18 Documented
Solar Industry Scams.

Forged or traced
signatures.

The most directly actionable pattern. Door-to-door sales reps obtain a signature on a single page (often a "credit check authorization" or "preliminary site survey") and then copy or trace that signature onto the actual financing contract or PPA. Homeowner never signed the binding document.

This pattern is especially common with e-signature platforms where the sales rep holds the homeowner's email or signs the document themselves while standing in the home. Forensic signature analysis can prove the forgery in court, and most contracts signed this way are unenforceable.

Reference: Henderson v. Sunrun (FL, 2024) · Sunnova Multi-state Complaints (2024-2025)

Hidden dealer fees of
18–30% markup.

Solar lenders (GoodLeap, Mosaic, Sunlight Financial, and others) charge dealers a "buy-down" fee to offer low advertised APRs (e.g., 1.99% or 2.99%). Dealers pass this fee back to the homeowner by inflating the system cash price by 18-30%. The fee is real money the homeowner pays but is never disclosed as a separate line item on the financing documents.

If a system would cost $30,000 cash, the same system financed at a "low rate" might appear at $38,000-$42,000. The homeowner pays the difference but the financing documents disclose only the financed amount, not the markup. This is the central allegation in the In re GoodLeap MDL and the CFPB consent order against Mosaic.

Reference: In re GoodLeap MDL 3168 · CFPB v. Mosaic (Nov 2024)

Misrepresented utility
savings.

The single most common sales pitch: "This system will eliminate your electric bill." In reality, most systems offset only 60-85% of usage. Sales reps inflate projected savings by assuming aggressive utility rate increases (8-10% annually) that have no basis in actual utility filings, while ignoring net metering policy changes (especially CA's NEM 3.0) that reduced solar economics dramatically after 2023.

Many homeowners now find their monthly outgoings have increased: they pay both a solar loan/lease payment and a residual utility bill that turned out larger than promised.

Reference: Diaz v. Sunnova (AZ, 2025) · FTC v. Sunrun (2023)

Undisclosed UCC-1
fixture liens.

Solar leases and PPAs almost always include UCC-1 fixture filings against the homeowner's property — effectively a lien on the home for the value of the panels. These filings cloud title and can block refinancing, HELOCs, or home sales until the lender releases them. The filing is rarely disclosed at signing.

When the homeowner tries to refinance or sell, they discover the lien and learn the solar company will only release it for a "buyout" of the remaining lease/PPA balance — often $30,000-$60,000.

Reference: SunPower Lease Holders — Multi-state Quiet Title Actions

PACE loan property-tax
predation.

Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans are repaid through property tax assessments, making them non-recourse to the homeowner but creating first-priority liens that supersede mortgages. They are typically sold to homeowners who can't qualify for conventional financing — disproportionately elderly, low-income, and Spanish-speaking households.

Default = property tax delinquency = potential foreclosure. PACE programs in CA, FL, and MO have been subject to ongoing AG enforcement and the multi-state class action filed March 2025.

Reference: Multi-state PACE Class Action (Mar 2025)

Targeting elderly &
cognitively impaired.

Sales reps systematically target homes likely to be occupied by elderly residents — single-story, paid-off, well-maintained — during weekday business hours when adult children aren't around. Many states have specific elder-financial-abuse statutes that make these contracts void or rescindable on those grounds alone.

The Pearson v. GoodLeap case ($2.4M individual settlement) involved an 82-year-old with documented cognitive decline who was sold a 25-year solar loan totaling $94,000 financed on a system worth $34,000. Courts have repeatedly voided these contracts.

Reference: Pearson v. GoodLeap (CA, 2024) · CA AG v. Sunrun Subsidiaries (2025)

Bait-and-switch on
system size & price.

Initial quote shows a smaller system at a lower price. Final contract — signed during a separate "documents" visit days later — quietly upsizes the system by 1-3 kW and proportionally increases the total cost by $8,000-$15,000. Homeowner doesn't catch the change until install.

Fake utility-rate-increase
urgency.

"Sign tonight — utility rates are going up 22% next quarter, this rebate expires Friday, we only have one install slot left in your zip code." None of these statements are typically true. Genuine utility rate increases are filed publicly months in advance and don't expire on a sales rep's timeline.

Right-to-cancel rights
buried or withheld.

The federal Truth in Lending Act and most state door-to-door sales laws give homeowners 3 business days to rescind. Solar reps regularly fail to provide the required rescission notice, provide it in tiny print buried at the end of a 40-page document, or affirmatively misstate that there is "no cancellation right." Many contracts signed under these conditions are rescindable for years.

Undisclosed PPA
escalator clauses.

Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) almost always include annual rate escalators of 2.9-4.5%. By year 15, the homeowner is paying more per kWh from the solar lease than they would have from the utility. These escalators are often disclosed only in a footnote on page 23 while the headline pitch is "lower than your utility forever."

Tax credit value
misrepresentation.

The 30% federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) only applies if the homeowner has sufficient federal tax liability to absorb it. Retirees, low-income homeowners, and those on disability often have little or no tax liability — meaning the "30% off" disappears entirely. Sales reps routinely promise the credit without checking, leaving homeowners with the full financed amount and no tax offset.

Performance warranty
fraud.

The "production guarantee" advertised at sign-up is often unenforceable in practice: the guarantee provider either no longer exists, has gone bankrupt (see: SunPower), or includes carve-outs that exclude most real-world underperformance. Homeowners discover their panels are producing 30-40% below promised output with no recourse.

Failure to vet sales
contractors.

Major solar companies (Sunrun, Sunnova, GoodLeap) operate through vast networks of third-party "dealers" — many of whom have prior consumer-fraud complaints, unlicensed status, or no permanent business address. The parent company markets these dealers under its brand while disclaiming responsibility for their conduct. Courts have repeatedly found this disclaimer unenforceable when the parent benefited from the sale.

Spanish-language consumer
abuse.

California Civil Code §1632 and similar statutes in TX, FL, NM, and AZ require contracts negotiated in Spanish to be provided in Spanish. Solar reps routinely negotiate in Spanish at the door, then provide English-only contracts for signature. This violation alone can void the contract under state consumer-protection statutes — without requiring proof of any other deception.

Impersonating utility
companies.

Sales reps claim to be from "the utility company" or to be conducting a "neighborhood energy assessment" on behalf of PG&E, SCE, FPL, or similar. They wear vests resembling utility uniforms and present documents that look like utility correspondence. This is straightforward consumer fraud actionable under federal and state UDAP statutes.

Loan vs. lease vs. PPA
confusion.

The three financing structures (purchase loan, lease, PPA) have radically different consequences for ownership, tax credit eligibility, lien status, and home resale. Reps routinely conflate them or actively misrepresent which the homeowner is signing. Homeowners who believe they "bought" the system often discover they actually signed a 25-year lease they don't own outright.

Incomplete or abandoned
installations.

Especially common with smaller regional installers and post-SunPower-bankruptcy. Panels are installed but never inspected, never connected to the grid, never produce a kWh — yet the loan or lease payments begin on schedule. When the installer goes bankrupt or stops returning calls, the homeowner pays for hardware sitting useless on their roof.

Post-bankruptcy
zombie obligations.

When a solar company (SunPower, Vivint Solar, regional installers) declares bankruptcy or is acquired, the leases, PPAs, and underlying UCC-1 liens are sold to debt collectors or successor companies who continue billing — often without any obligation to honor warranties, performance guarantees, or maintenance commitments. The original consumer-facing brand is gone; the lien remains.

Reference: In re SunPower Corp. Securities · SunPower Lease Holders Quiet Title Actions