Attention: Fraud with solar system or photovoltaic offers with price comparison

In the last few days, I've been getting advertising emails from people like "Angelika Böhme" or "Jan Körner". This is an offer that you can use free of charge to get a price comparison for the installation of a solar system with PV modules. The exact wording of the email is this:

Subject: Solar system & electricity for free

Good morning,

What if you could get a new solar system for free? There are currently various subsidies for single-family homes and company buildings in our region if you decide on an electricity-generating solar system. With this so-called photovoltaic system, you become independent of the constantly increasing electricity prices because you simply generate the electricity you need yourself.

Our free solar calculator shows you all the options in just 2 minutes.

A VAT exemption for the purchase of such a system was also recently decided - secure these advantages now.

We are always available to answer your questions.

Have a good start into this new week,
Angelica Boehme

The email contains a link to a form that you can use to request a price comparison for your solar system.

Good times for solar scammers

Since I've been dealing with the purchase of a solar system myself for a few weeks, I know that there are numerous providers who only pocket the money for a down payment in the range of 50 to 90% of the total price and then do nothing else. There are many testimonials from cheated customers and the high electricity prices make it easy for fraudsters to find new "customers" from whom they can steal money.

Energie Welt GmbH & Co. KG– also sounds dubious

Of course I clicked on the link for "research purposes" and ended up on a website that looks quite serious. If you look at the imprint, you will find a company called "Energie Welt GmbH & Co. KG". The first thing that catches your eye is the company's headquarters in Bulgaria. There, however, “GmbHs” are called “ODD”. Already very strange.

If you throw on Google and search for the company, you will find an entry in a portal where this company is classified as dubious as a spam sender.

And the last thing is that the company doesn't seem to have a website because all the links point to weird other domains that are either empty or have been set to not be indexed by Google. Why would a real company do that?

Reverse search of the address always interesting

Another way to find out more about the company is to google the address. In this case, I entered "KS Boulevard 42, 8000 Burgas" and was amazed at what you can find there - not only in the same house number, but even in the same room and floor:

• There is a “Doktorando AG” that sells rapid corona tests at the same address. I assume the tests are never sent, you just pay.
• Then there is a "Tax Advisory Office Czernetz GmbH & Co. KG & Co. KG" that helps companies to set up a "GmbH" in Bulgaria. You can guess what it could be good for.

And there are clear warnings about these companies on German websites that scrutinize companies. Now, at the latest, the alarm bells should be ringing for anyone interested in solar systems.

How do I protect myself from black sheep in the solar business?

A few days ago I saw a film about how to protect yourself from dubious offers in this area. The following tips were mentioned:

• Check the company's registered office (Germany would be good if you are in Germany yourself)
• When the company quotes without taking a closer look at your house or measuring the roof area, it's weird.
• If the first contact comes through a promotional email or a phone call and is not initiated by the customer, it is suspicious.
• Some scammers also call and say, "We're in your area right now, installing a solar system for another customer. If you don't want us to do something for you, we can offer it at a reasonable price!” – another trick.
• You can often unmask such callers by asking what kind of inverter and what kind of modules they want to install. Then they often say they're just the call center and don't know the technology.
• Companies that are currently setting up photovoltaic systems are currently being overwhelmed with inquiries. It's strange when a company is currently looking for customers with a call center.
• If the facility is "suspiciously" cheap, that's also a sign that something is fishy here. Be sure to get 2 or 3 other offers before accepting.
• Searches for the company on the Internet. If you have been cheated on here before, you will usually find entries from other victims. Or positive news, if it's a good company.
• Ask your friends who have a solar system, whether they are satisfied with it and which company planned and installed it.

I hope that with this information you will find a good provider and will not fall victim to one of the many scams.

And here you can find another screenshot of the mail as it came to me. In this way, however, a number of emails have already arrived, which only differ in the sender:

Jen Kleinholz( Founder & Sir Apfelot )

Jens has been running the blog since 2012. He appears as Sir Apfelot for his readers and helps them with problems of a technical nature. In his free time he drives electric unicycles, takes photos (preferably with his iPhone, of course), climbs around in the Hessian mountains or hikes with the family. His articles deal with Apple products, news from the world of drones or solutions for current bugs.