Solar Panel Scams: How to Spot Them Before They Cost You
Solar scams follow one script: manufactured urgency plus unverifiable claims. Cold calls about schemes that closed years ago, prices that expire tonight, deposits demanded before a survey. The defence is equally simple: genuine schemes never cold call, genuine installers hold checkable MCS and RECC numbers, and no honest solar deal dies because you slept on it.
In This Guide
The scripts doing the rounds
We hear these from customers weekly, usually opening with "I had a call saying...". The current greatest hits:
| The script | The reality |
|---|---|
| "You qualify for ECO4 funding" | ECO4 closed to new applications on 31 March 2026. The script outlived the scheme |
| "Your area has been selected for a government solar scheme" | Genuine schemes run through councils and gov.uk, and none of them ring you |
| "Your Feed-in Tariff needs updating, we need your details" | FIT administration never cold calls for details. This one is phishing, not selling |
| "Free maintenance check on your panels" from a company you have never used | The check finds an invented fault, priced urgently. Real servicing is booked by you, not doorstepped |
| "This price is only valid if you sign today" | No legitimate quote works this way. Ours are valid for weeks because roofs do not change overnight |
| "Pay a deposit now to secure the government rate" | There is no government rate, and money moved under pressure is the whole point of the call |
The tells, ranked by reliability
- UrgencyThe single most reliable tell. Every pressure clock, tonight-only price and last-slot claim exists to stop you checking. Honest solar survives a week of thinking.
- They contacted youNot proof of a scam, but the burden of proof flips. Everything they claim now needs independent verification.
- Vague credentials"Government approved", "fully accredited", "all our engineers are certified" without a single checkable number. Real firms lead with numbers, like the banner in the photo does.
- Quote without a surveyA price for your roof from someone who has never seen your roof is a number invented to start a close.
- Deposit pressureReputable firms take deposits under consumer-code protection, after a survey and a written quote, never on a first call.
The two-minute company check
Before any money or signature moves
- MCS number, checked at sourceAsk for it, then verify it on the official MCS installer search, matching the exact company name. No number or excuses: walk. Our explainer on what MCS means covers why this one check gates everything.
- Consumer code membershipRECC or equivalent, checked the same way. This is what protects your deposit.
- Companies HouseHow old is the company, and has the same director dissolved three solar firms before this one?
- Real reviews across platformsGoogle, Trustpilot, and whether the review ages and locations make sense for a real trading history.
- A verifiable addressA real premises beats a virtual office for a firm that says it has installed locally for years.
Already signed something? Do this, in order
1. Check your cooling-off rights
Contracts signed at home or remotely generally carry a 14-day cancellation right under consumer law. Cancel in writing, keep proof of sending, and do it early in the window.
2. Paid by card? Ring your bank
Card protections and chargeback routes exist for exactly this. The sooner you call, the more options the bank has.
3. Report it
Citizens Advice for consumer rights guidance, and Action Fraud if you believe it was criminal rather than merely aggressive. Reports build the pattern that gets operations shut down.
4. Get an independent view
If work was actually done, an MCS installer can inspect what you received against what you paid for, in writing, which becomes your evidence.
Why solar attracts this
Worth understanding, because it inoculates. Solar sits at the intersection scammers love: a real product with real government support somewhere in the story, big ticket prices that normalise large deposits, and a decade of genuine schemes opening and closing that left the public rightly confused about what exists. The confusion is the raw material; scripts about free panels and grants work because the truth changed four times in ten years. The fix is the same boring diligence as any big purchase, plus one solar-specific rule: anything invoking a government scheme gets checked on gov.uk before it gets another minute of your attention.
Check us before you trust us
MCS NIC200223, NICEIC 3182878, RECC 00080159, installing from Bulwell since 2011. Verify all three, read the reviews, then ring: 0115 773 7575, 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday. No scripts, no clocks.
Book a feasibility assessmentFrequently asked questions
How do I know if a solar company is legitimate?
Two minutes of checking: verify their MCS number on the official installer search, verify consumer code membership, and look at Companies House for the firm's age and director history. Legitimate installers volunteer these numbers unprompted. Anyone evasive about credentials has answered your question.
Are solar cold calls always scams?
Not always, but the burden of proof flips: every claim in an unsolicited call needs independent verification before you act, and claims about government schemes get checked on gov.uk specifically. Genuine funded schemes never cold call, so that particular script is disqualifying by itself.
Is the government giving away free solar panels?
Not universally. The one genuine funded route is the Warm Homes: Local Grant for qualifying lower income households in England, applied for through your council. Anyone phoning about free panels for everyone is selling a lease, a loan, or your details to someone who is.
Can I cancel a solar contract I signed under pressure?
Contracts signed in your home or remotely generally carry a 14-day cooling-off right under consumer law. Cancel in writing with proof of sending, contact your card provider about payments already made, and get advice from Citizens Advice promptly. Speed matters more than embarrassment.
What deposit is normal for solar panels?
A deposit after a survey and written quote, protected under a consumer code like RECC, is normal practice. Money demanded on a first call, before any survey, to lock a rate or a slot, is the pressure pattern, and no legitimate installer's diary works that way.
Someone offered a free inspection of my existing panels. Trap?
Treat it as one unless you sought them out. The doorstep inspection that discovers an urgent fault is a classic conversion script. If you want your system checked, choose an MCS installer yourself and book a health check on your terms, with a written report.
Related reading
- How to choose a solar installer
- Are free solar panels still a thing?
- Solar panel grants UK: what actually exists
- What is MCS certification and why it matters
- What to do when your installer goes bust
The unglamorous opposite of a script
Free survey, written quote, weeks to think, deposit protection, and a 5-year workmanship guarantee backed by QANW. That is what buying solar should feel like. Call 0115 773 7575, 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday.
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