Two solar operators slammed by ACCC for misleading and deceptive advertising

Two solar panel retailers have been forced to amend their marketing campaigns by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission after it was found their conduct was potentially misleading and deceptive.

The case points out why solar buyers need to be extremely careful when dealing with technicalities about how much energy may or may not be saved by installing panels, another company says.

The ACCC says Queensland Solar Systems and State Solar Services admitted it was likely they had broken the Trade Practices Act by making a number of claims in their advertising, including:

• Claiming consumers would “wipe out” the size of their household electricity bills by installing a 1.5kw system, which in reality is unlikely to generate a sufficient amount of electricity by itself.
• Claiming solar systems were available at discounted prices, when the systems had actually never been sold at higher prices or at their recommended retail price.
• Claiming discounts were only available during certain periods, when in reality they were available at discount prices for longer periods and outside the advertised times.

ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel also says the two companies failed to show the discounts were only available to customers who were eligible for Federal Government assistance using Renewable Energy Certificates.

“Before businesses claim their products have environmental or financial benefits they should carefully consider whether those claims are accurate and ensure that they are able to be substantiated,” Samuel said in a statement.

“Businesses that advertise ‘special’ or markdown prices by comparing their prices with a higher price or a RRP must also be able to prove that the comparisons are accurate and represent genuine savings to consumers that they would not get outside advertised ‘sale’ periods.”

Samuel also said that in future cases, the ACCC will use new enforcement powers to make substantiation notices, which then require businesses to support the claims in their advertising along with documentation.

Solar Shop spokesperson Liam Hunt says buyers need to be particularly careful when shopping around for solar, given there are so many technicalities and not every home needs the same solar system installed.

“There are several elements that need to be taken into consideration, such as their current power bill and their average consumption, the roof it will be installed on and the states’ feed-in tariff rate.”

“There are also other factors like the types of panels being used and how much power these panels will be providing on a daily basis. It’s not as simple as saying that a 1.5kw system will produce X amount every time.”

The ACCC said court enforceable undertakings will require both companies to publish corrective notices in papers in Queensland and Victoria, in an industry magazine and on the company’s websites. They will also be forced to contact past customers to inform them of their conduct, and set up a compliance program.