Guide · protection
Spotting fake solar grant offers in Wales
Misleading grant offers rarely invent a scheme from nothing. In Wales they tend to borrow a real name, whether ECO4, the Welsh Government or Nest, and attach it to something else. Knowing the patterns makes them easy to spot.
In brief
Be wary of any offer of a solar grant for every homeowner, anything presented as a Welsh Government or UK government scheme that you can't find yourself, ECO4 offers in its final months, a fee to secure funding, or pressure to sign. The genuine Welsh low-income scheme is Nest; contact it directly.
Checked at source on 3 November 2026 · An independent guide from SEO-DONS LTD, not the Welsh Government, Nest or a council
The patterns
How misleading offers are built in Wales
The borrowed English scheme. Adverts for council "Local Grant" solar reach Welsh homes, especially near the border in Flintshire and Wrexham. That scheme is England only.
The "Welsh Government grant" for everyone. The Welsh Government's scheme, Nest, is means-tested. An offer of Welsh Government-funded solar for any homeowner is misdescribing something.
ECO4 in its last months. ECO4 ends on 31 December 2026 and suppliers are reported to have stopped taking new applications. New ECO4 offers deserve particular care.
Free that isn't. A loan, a roof lease or a part-payment sold as free.
The eligibility form. A quick online "do you qualify?" form that collects details for sales calls.
On the record
What regulators have found
The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld complaints against advertisers that presented ECO4 offers as if run by GOV.UK, with crown imagery, finding the ads implied government endorsement. It has also upheld complaints about heat pump grant figures shown without their eligibility conditions and about claims that work was fully paid for. Its guidance on home energy advertising says eligibility conditions belong in the advert itself.
Since 6 April 2025, Schedule 20 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act has banned outright several of the tactics above: falsely claiming approval by a public body, describing something as free when you pay anything, and falsely saying an offer is only briefly available to push a decision.
Side by side
A genuine Welsh scheme compared with a misleading offer
| Genuine (for example Nest) | Misleading offer | |
|---|---|---|
| How you find it | On gov.wales; you contact it, or a health board or charity refers you | A cold call, door knock, social media advert or form |
| Who it's for | Published routes: benefits, health, income, EPC | "Every homeowner", "you've been selected" |
| Who does the work | The scheme's own installer network | The firm making the offer |
| Money | Nothing for eligible households; no fees | A fee to secure funding, or a finance agreement |
| Pace | Assessment, then a package | Sign today |
The checks
Six checks that catch nearly all of them
- Find the scheme yourself on gov.wales or GOV.UK, not through the advert's link.
- Contact it directly, using 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 the installer on the MCS register for each technology.
- Never pay to secure a grant. Genuine schemes don't charge eligible households.
- Take your time. A genuine scheme will still be there next week.
If it's happened
If you've signed or paid
If you signed at home or online, you normally have 14 days to cancel a contract for services, and cancelling may also end a linked finance agreement. Do it in writing. If you've paid anything and suspect fraud, contact your bank straight away. Citizens Advice can explain your rights and passes reports to Trading Standards; misleading adverts can be reported to the Advertising Standards Authority.
Nest's own advice service is free and open to every household in Wales, and is a good place to check whether an offer you've received sounds right.
This site, too
Apply the same tests to us
North Wales Solar Panel Grants is named after what people search for. It isn't the Welsh Government, Nest, a council or an installer, and it can't approve anything. It's an independent guide published by SEO-DONS LTD, company 16766013, registered in England and Wales. Our finder sorts routes worth checking and links to each scheme's source; it never tells anyone they qualify. If you write to us, we reply by email and don't pass your details on. See about this guide.
Online
Social media adverts and forms
Many misleading offers now start with a social media advert that leads to a short "check if you qualify" form. Often the form exists to collect your details for sales calls, and the result is always encouraging. Before entering a phone number, find out who runs the site, whether it passes enquiries to installers, and whether the scheme it names exists on gov.wales or GOV.UK.
Our own finder asks nothing about you that’s sent anywhere, and it only sorts routes to check.
Impersonation
When someone claims to be Nest
Nest’s work is done by its own installer network, managed by the Nest team. If someone claims to be from Nest, ask how they got your details and what happens next, then contact Nest yourself using details from gov.wales to confirm.
Nest won’t ask eligible households to pay for a package or to sign a loan. Anyone who does isn’t offering Nest.
Pressure
When an offer comes with a deadline
A deadline can be real: ECO4 does end on 31 December 2026, the higher heat pump amount for oil and LPG homes does end in March 2027, and VAT on installed solar does rise on 1 April 2027. But a genuine scheme won't ask you to sign today to beat any of them. If you're told you'll lose a grant unless you sign now, take that as a reason to stop and check, not to rush.
Checked against
- ruling on ECO4U Ltd (ECO4 adverts styled as government), December 2024 (ASA), read 2 November 2026
- "Greener homes: building on facts, not fibs" (ASA), read 2 November 2026
- DMCC Act 2024, Schedule 20 (banned practices) (legislation.gov.uk), read 2 November 2026
- scams (Citizens Advice), read 3 November 2026
- Warm Homes Nest scheme annual report 2024 to 2025 (Welsh Government), read 3 November 2026
- Energy Company Obligation (ECO) (Ofgem), read 2 November 2026
- find a certified installer (MCS), read 3 November 2026
Not sure which scheme, if any, fits your home?
Tell us which council area you're in and what you're looking into. Your message reaches SEO-DONS LTD, the publisher of this guide, and we answer by email. We're not a scheme and can't approve anything, but we can point you to the right one.
What happens next
- Your message reaches SEO-DONS LTD, which publishes this guide.
- We reply by email with the scheme page that fits, if there is one.
- Any application is between you and that scheme.