Representatives from solar energy companies have been spotted making door-to-door sales in the Bloomington-Normal area. A utility watchdog says "buyer beware."
Scott Allen of Bloomington is the energy policy specialist for the Citizens Utility Board (CUB). Allen said these solicitors have been much more visible in the last six months.
“We have a booming solar market in Illinois,” Allen said. “We’re seeing a pretty rapid expanse of rooftop solar. We’re kind of at a peak with state and federal incentives to go solar, so I think that’s a lot of what’s bringing people to this market is trying to take advantage of all the incentives in the solar market that we’ve developed.”
According to Allen, solar energy companies are having no issue getting steady business, meaning the chances of a legitimate representative showing up at your door are slim.
“In a lot of cases, the people coming door-to-door are probably not really involved in the solar industry at all,” Allen said in an interview on WGLT's Sound Ideas. "They were probably hired by someone tangential to the solar industry and they’re just going out and selling some kind of product.”
Allen said he's aware of at least five solar customers in downstate Illinois who claim they have been scammed.
There are many ways to tell if a door-to-door pitch is legitimate. Asking for some kind of identification of proof of employment with an agency can help distinguish a salesperson from a scam artist.
Bloomington and Normal both require any door-to-door solicitors to register. The city and town both list all registered solicitors on their websites. Fewer solar energy representatives are listed.
“Any reputable solar installer that I know of, if you ask them to first see the Illinois Power Agency’s Consumer Protections Handbook or Guidelines, they can make that available,” Allen said. “If they get a bad feeling that this doesn’t sound quite right, they’re probably right.”
To avoid falling victim to any of these scams, Allen recommends looking into local, well-established installers. Further information can be found at citizensutilityboard.org. Complaints can be filed by calling CUB at 800-669-5556 or by emailing complaints@illinoisshines.com.
