Solar scams in the Florida Keys are on the rise.
Florida Keys Solar One warns Florida Keys homeowners about solar telemarketers, co-ops and internet click baiters.
Solar panels are a popular way to reduce household operating expenses and provide much needed energy security in the hurricane prone Florida Keys but, something too good to be true comes in all shapes and sizes. It turns out that solar has become a sunny place for shady solar people and solar scams in the Florida Keys are on the rise. Just last week Keys Energy Services, the electric utility in the lower Florida Keys reported yet another citizen that was conned into believing that once they put a few solar panels on their roof they would never pay another electric bill. What is worse is the homeowner was told their “solar loan” payment would be lower than the current monthly electrical use charges – which is almost impossible in a market without net metering. In this article we expose the truth about solar scams in the Florida Keys.
Solar scammers are online everywhere including social media sites. If one of them is dialing your phone – you’re their next victim! These types have already scammed dozens of honest, hard-working people in the Florida Keys who simply seek the energy security that solar systems provide. They tell potential solar system buyers whatever he/she wants to hear in order to close a deal, collect a deposit all the while talking to them from a burner cell phone anywhere from their parents basement, India, Nigeria or some random Starbucks. They claim to be experts with zero experience to speak of.
“It is so sad seeing these telemarking scammers telling customers flat lies to pull hard earned cash out of their victims pockets” said Ray Johnson, president and founder of Florida Solar One. “Most people call several local contractors and inquire about prices, services, etc when spending tens of thousands of dollars” continues Johnson, but by blindly agreeing and signing up with these telemarketers, co-ops and buyer’s clubs “tells me they did not do any research, received bids or did any price checking with any local contractors. Instead they drank lies down like a glass of Jim Jones’ kool-aid and now find themselves without tens of thousands of dollars and no solar panels either”.
If someone is calling your phone about solar – you are being set up for a scam. These telemarketing, click baiters and online scammers are proliferating and this author has discovered solar is a sunny place for shady people in the Keys too.
These tele scammers have never built a system, they just “sell”. None have a qualified engineer or licensed contractor on their staff either. The design comes from Google Sunroof and other simple online solar tools. “I am shocked that anyone could be that gullible and to see and solar scams in the Florida Keys are on the rise” continued Johnson. “I encourage everyone to do the homework, read articles regarding how to find the Best Florida Keys Solar Contractor and also to do some homework on any local company they may choose to do business with too”. If they are good, reputable and experienced the Google reviews and accolades will be easy to find. If they are not that will be easy to spot too.
The US Solar Institute (USSI) has been an industry leading advocate and source of truth, education and qualifications in the solar industry for 15 years and has exposed several shady solar outfits. USSI recommends Solar Reviews for independent honest reviews from real customers. Most reviews simply cannot be trusted. Google reviews can and often are generated by robots and fake customers which only add to the number of solar scams in the Florida Keys. These grifters often work hard up front to put on a good show by applying for a permit and even starting the work with a few untrained workers and other forms of cheap labor. They ask for another payment for starting the job but, never show up again. The homeowner is left with incomplete work and a drained bank account.
Do you really want an out of town start-up using untrained workers to practice on your roof? Would you be best served by an established local company with proven experience and knowledge? Would you be best served by those experienced building a well-performing long lasting system in the Florida Keys? Of course.
Florida Solar One recently received a call from a customer whose ceiling is leaking due to shoddy workmanship. He explained that the company that did his work is from out of town and will not answer his calls or reply to his emails. They shared the contract had a “leak warrantee” included in the paperwork but, if the company will not answer the call then what good is a piece of paper? Further they discovered the state of Florida Construction law limits “warrantees” to one year regardless of what the contract says. “It is not about what is written on a piece of paper that matters it is what the law permits and what one can prove” says Eric P. the in house counsel for Florida Solar One. “Now Mr. Customer is stuck with a leaky roof and needs another company to fix what the original company should have never installed in the 1st place. That is money out of pocket, again”.
Best advice – shop and hire locally from those with proven track records in the trade.
To test this out in an attempt to expose that solar scams in the Florida Keys are on the rise, one of the Florida Solar One (FS1) employees asked a newly established solar company to visit his parents home. The FS1 employee pretended to know nothing about the industry and asked some basic questions. “What they were telling my parents was just a straight up lie” said the anonymous actor. “When they told me that the 30% federal tax credit was a ‘cash in the hand’ rebate, I almost broke character. How do they tell people that they are going to get a check in the mail?! I could not believe it” continued the FS1 employee.
We strongly warn the public about these scammers and deceiving companies. Solar in the Florida Keys is a sunny place for shady people and only through education of our neighbors and potential clients can we help. Customers who fall victim to these online and independent solar salespersons have no way of recovering their lost money. Their contract has been sold to the open market to those called “installation partners”. The installation partner may never show up to do anything and if they do one can be certain the work will be as fast and cheap as possible leaving the owner with no recourse, a poor system and in time, a leaking roof.
It’s all bait and switch right from the start. When it comes time to build the people on the job site may be from anywhere in the country and certainly not “local”. In fact there actions may well be a felony, certainly a civil infraction and bottom line these “salespeople” are liars that are breaking the law.
It is always best to think globally and act locally so please hire local Florida licensed contractors!
About Florida Solar One: Florida Solar One was founded in 2008 in the Florida Keys and can be reached at 305-517-5876 or emailed at info@floridasolarone.com