As solar gained steam in MA, so did the complaints against solar panel installers
By: Ted Daniel, Patricia Alulema, Boston 25 News, November 22, 2019
Shoddy installations, predatory sales tactics, panels that do not work, savings that do not materialize, and poor customer service. Those are just some of the complaints consumers filed against the growing solar industry in Massachusetts.
Read more about CfA’s investigation of the rooftop solar industry.
25 Investigates reviewed hundreds of complaints registered with the Attorney General’s office and found a common theme: customers say they are getting burned by their solar providers. More than 200 complaints were filed during a one-year period. 25 Investigates first came across the complaints while researching and working on a story about fires linked to rooftop solar installations.
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25 Investigates contacted the Washington DC-based consumer watchdog group Campaign for Accountability, which conducted a yearlong nationwide study of the rooftop solar industry. Their report found “the abuse by rooftop solar companies is real and extensive.”
“A big problem here is the companies make a lot of money once they get the panels installed and they don’t have the incentives to go out and deal with any of the issues stemming from the problems,” said Daniel Stevens, executive director of Campaign for Accountability. “My biggest advice is to be very careful with what you are agreeing to buy.”