My solar company lied to me. What can I do?

The eleven statements that count as misrepresentation

Not every disappointing solar deal involves a lie. These statements do, when they were made and were not true, and they are the ones that recur in attorney-general lawsuits, CFPB findings and homeowner settlements.

1. "Your electric bill will be zero" or "will go away." Almost no grid-tied system eliminates the bill; fixed charges, minimum bills, non-bypassable charges and evening usage remain, and under reduced net-metering rules exported power is credited at a fraction of retail.
2. "You\'ll save X dollars a month" or "the system pays for itself." A specific savings promise is a statement of fact. If the savings projection assumed utility rate increases, perfect production, or a tax credit you could not use, and that was not disclosed, it is a misrepresentation.
3. "The 30% tax credit is a rebate" or "the government pays you back." The Residential Clean Energy Credit is a nonrefundable income tax credit. If you do not owe enough federal income tax, you do not receive the money. Retirees and lower-income households routinely cannot use it, and the loan was often structured as if they would.
4. "Your payment is $X a month" when the payment jumps in month 16 to 18 unless you pay the full tax credit into the loan. The CFPB found this structure routinely undisclosed.
5. "There are no fees" when the loan carried a dealer fee of 20% to 30% of the system price, buried in the principal. The CFPB documented dealer fees that raised loan costs 30% or more above the cash price without disclosure.
6. "Free solar," "no cost to you," or "a government program." There is no federal free solar program for homeowners. A 25-year lease or loan is not free.
7. "I\'m with the utility," "the state," or "the energy office." Impersonating a utility or government is deceptive on its own, before any other term is discussed.
8. "You have to sign today" because the program, the rebate or the price "ends tonight." False urgency is a recognized deceptive practice.
9. "The panels will add $X to your home\'s value" or "won\'t affect selling your home" when a 20-year lease and a UCC-1 fixture filing will travel with the property.
10. "This is just to check your credit" or "just an estimate" when the tablet signature executed the contract and the loan.
11. "The system will produce X kWh" when the design, the roof orientation or the shading made that figure impossible, and the company knew or should have known.

Why a sales lie is a legal claim

Three bodies of law reach a misrepresented solar sale.

State consumer-protection statutes. Every state has one (California\'s Unfair Competition Law and Consumers Legal Remedies Act, Florida\'s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, Texas\'s Deceptive Trade Practices Act, New York General Business Law section 349, and so on). They prohibit false or misleading representations in consumer transactions, do not require proof that the salesperson intended to deceive in most states, and typically provide actual damages, statutory or multiplied damages, rescission and attorney fees. Many also enhance remedies when the buyer is a senior.

Common-law fraud and negligent misrepresentation. A contract induced by a false statement of material fact can be rescinded, and the person who relied on the statement can recover the loss. Negligent misrepresentation does not require intent, only that the company failed to use reasonable care in what it told you.

Federal rules. Section 5 of the FTC Act prohibits deceptive practices (enforced by the FTC, not by private suit, but it sets the standard states follow). The Truth in Lending Act governs what a lender must disclose about a home-secured loan, and an understated finance charge from a hidden dealer fee can allow rescission for up to three years; see our Truth in Lending guide. The Cooling-Off Rule requires the Notice of Cancellation; a seller who talked you past it or never provided it has added a second violation to the first.

The proof that wins

Misrepresentation cases are decided on evidence of what was said, not on how you feel about the deal. In rough order of weight:

• The written proposal or savings estimate. Most salespeople generate one in a design tool and text or email it. It usually contains the exact production, savings and bill figures that were promised.
• Texts and emails with the salesperson. Casual messages ("you won\'t have a bill after this") are often the clearest evidence in the file.
• The recorded verification or "welcome" call. Many lenders and lessors record a scripted call before funding. What you were told to say, and what you asked, is on it. You are entitled to request it.
• The contract and loan documents themselves, compared line by line to the pitch: payment schedule, balloon or re-amortization clause, amount financed vs. cash price, production estimate, escalator.
• Utility bills, twelve months before and every month after. The gap between promised and actual is the damages.
• Monitoring data showing actual production vs. the figure in the proposal.
• Your tax return for the installation year, if the pitch relied on the credit and you could not use it.
• Witnesses. A spouse, adult child or neighbor who heard the pitch.
• Other complaints about the same company or salesperson: Better Business Bureau, state attorney general, CFPB complaint database, court dockets. Patterns matter in settlement and in court.

Tactics that are red flags on their own

Certain sales tactics are strong circumstantial evidence of deception and in some states are violations by themselves: signing on the salesperson\'s tablet without being shown the full document; being told the e-signature was for a credit check or "to lock in the price"; a contract emailed only after installation began; a salesperson filling in your income or your tax liability; a different company name on the loan than the one that sold the system; pressure to sign the same day; a "site survey" or "energy audit" that turned into a closing; and a Notice of Cancellation that was never mentioned or was dated incorrectly.

What you can get: rescission, damages, fees

• Rescission. The contract and financing are unwound: lien released, panels removed at the company\'s cost, roof restored, payments refunded in whole or in part. This is the usual goal and the usual settlement.
• Reformation or loan reduction. The loan is rewritten to the cash price without the dealer fee, or the payment is fixed at the quoted figure.
• Actual damages. The difference between what you were promised and what you got: higher bills, the unusable tax credit, repair costs.
• Statutory and multiplied damages. Many consumer statutes allow double or treble damages, and more for seniors.
• Attorney fees and costs, paid by the company under most consumer statutes, which is why attorneys take these cases without a fee from you.
• Credit repair. A settlement should require the company to correct any negative reporting.

The lender is on the hook too

Homeowners often hear "we didn\'t sell you the system, talk to the installer" from the finance company. Under the FTC Holder Rule, that is not the end of it. Consumer credit contracts arranged by a seller must carry a notice that the holder is subject to all claims and defenses you could raise against the seller, up to the amount you have paid. If the installer lied to get the loan signed, you can assert that lie against the lender as a defense to payment and as a claim for refund. Leases and PPAs are usually owned by the company that made the promises, or by its financing affiliate, so the claims run directly against it. This matters most when the installer has disappeared; see what happens when your solar company goes out of business.

From complaint to resolution: the sequence

1. Preserve the evidence in the list above. Today.
2. Keep paying. A default hands the company a counterclaim and moves your case from offense to defense. See what happens if you stop paying.
3. Write one clear complaint to the installer and the finance company. State the specific false statements, when and by whom they were made, what the truth turned out to be, and what you want (rescission, or a specific correction). Send it by email and certified mail and keep copies. Under some state statutes this letter triggers a cure period and unlocks multiplied damages if ignored.
4. File regulator complaints with your state attorney general, the CFPB (for the loan) and your state contractor licensing board (for the installation). They cost nothing, create a public record, and frequently produce a response from a company that had been ignoring you.
5. Have the file reviewed by someone who sees solar paperwork daily. Our free assessment compares the pitch to the documents and tells you where you stand. When the file supports it, we connect you with an independent consumer attorney in your state, most of whom review for free and work on contingency or fee shifting.
6. Negotiate from documentation. Most misrepresentation cases end in a negotiated rescission or loan reduction once the company sees the evidence and the regulator filings. Insist on a written release, lien termination, removal and roof restoration, and credit correction.

How long you have

Consumer-protection and fraud claims run on state deadlines, commonly two to four years, and most states start the clock when you discovered or reasonably should have discovered the misrepresentation, which for savings claims is often when a year of bills had arrived. Truth in Lending rescission on a home-secured loan has an absolute three-year limit from the loan date. If you signed within the last few days, the cooling-off right is still open and is the simplest exit of all; see how to get out of a solar panel contract. Whatever your dates, the evidence is at its best now and degrades every month, so start the file this week.

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