Argyle, Iowa (KHQA) – The Hamilton, Illinois City Council has issued a warning to residents of the Illinois City Council about Revolution Solar Company after customers complained about alleged scams.
We spoke to the Better Business Bureau, which says scams are becoming more common with solar companies.
“We’ve certainly heard more reports from businesses around the solar world, not just through our BBB fraud tracker,” O’Brien said.
Don O’Brien, Better Business Bureau regional director, says the BBB has seen an increase in solar complaints.
The biggest complaint is that the finished product is not what they expected.
“From what we’ve heard from consumers getting into solar panels, sometimes what they were promised upfront is not what they see after the systems are installed and sold to them,” O’Brien said.
Argyle, Iowa resident Mike Thompson tells what happened to him.
Thompson says a company installed solar panels on his property in April 2023, costing him about $48,000 — but that was until it was up and running about seven months later.
Thompson says it was soon discovered that the panel was malfunctioning.
It proved to be quite difficult as he said he tried to contact the company to resolve the issue but the company went out of business.
He said he then contacted the manufacturer and provided a list of companies they believed could fix the problem.
“They have a website but you can’t do anything with it, they have a phone number and no one will answer it,” Thompson said.
Thompson says that when he worked with the company, he was told he had insurance to cover these types of issues, but he soon learned that wasn’t the case, and now he says he’s stuck between a rock and a hard place.
“There was an additional charge that he had to have insurance to cover that kind of stuff,” Thompson said. “I’m at a dead end here. I don’t know what to do next.”
Thompson says he just wants answers.
“I would like to find someone who can be held accountable for this,” Thompson said. “America’s great pastime is suing people. You can’t sue someone when they’re no longer there. You can’t do anything when they’re no longer there. You just stand there holding your bag.”
I contacted Revolution Solar Company and was returned via email stating undeliverable.
I also tried calling the company, but their website does not provide a number.