JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville homeowner is looking for answers after being stuck paying tens of thousands of dollars for solar panels that don’t work after the company she bought them from went out of business.
Homeowner Jackie May said she signed a contract with MC Solar, a company out of Tampa, in August after a salesman came to her front door offering their services.
“From what he was saying, we were very interested,” May said. “He came to our house, he had documentation.”
However, after experiencing problems with the system and multiple failed inspections, May lost contact with the company.
“No more calls, they didn’t receive calls, they didn’t call us, no more emails. No answers at all,” May said.
News4JAX attempted to get answers from MC Solar, but phone numbers associated with the company and owner are out of service. Their website is not operational either.
“Let me tell you something, I’ve called lawyers, I’ve sent demand letters a couple of times to MC Solar that they can’t deliver because the spot looks vacant. I’m still trying to figure this thing out,” May said.
May is still making monthly payments toward her $63,000 contract.
“I’m paying twice as much,” May said. “I’m paying JEA and I’m paying for solar panels that don’t work.”
The Attorney General’s office told the News4JAX I-TEAM that so far they have received 228 complaints on MC Solar and are actively investigating.
“Be accountable,” May said. “Be accountable for what you said you were gonna provide and what we paid for.”
May said she can’t afford to have a new company come out and finish the job, so she hasn’t had any new contractors come out yet to figure out if that’s even a possibility.
According to experts, selling door-to-door is common for scammers.
It’s important to take time to review any contracts before signing, if someone is pressuring you to sign a contract, then that’s a red flag.
Check reviews and BB ratings — although customers of MC Solar might not have benefitted from that a year ago because of a lack of reviews — MC Solar now has an F rating on the BBB’s website.