In many ways, installing solar panels seems like a deal that’s too good to be true. Saving money on your power bill by getting your energy directly from the sun? Who wouldn’t want that?
However, as many people with solar panels will tell you, while there are considerable benefits to getting them installed, there are also many shady actors in the solar space. Now, a user on TikTok is calling out these shady actors after claiming one of these companies left his family in a substantial amount of debt.
In a video with over 405,000 views, TikTok user A.J. McMullen (@authorajmcmullen) explains why he believes he fell victim to a “huge scam.”
“I’m just having a hard time understanding why there isn’t more people talking about this,” he starts.
What Went Wrong With This Solar Installation?
In summary, he says that a door-to-door salesman approached them and claimed that “the state of Virginia has this program where they’re testing and going to pay for the solar panels to be installed on your house.” He says the salesman claimed that only the installation of the panels would need to be paid for. Additionally, the salesman reportedly claimed they would be able to completely get rid of their electricity bills.
In reality, what came after was a whole lot more bills, just not for electricity. McMullen says that they needed to replace their roof in order to install one that could support the solar panels. Then, the loan they took out to pay for the solar panels. They were reportedly told it did not require a payment for the first six months. But he says it was actually accumulating interest that whole time.
This means that, according to McMullen, all of their present payments have gone directly to interest. That means their principal remained the same.
“If you pay extra on it, it really didn’t even matter because they lock you in for 20 years unless you have the amount of money to pay it off,” he explains. “And nobody just has that much money, tens of thousands of dollars just laying around.”
Not only that, but the solar system they actually got isn’t the best.
“They didn’t even give us battery backup,” McMullen explains. “If the power went out right now, we will lose power. If the power went out in the entire neighborhood, we will lose power in this house.”
How Common Is This Scam?
As it turns out, this is a fairly well-known scam. And it’s not unique to the state of Virginia.
AARP notes that “solar scams” are incredibly common. AARP says that contrary to what these salespeople might say, “the government does not have any program that installs solar panels on the houses of Americans for free.”
In 2023, the Better Business Bureau put out a report detailing this solar scheme. It follows a similar playbook to the one alleged by McMullen. The BBB notes that, along with predatory loans like the ones experienced by McMullen, some solar companies will simply never finish installing the panels.
Additionally, in 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau put out a statement about how “some residential solar lenders are misleading homeowners about the terms and costs of their loans, misrepresenting the energy savings they will deliver, and cramming markup fees into borrowers’ loan balances.”
For those looking to install solar panels on their home, it’s probably best to forgo the door-to-door salespeople altogether. Instead, use services like the BBB to find reputable companies selling solar technologies, then make sure you have a full understanding of what you will actually get as well as the exact terms of any loan being issued.
If one has already signed up for one of these services and believes that they have been scammed, they can try reporting the issue to the Federal Trade Commission, contacting the CFPB, providing a statement to their state’s consumer protection office, and reaching out to the BBB.
@authorajmcmullen We were scammed last year by a group of companies collaborating on a predatory operation and don’t really know how to solve it. I have been on edge about this for a year now and hardly knew if I wanted to discuss it publicly. This is the biggest mistake I’ve made in my life! If anyone know a way to break free of this, I’m all ears! #solarpanel #solarenergy #scam #help
Commenters Say It’s Common
In the comments section, many users echoed the advice that buying solar panels from a door-to-door salesman was a bad idea.
“Just note anyone coming to your door other than delivering food, packages or mail is a scam,” wrote a user.
“Solar panels are no a scam, it’s the people that are scamming you,” offered another.
“The loan also has to be transferred when you sell your house, so the new owner is not only buying a house but also buying your loan for the panels. I asked a LOT of questions both times they pitched me, and it just didn’t make sense for us. Sorry you got scammed,” noted a third.
BroBible reached out to McMullen via Instagram and TikTok direct message.