Spotting fake solar grant offers
Most misleading solar offers don't invent a scheme from nothing. They borrow the name of a real one, or the look of a government page, and attach it to something that isn't what it seems. Knowing the patterns makes them easy to spot.
The short answer
Yes, there are reliable signs. Government branding on a firm's advert, an unnamed government scheme, being told you qualify before anyone checks, a fee to secure funding, and pressure to sign quickly are the common ones. Find any scheme yourself on GOV.UK or your council's website before going further.
Facts checked at source on 2 and 3 November 2026 · Solar PV Panels Grants is an independent explainer from SEO-DONS LTD, not a scheme
Five ways misleading offers work
1. Borrowing official branding. Adverts use crown imagery, "GOV.UK" in a name, or a design that looks like a government page. The scheme may be real; the firm's connection to it isn't what the advert implies.
2. The unnamed scheme. "The government solar grant", "the free solar scheme" or "the new energy scheme" sound official but aren't the names of anything. Real schemes have names you can look up.
3. The eligibility checker. A quick online form promises to tell you whether you qualify. Often it is a way of collecting your details for sales calls, and the "result" is always encouraging.
4. Free that isn't. The offer is free to start, then turns out to be a loan, a lease of your roof, or work that depends on a scheme that is closing.
5. The closing deadline. Telling you a scheme is about to close is used to rush decisions. Sometimes the scheme really is closing, which is a reason for more care, not less.
What regulators have already found
The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled against several of these patterns.
- In December 2024 it upheld complaints against advertisers that presented ECO4 offers as if run by GOV.UK, with crown imagery, finding that the ads implied government endorsement.
- In 2019 it upheld a complaint against a "Government Solar Checker" site that implied government funding, and found it to be a lead-generation site presenting itself as something else.
- In August 2025 it upheld complaints about a "£7,500 grant" claim for heat pumps shown without its eligibility, and about "fully funded" claims.
The ASA's guidance on home energy advertising says eligibility conditions belong in the advert itself, and that disclaimers elsewhere won't rescue a misleading headline.
What consumer law now bans outright
Since 6 April 2025, Schedule 20 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act has listed commercial practices that are unfair in all circumstances. Several bear directly on solar grant offers:
- Claiming that a trader or product has been approved or endorsed by a public body when it hasn't.
- Describing a product as "free" when the consumer has to pay anything beyond the unavoidable cost of responding and delivery.
- Falsely saying an offer will only be available for a short while, to pressure a decision.
- Displaying a trust mark or similar without authorisation.
- Presenting paid promotion as independent editorial without making clear it is paid.
The Competition and Markets Authority can enforce these directly and fine firms up to 10% of global turnover or £300,000, whichever is greater.
Six checks that catch nearly all of them
- Find the scheme yourself. Search GOV.UK, gov.wales, homeenergyscotland.org or nidirect, not the link in the advert.
- Contact the scheme directly. Use details from the official site to ask whether the firm is working for it.
- Ask who pays. In writing: grant, loan, lease or a mix?
- Check certification. Look up the installer on the MCS website, for each technology.
- Never pay to "secure" a grant. Genuine schemes don't charge eligible households to apply.
- Take your time. Councils and scheme teams work over weeks. A real offer will still be there tomorrow.
A genuine scheme compared with a misleading offer
| Genuine scheme | Misleading offer | |
|---|---|---|
| How it reaches you | You apply to the council or scheme, or it contacts you and can be checked | Cold call, door knock, social media advert or "checker" form |
| Name | An official name you can find on GOV.UK, gov.wales or a council site | "The government solar scheme" or a borrowed real name |
| Eligibility | Checked against published rules: income, benefits, EPC rating | "You qualify" before anything is checked |
| Money | No fee to apply; any contribution stated in writing | A fee to "secure" funding, or a loan you weren't told about |
| Pace | Weeks or months | Sign today |
The genuine ways to pay
Turning down a misleading offer doesn't mean giving up on solar. These are the real routes, all checkable at source.
Means-tested schemes: in England, Warm Homes: Local Grant for homes rated D to G with household income usually of £36,000 or less; in Wales, Nest.
The loan scheme: the Warm Homes Loan Scheme, through participating lenders listed on GOV.UK, for owner-occupied homes.
Reliefs and income: 0% VAT on installed solar until 31 March 2027, and export payments once the panels run.
How to apply the same tests to us
This site is called Solar PV Panels Grants because that is what people search for. It is not a scheme, not a government body and not an installer, and it can't approve anything. It is an independent explainer published by SEO-DONS LTD, a company registered in England and Wales, company number 16766013, and you can check that on Companies House.
We don't tell anyone they qualify. The checker on our home page sorts the routes worth looking at for your answers and links to each scheme's own source. If you send us a question, it reaches SEO-DONS LTD and we reply by email. We don't phone, and we don't pass your details to installers or lenders.
If anything here looks like it's implying more than that, tell us and we'll fix it.
If you've been caught by a misleading offer
If you signed up at home or online, you normally have 14 days to cancel the contract, and cancelling may also end a linked finance agreement. Do it in writing. If you have paid anything and suspect fraud, contact your bank straight away.
Citizens Advice can explain your rights and passes reports to Trading Standards. You can report a misleading advert to the Advertising Standards Authority. If a firm claimed to be working for your council, tell the council too.
For offers that call solar free, see offers called free. For ECO4 offers in the scheme's final months, see ECO4 and solar.
Where these facts come from
- ASA — ruling on ECO4U Ltd (ECO4 adverts styled as government), December 2024 — checked 2 November 2026
- ASA — ruling on Rock Paper Click Ltd ("Government Solar Checker"), November 2019 — checked 2 November 2026
- ASA — "Greener homes: building on facts, not fibs" — checked 2 November 2026
- legislation.gov.uk — DMCC Act 2024, Schedule 20 (banned practices) — checked 2 November 2026
- Citizens Advice — scams — checked 3 November 2026
- GOV.UK — Apply for Warm Homes: Local Grant (England) — checked 2 November 2026
- Ofgem — Energy Company Obligation (ECO) — checked 2 November 2026
- MCS — find a certified installer — checked 3 November 2026
Not sure which route, if any, fits your home?
Tell us where you live and what you are looking into. Your message reaches SEO-DONS LTD, the publisher of this explainer, and we answer by email. We are not a scheme and cannot approve anything, but we can point you to the right door.
What happens next
- Your message reaches SEO-DONS LTD, which publishes this explainer.
- We reply by email with the scheme or council page that fits, if there is one.
- Any application is between you and that scheme.