Imagine being charged tens of thousands of dollars for something you never wanted or even received. It’s a complaint the CBS News Texas I-Team received from a garland woman who considered purchasing solar panels.
They absolutely do, but it won't happen. Worse, the salesperson is likely out there right now scamming people. Maybe even for the same company, though more likely they've moved on. Many door-to-door salespeople are transient. Can't trust any of them. Sadly, some people are naive or too trusting. She's lucky they never installed anything and was able to get out of it. Hope she follows up with her credit reports, since they're likely still trashed unless the loan and collection tradelines were removed completely. Get a feeling they weren't.
This sort of thing has actually been going on for quite long time. I remember when, back in the 1980's a window salesman tried to pull a similar scam on my grandmother, but I could see right through him!
This sort of thing has actually been going on for quite long time. I remember when, back in the 1980's a window salesman tried to pull a similar scam on my grandmother, but I could see right through him!
This sort of thing has actually been going on for quite a long time. I remember when, back in the 1980's a window salesman tried to pull a similar scam on my grandmother, but I could see right through him!
SUe them for 10X the value they are trying to collect from you, take them to court, make them prove they installed the panels on "your home", take plenary of photos of your home showing there are no panels. Get a good lawyer!
She signed her name on a signature line that didn't even have the name of the company on it? No receipt showing anything regarding a contract? What a nightmare!
This sort of thing has actually been going on for quite long time. I remember when, back in the 1980's a window salesman tried to pull a similar scam on my grandmother, but I could see right through him!
Solar Panels are expensive but depending on who is your power supplier you can actually sell your power back to them. PG&E in California has raised their rates 40% in two years. Yes, I said FORTY percent. Also some people have very high loads of electricity and panels are a great idea.
@@neilkurzman4907 You sell it back to the power company at wholesale. So you have to generate a whole lot of electricy. In our area, any overage goes to the utility free!
@@neilkurzman4907how long would it take, even in the most favorable market, to save + sell $97,000 worth of electricity at the rate she could produce?
Mosaic can be simple about it. She obviously never received anything. They can just not charge her and take it off 🙄 but no they wanted to be complicated about it.
The problem is it's easy for someone to ruin your credit by saying you are behind or that you haven't paid but when you try and get it to be fixed it takes forever, or never.
My Nextdoor neighbor (hispanic, speak some English) also got scam. She's struggle ,barely got by and yet somehow, they managed to sold her their scam. panels on the roof and wires hang on the side of the house. Very sad!
Homeowners seem to have little protection from construction and repair scams, installation scams, squatter scams etc etc with local agencies approving any fake documents anyone provides for any action.
That would be costly, and the company likely wouldn't pay the judgement. Small claims court is likely not suitable for this type of case. Suing isn't the panacea many make it out to be. Rarely do people prevail let alone collect much. Courts don't collect judgements; the plaintiff needs to. That's not easy and in some jurisdictions can get expensive.
@@ronbennett7885 It does not matter if its superior court or small claims court , collection will be an issues. The Real difference is small claims court can not remove a lean
@@x-men69-96 The loan was cancelled, so there's no $97K in damages to sue for. The comment was in regard to her credit reports and some suggesting suing for dealing with that.
This sort of thing has actually been going on for quite long time. I remember when, back in the 1980's a window salesman tried to pull a similar scam on my grandmother, but I could see right through him!
It’s definitely a big scam that woman didn’t want solar panels, they are too expensive ! She should never got charged $97K in the first place since she never gotten Solar panels installed on her home.
Unfortunately these solar panel issues are a scam. I've seen this countless times. I just got my issue resolved last week. The difference with me is I went down to the office and stormed into the GM's office closed the door and had a heart to heart with him. My account is all good now!
Can someone explain to me how spending tens of thousands of dollars for panels, will save you energy costs over time??? You're going to have to replace the panels more than once. There's no way this offsets the cost of your monthly utility bill
People, leave the Energy generation to the Utility companies and investors who build Solar farms. Texas awh Texas, even if you have solar panels nothing is FREE. You still have to pay the utility it’s Transmission and Distribution charges, either the Bank or company you bought he panels gets your monthly loan payment, then you tax break upon filling income tax is based on head of household, jointly $36K, single $26K. You more than likely Do Not qualify for the 40% energy break. Those salespersons pushing the contracts won’t tell you that. Save yourself lawyer fees and a big headache. Decline any Solar home installation. Google Solar farms, you think you can compete with that? those investors?
Again, where is the Texas AG?! If he stopped bullying, harassing, and trying to control pregnant women, maybe he would have time to help the people who need it.
Confusion = fraud Had a kid try to sell us on these as well. Told him no thanks and it took a few minutes to get him to stop and leave. The next week another kid showed up and said right off the bat “ I want to know why you said no last week”. I laughed and said “The only thing you need to know… is what NO means”. He was aggressive and rude. Had a tablet, dressed in regular clothes and no business cards. I finally told him he better get movin down the road and never come back. He left in a huff.
@@user-uu8bs8tg1k”Solar” is a piece of technology. It doesn’t put a lien on anything. That’s like saying gas put a lien on your house. If you buy the panels yourself and install them yourself , it’s impossible to get scammed.
@@user-uu8bs8tg1k ”Solar” is a piece of technology. It doesn’t put a lien on anything. That’s like saying gas put a lien on your house. If you buy the panels yourself and install them yourself , it’s impossible to get scammed.
@@user-uu8bs8tg1k not sure what company you’re dealing with but either you’re not paying your bills, or you need a lawyer. Not a problem with photovoltaics. Best of luck to you,
Moral of this story....do not talk to solar reps., do not give them any of your personal info (unless you want to purchase) and call your state rep. and file a complaint with the Texas State AG's office.
I had a similar situation. I spoke to the first solar company, let them run a credit check, then did sign a contract for installation. The price was in the range if $22,000. Later that day, I read the contract in detail and discovered the total cost (with interest) to be $97,000. The next day, I consulted an attorney, who pointed out the cancelation clause. I followed the clause, which told who and how to contact for cancelation. By writing the letter and sending it by post and by email, and receiving an acknowledgement, I verified cancelation. I noticed a couple of similarities with this story. First, they ask you to sign to allow them to check your credit. Second, the amount of the contract was the same. But one difference was that they required a signed contract to do an analysis of the site.
I think door to door salespeople are mostly scammers. You don't have to buy solar from a solar company. You could buy your own panels and equipment with a battery then hire an electrician to install them. You won't get the utilities tiny discount or the tax credit but the awful truth is few people owe enough taxes to get one.
Never buy from door-to-door salespeople. Most are scammers. Better to not even talk with them. Likewise with telemarketers. Compounding matters is the solar panel business overall is shady. Many don't realize that the touted warranties are only as good as the installation company. They tend to come and go. Manufacturer warranty is very limited and often won't cover much. Labor usually not covered and various components excluded. Buyer beware. Best to own the system and figure it will require extensive maintenance after several years. For many, solar doesn't pay.
I had something similar. We ended up not going through with solar but I found out about a year later when we went to refinance that they had a lean on our house! Luckily they took it off pretty quickly and we were able to refinance.
This is another reason why I just tell them no when they show up. since we have bought our home a year ago we have been bombarded with sales for them, and we just refuse them every time now.
Signing without thought... Especially electronically/digital "contract". They counted on people not taking time to read anything and everything these days.
Sounds like you got scammed by the salesperson. Getting all the information to run the credit check, then after homeowner backing out seeing all those numbers, salesperson decided to give themselves an easy payday and run for the hills.
I do not like the idea of a signature on an electronic device since it is so easy for a bad actor to change. Also there is no reason to check someone's credit before they agree to buy.
This sounds like something that I would take to the United States Secret Service Financial Crimes Division. They specialize in fraud and similar crimes. Just the thought of being investigated by them usually solves any issues quick. I know of a case where a guy broke up with his girlfriend and stole her checkbook. Normally this kind of crime is prosecuted at the state level because it is not a huge amount of money but in this case the girlfriend's older brother is a Secret Service fraud investigator. He took the situation to his supervisor who authorized the prosecution at the federal level because of the family connection. Imagine the look on ex boyfriend's face when 3 blacked out Chevy Suburbans drove up to the bank where he worked and 9 guys in suits got out and arrested him for the theft of the checkbook. What would have resulted in a jail sentence of 12 to 36 months in state prison became a 10 year sentence in the Federal Prison System. In the state system he would have been eligible for early release in as little as a year but as the prosecution was at the Federal level the minimum sentence is 10 years and there is no early release for good time. He has to serve all 10 years. Federal fraud charges in a case like this would be punishable by 10 or more years in a Federal prison and depending on how many cases there are the sentence could be as high as 50 years. MOSAIC would be crapping gold bars at the thought of being convicted in a case like this one.
That sucks. To be fair, one what planet does it make sense to spend $100k on freaking solar panels??? That investment will NEVER pay for itself. She made the right decision not going forward with that. Likely just an extortion scam. Not just a mistake. Like, she would have got a call from the loan finance company confirming the approval of pay. They don't pay the installer/contractor UNTIL that.
I doubt they even pulled a permit with the county/ city, and if they didn't even more of an extortion case against Mosaic. I would believe this to be extortion, not bad business, not oops were sorry,.
That’s why I haven’t done anything because of the price and can’t get a final price, but can’t get a true answer. I just got a new home a few years ago, glad I didn’t.
Tesla, Tesla, Tesla. That is the only way to go for solar, no games, no BS, you can get a quote on their site. Keep in mind, it will recommend more than you need, and you will have to adjust it down.
So she noticed that his IPad it was blank and still put her signature on it and found out she was duped aka Flim/Flamed by a scammer who she claimed to be a salesman for a company that was selling Solar Panels First of all you don’t put your signature on a damn thing if they’re not anything to read about what you’re signing for 🤷🏽♀️. That’s crazy!! Obviously she hadn’t seen the promo on tv & or internet about the solar panels being given away in certain states 🤷🏽♀️. She deserved all of what she got for being too gullible. I say that because she saw it wasn’t anything on the iPad but decided to sign it anyway 🤷🏽♀️. 🤔. Who does that 🤷🏽♀️ oh that’s right HER 🤷🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️
Kind of like when my parents got panels from a company now called Tesla Solar. The majority of the credit wasn't going to my parents. It went to the company. When they found out the company told them, "You never told us not to." When Elon Musk bought the company my parents were hoping the problem would be fixed but they still get a bill from Tesla Solar. Now, the panels haven't been used for 7 years plus my parents aren't allowed to remove them.
She’s lucky to be younger and inquisitive. These scammy companies usually target seniors or people with fixed income that don’t have the time, energy or resources to fight this and steal their homes from underneath their feet legally with the liens.
I can't think of any company out there where you would sign something simply do have them run your credit. Sounds like she didn't sign anything. She had her credit run so she could find out what her terms might be "if" she decided to make the purchase. That company knew she had not purchased those panels. They scammed her then tried to play dumb after the fact. Amazing how many companies do this shady stuff then only make things right when either attorneys and or a local news station get involved.
Wow, one look at their Google reviews and I have to wonder how they are even still in business. It seems they have a serious issues with telling the truth. I don't believe a single owner response in those reviews are genuine. There are far too many people complaining that they have been dealing with customer service issues for months so having a shill post the same boilerplate response doesn't give me the warm fuzzies.
