Knock Knock…..
You’re sitting at the dinner table about to clean up. There comes a knock at the door. It’s Sam the solar salesman…again. You have politely declined his presentations a few times already, but tonight, you invite him into your home….
Sam, with his big smile and charming wit explains the value of adding a solar panel system to your home. “Energy demand is going to make electric bills nationwide climb up excessively over the next few years ..huge data centers are going to require more and more electricity every day”, “electric bills have gone up steadily for years, Right Mr. Johnson?” Sam said, with an affirmative head nod. “What were you paying five years ago… a lot less, right? “It’s going to become very difficult to pay these bills in the coming years”. “Pal, let me show you how you can avoid this impending trouble and take full control of your electric bill for the next 25 years…”
“But I am seventy years old and probably won’t be here in 25 years” you tell Sam. ‘Ah, yes, that is the beauty of this program Mr. Johnson, when you pass away, your children will benefit from the decision you make tonight”. Sam has all of the right answers it seems.
And so begins your solar story. Sam explains that you can purchase your system with “no out of pocket costs using his solar loan…and,… the entire system is covered by a 25 year full warranty”.
Sam shows you the numbers. You’ll have some savings now he says, and.. You can lock in your payments and will be protected from the massive utility hikes that are looming around the corner.. Sam explains that the monthly solar loan investment will be $130.00, and then when you get your 30% tax rebate for thousands of dollars,… you simply pay that rebate back into the loan to keep your monthly payments at $130.00 otherwise the monthly payment goes up to $180.00. (Many of these victims don’t even get the simplified explanation)
The numbers are enticing. Sam, with his charming grin sits next to you with his tablet and walks you through the electronic signing process. It’s pretty simple, just press the yellow “sign here” buttons….
As Sam leaves, he confirms your new found lifetime friendship. You feel great about protecting yourself from the evil utility company and their large bill increases, you also have increased the value of your home… and… you are helping to save the planet!
“This is great.... Why doesn’t everyone do this?” Mrs. Johnson asks.. Sam agrees, again, with an affirmative head nod and then he asks you for a list of your friends and family that could also benefit from his services….. Promising you a referral bonus for anyone that you refer if they install a system.
Two months later you are excited to see the solar company trucks in your driveway. You are well underway to protect yourself from those huge electric rates… Oh look, Sam is here.. He is so nice!
What was not properly explained is that the Johnsons need to qualify for the federal tax credit that Sam told them they would receive. . Unfortunately, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are living off of social security plus Mr. Johnson's small pension. They don’t pay much in taxes and don’t qualify for the 30% tax refund Sam promised them…. In 18 months, their monthly solar bill jumps up to the $180.00 amount and they now have a large UCC-1 type lien on the home they worked hard for and paid off years ago. They are now paying more for solar than they paid the utility company.
A few weeks later, while having dinner, the phone rings. It is their neighbor and long time friend that they introduced to Sam. She is crying because she can’t afford the increased solar payment she just received…. and doesn't qualify for the tax credit.
This scenario plays out every day across America. And Sam, …. Sam is long gone. He doesn’t answer his phone and doesn’t return your calls.
Making matters worse is that some of the large solar finance companies that provided these loans have gone bankrupt in the last few years. This includes Sunnova, Mosaic, SunPower, Pink Energy, Suntuity, ADT, Vision, Titan, and Lumio to mention just a few. There will be more. Solar finance companies are having difficulty securing investors and the tax credit for homeowners is going away at the end of this year. Obtaining any type of system servicing in the future will become problematic for some of these customers. The likelihood is that there was also a UCC-1 filed on the solar system attached to the home. Although technically not a lien, it acts like one when you try to sell or refinance your home.
Time to file a lawsuit right.. Wrong. The solar contract forces the use of arbitration and doesn’t allow for regular or class action lawsuits.
Clearly there are large profits in these solar projects. A recent ad for sales representatives in Texas offers commission payouts of $20,000 - $40,000 per sale. This is not a typo.
Between the high sales commissions and the federal tax credits there is a lot of room for greed, deceptive, and predatory sales tactics. Maybe Congress knew this when they recently halted the federal tax credits…
The good news is that Consumer Protection Agencies, and the Attorney Generals in many states see these problems and are taking action on them. There are also potential remedies for these customers with the FTC, although a recent article suggested the FTC has 5000 pending solar cases, and a two year process. This may be worth the time and energy to do.
We can only hope the tax credit changes will drive the bad actors out of the solar industry and the reputable companies will thrive. It is worthwhile to mention that there are still many reputable solar companies doing good work, providing ethical sales processes and simple value loans.
What is your Solar Story?
John Ryan
Executive Director
Solar Escalations LLC
At Solar Escalations LLC, we assist solar customers when they have unresolved issues with their solar companies. From deceptive sales to leaky roofs and underperforming systems we see many complaint types. Having industry experience, we have a different strategy and approach to resolving your issue.
If we can assist you, or someone you know, please call us at 302-250-4888 or reach out to us on our website, www.solarescalations.com We provide a no cost initial phone appointment and we offer 10% discounts for Military and Emergency Service Workers.
The content above is a depiction of a scenario we see daily at Solar Escalations.
Solar Escalations is not a law firm or a tax advisor.