Solar-panel salespeople who rip off older people and families trying to make ends meet have joined dishonest timeshare salespeople in my book of some of the worst crooks on the planet.
Let me be clear: Rooftop solar technology is great. It works, but when it breaks down, hundreds of thousands of owners across the country can't obtain service because of dealer bankruptcies.
This should be seen as a warning: If you are seriously considering buying or leasing solar panels, now very likely might not be a good time to pursue installing a system.
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Perhaps in a few years, the solar industry will have cleaned up its act and make sound financial sense, but I don't think so today.
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Beginning in 2023, I started receiving about two to five calls each week from folks who were unable to obtain dealer service on their rooftop solar system.
Sometimes they believed they were intentionally ignored, but increasingly, as dealers have filed for bankruptcy, their customers had nowhere else to turn.
But the number of calls I got was nothing in comparison to what Southern California attorney Kevin Kneupper and his associates around the country receive.
"We get between 50 and 100 calls a week on solar," he said. "Every time there's a bankruptcy, a stack of phone messages and emails appears from frustrated, angry people who have systems that haven't worked for months, and they can't obtain service."
Kneupper's consumer protection law firm is one of the few that have concentrated on this explosive financial tragedy that stands as a powerful warning.
"From what we are seeing every day," he said, "this is not the right time for such a purchase. Today, in good conscience, I could not advise a friend to get into solar."
From boom to bust
For years, they were financial stars. Today, solar companies are going out of business at a frightening rate — more than 100 this year alone, Complete Solar Solutions estimates, which also notes on its website: "According to the California Solar & Storage Association, the ripple effects are staggering: Tens of thousands of delayed installations, more than 17,000 jobs lost and a surge in bankruptcies across the industry."
Kneupper pointed out, "Solar's explosive growth was not based on sound business principles, but on government incentives, tax credits and low interest rates. When those things were taken away, castles built on sand collapsed. And let's not forget criminal behavior."
In that, he includes:
- Predatory financing
- False claims of "free solar panel systems"
- Exaggerated energy savings and claims that rooftop solar panels are an investment that will increase the value of a home
- High-pressure sales tactics, such as tricking people into signing a contract
- Subpar installations, failure to complete projects, negligent maintenance service
- Refusal to honor warranties
- Making sales to older people despite knowing they have dementia
- Conducting a sale in Spanish but presenting a contract in English
- Gross misrepresentations and omissions regarding potential tax credits and benefits
Hanford, Calif., tax preparer MaryBeth Jones said taxpayers who have acquired a solar panel system often come into her office "wanting to know about federal and state tax benefits. Regularly, the tax information given to them by the salesperson is completely wrong."
Promises vs reality
Many homeowners who leased solar panel systems were told that the value of their home would increase with the addition of solar and that maintenance would be provided by the dealer for the life of the system. They were also told that selling a property with leased solar panels would be no problem.
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As Kneupper observed, reality is something else: "Leasing a solar system, contrary to sales representations, typically winds up costing the home seller thousands of dollars. This is because many buyers may not want to continue the current lease agreement or deal with the expense and repairs needed to remove the panels.
"Just ask any real estate agent about deals that fell through with homes that had a leased solar system. Add to that the grief of what happens when the dealer goes out of business and maintenance comes to a sudden stop."
The FTC's Holder Rule to the rescue
Let's say you have a non-functioning system that included maintenance and repairs, but the dealer has gone out of business. Your contract was sold to a finance company or debt buyer, who picked it up for pennies on the dollar in the bankruptcy, and they demand payment from you but are not offering to provide the promised warranty service.
So, you tell them, "I'm not paying unless you provide me with the promised service on my system."
Kneupper has these warnings and recommendations:
- Speak with an attorney who handles solar matters, or if you are unable to locate such a lawyer in your area, then try a debt collection defense attorney who can stop aggressive or illegal debt collection activities. Discuss your options.
- A lien might have been filed against your property, and one of these companies may try to foreclose — you could lose your home — so this makes getting a lawyer involved immediately absolutely critical.
- Become familiar with the Federal Trade Commission Holder Rule, which makes lenders and debt buyers subject to all claims and defenses the consumer could bring against the seller.
So, if your solar panel installer goes out of business and doesn't honor the warranty, you can bring a breach-of-contract claim against the lender that financed the purchase or the company that bought the debt.
If you file a claim under the Holder Rule, you may be entitled to:
- A full refund of any payments made on the loan
- Cancellation of the remaining loan balance
- Compensation for your attorney's fees
Not necessarily a slam-dunk
Kneupper cautions, "Because of the devious ways some contracts have been written, on occasion it is virtually impossible to find a lawyer to take your case. Ideally, if a lawyer does accept your case, it will be on a contingent fee basis, where the attorney is paid only if he wins."
Finally, let's say that you really want to get solar panels now. Is there a way to vet the survivability of a company you're considering working with?
Not that I know of. And that's the problem — there is no way to know if the company you deal with will be around tomorrow.
Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield, Calif., and welcomes comments and questions from readers, which may be faxed to (661) 323-7993, or e-mailed to Lagombeaver1@gmail.com. And be sure to visit dennisbeaver.com.
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