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Sunburnt
An 81-year-old woman living on Social Security, told to press her finger to a tablet, not knowing what she was signing. Forged signatures. A 78-year-old native Spanish speaker locked into a $48,000 loan. Sales made in Spanish but documents only provided in English. Sales pitches full of misleading information, if not outright lies.
These are just some of the many horror stories that have come out of the door-to-door solar sales industry in recent years, according to interviews with advocates and attorneys. The tactics read like the work of faceless internet scammers, but are actually being used by charming men and women promising homeowners cheaper, more energy-efficient lives that can go a small way toward saving the planet. In reality, these salespeople often target the elderly or non-English speakers, and trap consumers into loans that they can’t afford.
During the Biden administration, it looked like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was going to step in and regulate aspects of the solar sales and lending industry. But now, under the Trump administration, the CFPB has largely been gutted, and the hope of regulatory change has been snuffed out. That leaves advocates and lawyers in limbo, but most importantly, leaves scam victims vulnerable.
The average residential solar panel installation costs $25,000, which few homeowners can afford to pay out of pocket. That makes taking out loans a popular option; 58 percent of households with solar panels used loans to finance them.
These are just some of the many horror stories that have come out of the door-to-door solar sales industry in recent years, according to interviews with advocates and attorneys. The tactics read like the work of faceless internet scammers, but are actually being used by charming men and women promising homeowners cheaper, more energy-efficient lives that can go a small way toward saving the planet. In reality, these salespeople often target the elderly or non-English speakers, and trap consumers into loans that they can’t afford.
During the Biden administration, it looked like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was going to step in and regulate aspects of the solar sales and lending industry. But now, under the Trump administration, the CFPB has largely been gutted, and the hope of regulatory change has been snuffed out. That leaves advocates and lawyers in limbo, but most importantly, leaves scam victims vulnerable.
The average residential solar panel installation costs $25,000, which few homeowners can afford to pay out of pocket. That makes taking out loans a popular option; 58 percent of households with solar panels used loans to finance them.
https://prospect.org/environment/2025-05-29-sunburnt-solar-salespeople-scam-homeowners/