then what you can do is asking them to deliver important supplies before you pay them. Most scammers will often reveal themselves at this stage as they do not want to lose their precious materials that may be worth more than your downpayment.
2. Self funding solar panels and exaggerated benefits of a Solar PV system
The majority of mis-sold solar panels to customers involve home owners being misled at the time of sale by the sales team into wrongly believing that the solar panels they were about to buy would be self funding or that they pay for the initial costs by a method of ‘feed-in-tariff payments that either break even on the monthly repayments or actually being more and the promise they may make the home owner money!
How to Avoid:
It is understandable to fall for the lure of misleading benefits of a solar PV system but throughout any sales process you should be given accurate, detailed and true information before signing any solar panel agreements or contracts, this includes details about the fixed and variable costs, tariffs, savings, earnings, benefits and any special offers. A sales person must not act aggressively to try and persuade you to sign up, the sales person should not over stay their welcome or repeatedly pester you, nor should they target vulnerable people or those who are clearly not of sound mind to enter into a contract.
3. Poor installation or workmanship and different goods than specified
In their rush to get a customer installed and begin the bank roll of getting mis sold solar panel funds running, some companies won’t uphold the agreed contract. Often different amounts of goods were given when panels wouldn’t really fit, without a new agreement set in place. Sometimes different products were given and customers didn’t find out until after the installation. The installation quality and workmanship of these types of companies were sometimes less than professional as well.
How to Avoid:
Any home owners that have been mis-sold solar panels in this way or you have you have experienced any of the above, contact us and we may be able to help you with your claim.
It should be stated that, in order to make a claim, you must have paid for a part of the whole of your system via credit or finance. This is because claims are made through section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act which says that the credit card/ finance company is jointly and severally liable for any breach of contract or misrepresentation by the company who sold you the goods.
The Bottom Line
Ever since we are young, our parents taught us to not trust strangers or even talk to them. Well, this advice still applies to adults. By now, you should already know that the world is a dangerous place, where scammers are roaming everywhere. The most important thing is to always be cautious with strangers or shady companies, especially ones that come knocking on your door to offer a solar panel installation service or ring you promising inflated benefits. However, if you have already fallen victim to a mis sold solar scam, contact us right away and let us help you claim your rights and get your money back.
If you’re looking for someone to help you get compensation for your mis-sold solar panels, contact us today! We’re specialists in getting a considerable amount of your money back & then some! Get in touch for a free consultation.
At Consumer Reclaim, we fight to get you the best offer possible when it comes to mis sold Solar. If you have Solar Panels installed and feel that you were mis sold, we can help. We can pursue claims with a settlement that involves you keeping your solar system as well as having it removed without charge. Now could not be a better time to start your claim as we begin to see the main Lenders admit liability.
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