Fraudulent Solar Panel Sales Credit Pull Requires Consumers Consent

Beware of Forgery. Fraud. Bogus Documents.

Were you visited by a solar panel salesman from Vivint Solar, only to find that your credit report was pulled? Were you put in to a forged contract for solar energy? If so, your consumer rights may have been violated.

Door-to-door solar panel sales is high pressure.  Solar salesmen are usually trained to engage unsuspecting homeowners in conversation and employ tactics to sell items that they may not be ready to buy. 

Often, the consumer may be misled in to believing that the salesman works for his or her Electric Company. During the sales pitch, the consumer may be asked for an inspection of the roof for a "roof survey", or told that a review of energy bills is required. The salesman may try to convince the consumer that energy costs will be lowered because solar energy is free, and with the installation of solar panels the consumer will make money.  

To gain access to your property, the salesman will request your signature, or perhaps your initials, on a tablet or iPad. Beware. Your signature may be used to obtain your credit report or commit you to a long term contract - all of which is not your intent.

You, the consumer, must knowingly provide permission for a person, or company, to access your credit report. If that person or company does not have your consent, the impermissible credit pull could be a violation to your consumer rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Credit Reports Pulled without Consent

Transunion, Experian and Equifax maintain a consumer's credit history. Credit reports list private, personal information about payment histories for real estate, loans and credit cards, as well as defaults, late payments, charge-offs, collections and public records. The consumer must provide permission for his or her credit report to be pulled, or to actually apply for credit.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act offers protections to consumers whose reports were pulled without their permission. Whether a salesman comes to your door to sell solar panels or another product, the consumer must knowingly provide written permission for credit reports to be pulled. Obtaining access to credit reports under false pretenses could be a violation to your consumer rights.

Free Legal Evaluation for violation of Credit Privacy Law

If you were visited by a solar panel salesman from Vivint Solar, or another door-to-door salesman, you should obtain and review your current credit report.  The credit report inquiry section of the report lists who has accessed your credit information.  If you find that Vivint, Vivint Solar or Solar Mosaic pulled your credit report without your permission and that there is a hard inquiry on your credit report, contact us to discuss a potential violation of your consumer rights. There is no cost for the legal evaluation, and no cost to pursue a case if your credit reporting rights have been violated.

Flitter Milz is a nationally recognized consumer protection law firm with expertise in credit report law violations and matters involving credit report privacy and accuracy.