Solar Panel Scams in Northern Ireland: The 2026 Patterns and Where to Report Them

I have read all 394 quote requests that came through this site between 12 March and 22 September 2026, and I have written this site’s pages on NI solar grants and free panels. The same belief turns up again and again: that there is some grant or scheme in Northern Ireland that pays for panels. There is not, and that gap is exactly what the worst solar selling here is built on.

This page is about the tactics, not particular companies. I checked every rule and phone number below on 23 September 2026, mostly against the Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC, version 9, published 1 July 2026), whose members have given a legal undertaking to follow it. Check whether an installer is a member before you rely on it.

1. The grant pitch

This is the NI-specific one. A Facebook advert, a text or a doorstep caller says the “government solar scheme” is closing soon, or that your postcode qualifies. You fill in a form or agree to a visit.

The facts:

• No grant is open to most NI households for solar panels. The one exception, NISEP’s income-limited Toasty Homes scheme, is applied for through its named delivery partner, McGaffin Mechanical, never through a salesperson at your door (see solar panel grants). Energy efficiency is devolved, and the schemes GB adverts mention (ECO4, the Warm Homes Plan, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, the Smart Export Guarantee) do not operate here.
• NI’s Affordable Warmth Scheme is real, but it pays for insulation and heating for households with an income under £23,000. It does not pay for solar. You apply through NI Energy Advice on 0800 111 4455, not through a salesperson. Our Affordable Warmth guide has the details.
• The only help on domestic solar is 0% VAT, which runs until 31 March 2027 and is simply applied to the price. Nobody needs to “register” you for it.

So a form asking whether you “qualify” for solar funding in NI is collecting your details, not checking a rule. And a visit booked on the promise of a grant will end with a price, not a grant.

2. “Free” solar panels

The free panel offers seen in GB came from rent-a-roof deals under the old Feed-in Tariff, and from ECO4 in some cases. Neither ever operated in Northern Ireland. What you will meet here is usually one of three things: a lead-collection form, a finance deal described as “no upfront cost”, or a “free” battery or extra panels that turn out to be priced into the quote.

I have gone through each of these in free solar panels in Northern Ireland: what the offer really is. The short version: if a solar offer in NI says free, ask who owns the panels, what you pay each month, for how many months, and what happens when you sell the house. Get the answers in writing.

3. The survey that becomes a sales sit

You agree to someone calling out to “survey the roof”. The roof takes ten minutes. The kitchen table takes the rest of the evening. The price comes at the end, with a discount if you sign tonight.

RECC bans most of this for its members. Under section 5.2.2 of the code, members must not:

• stay in your home for more than two hours on a sales visit, except in exceptional circumstances that have to be recorded;
• hold back the price until the end of the visit;
• quote an inflated price and then discount it for signing on the day, or for a testimonial, a referral or a sign in the garden;
• claim there is limited availability;
• make unrealistic projections of future energy prices;
• follow up with further calls or visits offering new discounts to push you to sign.

Where someone may be in vulnerable circumstances, the code requires members to arrange for a trusted friend or relative to be present, and to rearrange the visit if that is not possible.

What to do: ask for the price and the written generation estimate before anyone sits down. If the visit passes two hours, say you want the quote in writing and end it. A genuine price will still be there tomorrow.

4. Deposit pressure

“We need 50% today to lock in the kit.” This is where people lose real money if a firm goes under.

The RECC rules (section 6.3):

• A deposit when you sign should be a reasonable percentage, with 15% given as the example, and never more than 25%.
• A further advance payment can only be asked for no more than three weeks before delivery of the equipment.
• The deposit and advance together must never exceed 60% of the job.
• All of it must be insured, so that if the firm stops trading another RECC member completes your installation at no extra cost.
• If you cancel within the cancellation period, the deposit comes back within 14 days.

Paying by credit card adds protection: under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, the card provider is jointly liable for purchases between £100 and £30,000, and that covers the whole job even if only the deposit went on the card.

5. Finance sold on the wrong numbers

Finance is not a scam in itself, and plenty of people spread the cost this way. The problem is the savings figure it is sold on. A monthly payment set against “your bill will drop by £90 a month” looks tidy until you check where the £90 came from.

On this site’s own figures, a 4kW system on a south-facing NI roof saves about £714 a year at 33.1p per unit with export at 11.88p, the basis our solar calculator uses, and £699 to £799 at real NI tariffs of 32.10p to 38.81p (the working is in are solar panels worth it in NI). That is about £58 to £67 a month, averaged across a year that includes a very dark December. If a salesperson’s number is well above that for a similar system, ask them to show the working.

RECC section 5.3.3 requires that where finance is part of the offer, any savings or payback figure must take account of the monthly repayments and the full amount payable including interest, and that you are told in writing the total loan, the monthly payment and the interest. Our solar finance guide covers what to compare.

And one to watch for after installation

MCS itself issued a warning on 16 June 2025 about texts sent under the name “MCS” telling solar owners their warranty had expired, and about a firm falsely claiming to be linked to MCS to sell warranty and maintenance packages. MCS does not sell warranties. The only MCS website is mcscertified.com, and you can forward scam texts to 7726.

What a legitimate quote process looks like

This is what a normal MCS installer’s process looks like in NI:

1. A survey, in person or from photos and satellite imagery, that looks at roof size, orientation, pitch, shading, the roof’s condition and your fuse board.
2. A written, itemised quote: panel make, model and number, inverter, any battery, mounting, scaffolding, the total price with 0% VAT shown, and the payment schedule.
3. A written performance estimate before you sign, worked out using the MCS method for your roof, including a shading assessment. RECC requires this in writing, and on a sales visit it must be given to you during the visit, with time to read it.
4. Time to decide. No price that expires tonight. At least 14 days to cancel.
5. A deposit of 25% or less, insured, with the insurer named.
6. The NIE Networks paperwork handled for you. Small single-phase systems up to about 3.68kW are notified under G98 when fitted. Anything bigger goes through G99 and needs NIE Networks’ approval before it is connected. An installer who has not mentioned this for a 5kW or 6kW system has not thought about your job.
7. On completion: an MCS certificate, the commissioning paperwork, manufacturer warranties, and an insurance-backed workmanship warranty.

Before signing, look the company up on the MCS register at mcscertified.com and the RECC member list at recc.org.uk, and check the name and address on the quote match. Our guide to choosing a solar installer in NI goes through the rest of the checks, and the installation process guide covers what happens on the day.

Where to report it in Northern Ireland

Checked on 23 September 2026 on nidirect and the Consumer Council website:

• Consumerline, 0300 123 6262 (9am to 5pm Monday to Thursday, 9am to 4pm Friday), or its online form on nidirect. This is the route for complaints about a trader. Consumerline passes cases to the Trading Standards Service at the Department for the Economy, which investigates rogue trading and misleading selling.
• Report Fraud, 0300 123 2040, or online at reportfraud.police.uk, if you have lost money to a fraud. nidirect lists this as the main reporting route for fraud in NI.
• PSNI on 101 if the fraud is happening now or happened in the last 24 hours, if you know who the trader is and they are in NI, or if the person targeted is vulnerable. 999 in an emergency.
• The Consumer Council for Northern Ireland, freephone 0800 121 6022, for advice on your rights and a complaint that has not been resolved (contact page).
• RECC, if the installer is a member, for complaints under the code, and MCS if a firm claims certification it does not have.
• Your card provider for a Section 75 claim if you paid part of the cost by credit card.

If you signed at home and have changed your mind, cancel in writing within 14 days before doing anything else.