This is the one guide on this site written to protect rather than inform — and it’s the one that best explains why an honest introduction service exists at all. The single biggest group of people searching this topic are doing so while a stranger is on the phone, which is where we’ll start.

The number calling you right now: the 20-second answer

If you’re reading this because an unknown number is ringing about solar panels, a grant, or an energy “health check” — hang up. Here’s why that’s safe advice regardless of who’s calling: legitimate energy organisations do not cold-call you. The Energy Saving Trust, Ofgem, MCS, and any reputable installer only make contact if you contacted them first. So an unsolicited call about your panels is, by default, either an outright scam or a lead-generation front that sells your details to pushy salespeople — even when the caller knows your name and address (trivially obtained) and even when a number-lookup site shows mixed or “safe” reports (scammers cycle through numbers faster than lookup sites update). The move never changes: reveal nothing, hang up, and if you’re genuinely unsure it was a scam, call the organisation back on the number printed on their official website — never a number the caller offers you. Recognise these four opening lines, because they’re the season’s favourites: “your solar warranty has expired,” “your inverter needs urgent replacement,” “you qualify for a government solar grant,” and “we’re doing free solar health checks locally.” Each is a script, not a service.

The 8 solar scams targeting UK homes in 2026

2. The MCS “warranty expired” text. Messages impersonating MCS or your installer, claiming your solar warranty has lapsed and pushing a paid maintenance package. MCS has publicly warned these are imposters — MCS certifies installations; it does not text homeowners selling cover.

3. The “broken inverter” pressure call. A caller claims your inverter needs urgent replacement, your original installer went bust, or your system is “unsafe.” It’s fearmongering to sell hardware — and replacing a working inverter through them can jeopardise your FiT. If you’re genuinely worried about your inverter, our inverter replacement guide covers what real failure looks like and costs, and your installer or a second opinion settles it.

4. The DWP energy-grant scam text. “You’re eligible for £200–£300 under the DWP energy support scheme — apply via this link before the deadline.” Fraudulent: the Energy Bills Support Scheme ended in April 2024, and the Winter Fuel Payment is automatic with no application. The link leads to a fake government site harvesting your bank details.

5. The “free solar panels” trap. Rent-a-roof deals where the company keeps ownership and income while leasing your roof for decades — and newer “free/government-funded solar” cold-call bait harvesting details or dressing expensive finance as free. Genuinely free solar for most homeowners doesn’t exist; the rent-a-roof legacy even complicates selling your home. Real low-income schemes exist, but you apply to your council — they don’t call you.

6. The mis-selling “compensation” scam. Fake legal services offering to reclaim compensation for “mis-sold” panels, charging an upfront fee then vanishing (or inventing further “legal costs”). Genuine mis-selling complaints start with the company that sold you the system, not a cold-caller promising a windfall.

7. The doorstep “free health check.” A friendly survey or free inspection that exists to harvest data and pressure you into signing. Remember your right: doorstep and distance contracts carry a 14-day cooling-off period, so anything signed under pressure can usually be cancelled in writing.

8. The solar “investment” scam. Fake solar-farm shares, panel-stock schemes or “green energy” investments promising high returns — an investment-fraud pattern wearing a solar costume. If it’s pitched as an investment opportunity that found you, it’s the oldest trick on this list.

The one rule that beats all eight

Every scam on this page fails against a single question: did I contact them first? If the answer is no — the call, text, letter, email or doorstep visit arrived unsolicited — treat it as a scam until proven otherwise, no matter how official it looks or how good the offer sounds. The logic is airtight because it matches how legitimate energy actually works: real schemes are things you go to; real organisations don’t cold-call, text, doorstep, or ask for money upfront. Grants live on gov.uk and council websites. Your installer is a number you already have. MCS certifies work, it doesn’t sell warranties by SMS. The Feed-in Tariff can’t be uplifted by anyone. Once you internalise “if you didn’t contact them first, assume scam,” you don’t need to memorise the eight variants or check a single phone number — the rule catches the ninth and tenth scams too, the ones not invented yet. Urgency is the scammer’s only real weapon (“today only,” “before the deadline,” “your system’s unsafe”); the rule disarms it, because a genuine opportunity survives you hanging up and checking independently.

How to report each type (it takes minutes)

Reporting matters even when you dodged the scam — it’s how networks block senders and how vulnerable neighbours get protected. Match the channel to the contact: Scam texts (warranty, grant, energy allowance) — forward free to 7726, then delete. Scam calls or actual/attempted fraud — Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 (England, Wales, NI) or their website; Police Scotland on 101 in Scotland. Doorstep cold-callers and rogue traders — Trading Standards via the Citizens Advice consumer helpline, 0808 223 1133. Someone impersonating your supplier or Ofgem — report to Ofgem and your genuine supplier. And the right worth knowing before you need it: if you’ve already signed under pressure, doorstep and distance contracts carry a 14-day cooling-off period — cancel in writing, fast. For anything fraud-related, Action Fraud is the central UK reporting point.

Your structural shield: MCS, and buying rather than being sold

The durable protection isn’t vigilance against each new script — it’s structuring how you buy so scams can’t reach you. Two habits do it. First, insist on MCS certification: it’s the certification that unlocks legitimate export payments and consumer protections, it can’t be faked into your actual installation, and requiring it filters out the cowboys by definition. Second — the mindset that makes you structurally unscammable — buy solar; don’t let solar be sold to you. Every scam on this page depends on them reaching you: the cold call, the letter, the doorstep. Flip the direction and the whole category evaporates. Decide you want solar, research it in your own time, choose your installer from ones you sought out, and compare genuine grants you found on gov.uk. That’s the entire defence, and it’s why an introduction service you approach — rather than a salesperson who approaches you — is the safe shape for this purchase. You come to us when you’re ready; nobody rings you at dinner.

Frequently asked questions