PORT ST LUCIE, Fla. — Florida homeowners say door-to-door solar pitches left them with decades of debt, malfunctioning systems and power bills that never disappeared.
WATCH WPTV'S REPORT BELOW:
Now, a WPTV investigation found some salespeople may not have held licenses required under state law — and some contracts were missing a key consumer disclosure.
What began with a knock at the door ended, for several Treasure Coast homeowners, with financial obligations ranging from $40,000 to $60,000 and lasting as long as 25 years.
The homeowners told WPTV they were sold on the expectation that solar panels would significantly reduce or eliminate their electric bills.
Instead, some said they were left with malfunctioning systems, continued utility costs and solar companies that later dissolved or filed for bankruptcy.
“What a waste of money,” homeowner Paula Wass said.
“We got taken,” added her husband, David McCauley.
WPTV investigative reporter Kate Hussey reviewed the experiences of Wass and McCauley, Mike and Judy Schopp, Jane Bibee and Ana Perez as part of an ongoing investigation into Florida’s residential solar industry.
Since WPTV’s first report, Marty Jacobson, an investigator with the Florida attorney general’s Seniors vs. Crime program, said additional homeowners have filed complaints against solar companies after seeing the investigation.
Homeowners left without warranty support
Documents Perez shared with WPTV show she leased a roughly $40,000 solar system in November 2021. She said her monthly Florida Power & Light bill initially dropped from about $100 to approximately $30.
That changed in the spring of 2026, when her bill climbed up to $131.
“When I called FPL, they told me my system had been down since the end of February,” Perez said.
By July, bills reviewed by WPTV showed Perez was paying nearly $300 a month — about $150 to FPL and another $150 for the solar lease. That was roughly three times what she said she had paid before installing the panels.
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When Perez tried to have the system repaired under its 10-year warranty, she learned the installer had gone out of business.
"So no phone that you called you got through," said Perez.
"We've had systems that were just complete removals," said Justin Hoysradt, president of solar installation company Vinyasan Corp.
Hoysradt said he has received a growing number of calls from homeowners facing similar problems, prompting him to launch
a separate company, Fix My Solar, to repair or replace systems for homeowners whose original installers are no longer operating.
“The calls were coming in so frequently,” Hoysradt said, "and the reality was, a lot of the competitors on the list weren't actually licensed solar contractors."
Were the salespeople properly licensed?
Florida law requires solar installation companies to hold active contractor licenses. The statute also states that "even the attempted sale of contracting services" "constitutes contracting" and "requires the corresponding license."
WPTV searched state licensing records for each installation company identified by the homeowners. Nearly all appeared to hold active contractor licenses.
But when WPTV searched for four individual salespeople listed in the contracts, only one appeared in the state’s contractor licensing database.
WATCH PREVIOUS REPORT: Florida seniors say solar companies left them in debt and in the dark
Hoysradt said a person or company selling solar contracting services without the proper construction industry license could be operating as an unlicensed contractor.
Jacobson also told WPTV that people selling solar installation contracts door-to-door are required to be properly licensed.
“It is more frequent than anyone would like to admit," said Hoysradt, "and there are penalties for that."
Salespeople previously cited for solicitation violations
The salesperson listed in the Schopps’ contract was cited in 2023 for solicitation.
According to a notice to appear reviewed by WPTV, an officer wrote that the salesperson admitted 'he knew he was wrong for soliciting solar without a permit' and 'knew it was past the city’s permitted solicitation hours.'
Court records show he later pleaded no contest, received six months of probation, was fined nearly $350 and was ordered to complete community service.
“I answered the door, and then he was telling me, ‘We’re not like all these other solar companies. This is going to be for you, the people,’” Mike Schopp recalled. “Well, it’s not.”
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St. Lucie County court records show the salesperson listed on Bibee’s third-party-financed solar lease also pleaded no contest to an unlicensed solicitation misdemeanor in 2023 and was fined nearly $350.
Bibee signed her solar lease two years after that case.
WPTV attempted to contact every salesperson listed in the contracts by phone, email and social media. None responded.
Several telephone numbers were disconnected, and some emails bounced back.
"There are types of enforcement that are starting to pop up," said Hoysradt, "but the harm that can be caused is significant."
Contracts disclaim promised savings
The contracts reviewed by WPTV contained language disclaiming guarantees about savings, electric bill reductions or system output.
The agreements stated that if the panels failed to produce enough electricity, the homeowner would remain responsible for paying the difference to the utility company.
WATCH BELOW: Families say solar panel promises left them trapped in costly 25-year loans
“Everybody’s supposed to read the agreement, but a lot of the agreements are 20 pages long, and a lot of them are signed on an iPad,” Hoysradt said.
Some homeowners said the written terms did not match the expectations created during the sales pitches.
“You feel like a sap, and you feel like, ‘I should have known better,’” Wass said. “We did what we thought was the right thing in helping the environment, but here we are.”
A required disclosure was missing from some contracts
In 2017, Florida lawmakers approved a requirement for many residential solar contracts to include a separate disclosure form intended to help consumers understand the agreement.
The disclosure is supposed to explain key information, including:
- The total cost and payment schedule
- Financing and additional fees
- Warranty information
- Potential liens
- The system’s expected energy production
"It was very difficult to understand the long contracts, and [legislators] were concerned that people would sign up for things that they didn't fully know what they were getting into," said Hoysradt.
Of the four sets of contract documents reviewed by WPTV, only the agreements involving Bibee and Perez included the required disclosure.
The documents reviewed for Wass, McCauley and the Schopps did not include it.
"If you do not have this disclosure in your agreement, there are substantial penalties to the contracting organizations that did not give it to you," said Hoysradt.
Florida law says a seller who willfully violates the disclosure requirements may face a penalty of up to the total cost of the solar system.
The law also says a homeowner may be able to file a lawsuit seeking certain finance charges, fees and attorney’s fees.
However, the statute does not explicitly state whether an entire solar contract becomes unenforceable when the required disclosure is missing.
"And I would love to hear directly from our regulators that that statute does govern the sale of solar energy," said Hoysradt.
WPTV repeatedly asked the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation whether missing disclosures could affect the enforceability of a contract and whether the individual salespeople identified in the investigation were required to hold contractor licenses.
WPTV first contacted the agency in June, followed up several times and sent an additional request July 27. The agency acknowledged the inquiry but had not provided substantive answers as of publication.
Nearly 750 complaints involving three companies
Records obtained from the Florida attorney general’s office show nearly 750 consumer complaints have been filed against just three solar companies featured in WPTV’s investigation.
That total does not include complaints involving other solar businesses that WPTV has not yet examined.
The complaints vary in nature and are not limited to allegations involving unlicensed solar sales or missing disclosure forms.
Resources and next steps
Jacobson said homeowners experiencing similar problems should preserve their contracts, financing documents, sales materials, utility bills and communications with the companies involved. They may also file complaints with Seniors vs. Crime or the Florida attorney general’s office.
WPTV has connected the featured homeowners with consumer assistance resources.
Bibee said Fix My Solar helped her better understand her options for attempting to cancel her contract.
Perez said a contractor was ultimately able to repair her system and get the panels producing power again.
Still, Perez said the experience left her regretting the agreement.
“I never should have gotten it,” she said, “because it’s owning me.”
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.