Most homeowners who call us did everything they were supposed to do. They read the paperwork, signed it, and had the panels installed. Then the first bills arrived, and the numbers didn’t match what they remember being told.
That gap is the focus of a new Forbes article by contributor TerDawn DeBoe, “What Do You Owe A Customer Who Doesn’t Understand The Deal?”, published October 15, 2026. Solar Equity Solutions and our VP of Client Services, Josie Garcia, are featured in the piece.
What the article is about
The Forbes piece asks a simple question: when a business knows more than its customer, is a signed contract enough? DeBoe argues it isn’t. Paperwork can be complete and legal while the customer still walks away with the wrong picture.
She draws on examples across industries. Subprime auto lender Credit Acceptance Corporation settled with 40 states and Washington, D.C. for about $700 million. New York’s attorney general alleged the company forecast what it would collect from borrowers and set prices around that forecast. In another case, the FTC reached a $1.85 million settlement with a franchisor over earnings claims. The figures in its disclosure documents were real, but they didn’t reflect what new buyers were likely to earn.
Her point is consistent: regulators increasingly care about the number a customer was shown before the paperwork came out, not just what the fine print said. The FTC’s guidance for auto dealers, for example, says advertised prices should include mandatory fees.
That includes residential solar. The article notes that state attorneys general, including in Ohio and Texas, have filed lawsuits targeting misleading sales pitches and savings claims. DeBoe closes with three tests any customer should be able to pass without rereading the contract:
- What is the total cost?
- Who owns the asset?
- What happens if I sell, move, or stop paying?
Why more disclosure isn’t the fix
One of the article’s most useful points is that simpler paperwork doesn’t automatically lead to better decisions. DeBoe cites research on a simplified mutual fund prospectus and on conflict-of-interest disclosures. In both, buyers still made poor choices. A 2026 experiment found that telling people a chatbot had a financial stake in a bank didn’t reduce its influence when it steered them toward a worse index fund.
For solar homeowners, this rings true. A contract can list the escalator rate, the term length, and the transfer rules on page 14. But if the conversation at the kitchen table focused on “your bill goes to zero,” that’s the number people remember. Disclosure tells customers what’s in the contract. It doesn’t guarantee they understood the deal.
Where Solar Equity Solutions comes in
Forbes spoke with Josie Garcia, our VP of Client Services, about what we see every day. Every homeowner who reaches us has already signed and already received the disclosures the law requires. The problem usually isn’t missing paperwork.
In a written statement, Garcia put it this way:
“There is a major difference between explaining what a customer could save and helping them understand what they will actually pay, who owns the system and what happens if circumstances change.”
As the article summarizes it, Garcia’s position is that the gap shows up in what people believed they were buying, not in what the documents said. That matches DeBoe’s three tests almost exactly: cost, ownership, and what happens when life changes.
The article also notes that Solar Equity Solutions reports assisting more than 5,000 homeowners.
We were glad to see Forbes put this question in front of a business audience. Clear contracts protect homeowners, and they protect the reputable installers and lenders who want customers to stay happy for the full 20 or 25 years of an agreement.
What this means if you own solar
If your solar agreement doesn’t feel like what you were sold, you’re not alone, and it doesn’t mean you missed something. Start with the same three questions from the article:
- Total cost: Do you know what you’ll pay over the full term, including escalators, financing, and fees?
- Ownership: Do you own the system, or are you leasing it or buying its power under a PPA?
- Life changes: Do you know what happens if you sell your home, move, or can’t keep up with payments?
If you can’t answer one of these with confidence, it’s worth a closer look at your agreement. That’s where we can help you understand what you signed and what options may be available. Every contract is different, and outcomes depend on your specific agreement and circumstances.
Before you reach out to anyone for help, gather a few things:
- Your signed agreement and any financing documents
- Any proposals, savings estimates, or sales materials you were given
- Your utility bills from before and after installation
- Notes on what you remember being told, including names and dates
Having these on hand makes it much easier to compare what you were shown with what you actually signed.
Read the full Forbes article: What Do You Owe A Customer Who Doesn’t Understand The Deal?