Yesterday I received a letter from a solar energy company called ESE Consultants. It was flagged "IMPORTANT PLEASE READ" (I'm always suspicious when I read that!). Here (roughly) is the content:
1. "Our records" implies that this is the company that installed the panels. Why else would I expect them to have records on me? But they aren't. The installers were a company called Home Energy Partnership, which went out of business in 2013 (I just checked online). Of course ESE just might have taken over their customer list...

2. The letter is addressed to "The Homeowner". If this company had inherited any records of my system, they would have known my name.

3. The third paragraph shows that "our records" don't include the date of installation either. It was actually 7 years ago, not 5, so I wouldn't be due a free health check anyway.

I think it's pretty obvious what is going on here. They don't have any records. The company has simply used Google Street View to pick out houses with solar panels on the roof and has sent this round robin to all of them. People are supposed to think that the letter comes from the installers or an associated company and is providing a free service. Actually they want you to take out a 20-year extended warranty (described at the bottom of the letter), and it will certainly not be free.

Extended warranties aren't a scam exactly. They do what it says on the tin. But they are well known to be poor value for money. Moreover I asked about maintenance when I had the panels installed and was told that they seldom need any, as there are no moving parts.

So I am not going to ring their free number.

No dirt stick on them overtimes? Maybe that could lower panel performance or it is a non issue?

Yup, I asked about that. They are set on a sloping roof, so the rain washes them clean.

They recommend you do not try to clean them because their outer surface is glass. Scratching it does worse than dirt. In my case, snow buildup in the winter, they said just leave it there and it'll eventually slide off. Not like we're losing much during the winter anyways.

I don't know what's up with people who have over-hanging trees that could drop acorns or pine cones, but I assume that they tell them those trees need to go anyways to free up for sun exposure.

And Hazel, you're thread title is inaccurate. You're not a sucker, thus one having been born is untrue, you just don't like their patronizing attempt to grift you. Spam is just as accurate a description in my mind for email, voice-mail, direct phone calls, or mail.

On this side of the big pond, one the phone scammers' latest tricks in making spam phone calls is to spoof the caller ID to show the marks' area code and exchange.

I've noticed this as well. Screening calls via voicemail helps, if I don't know the number then I don't answer (of course sometimes even if I do know the number I still wont, but thats another topic).

Pretty much our policy. If someone we don't recognize wants to talk to us, he or she can leave a message.

We make one exception. Our phone number is one push-button off from that of a local radio station that does a lot of "caller number X wins concert tickets" promotions. If the Caller ID looks like a real live person who might be calling that radio station, we'll pick up. They are the friendliest wrong numbers ever.

What makes it worse is if that local number is actually(coincidence) a friend or other contact number, it looks like someone you know is calling you. This happens all the time. What's next?? I'd hate to imagine...

Both my cell phone provider and my land line provider (for the fax--remember faxes?) have started marking some incoming calls as "Spam?" (By the way, sometimes they are wrong.)

On my cell, I probably have more blocked numbers than contacts, but, when the spammers are using spoofed phone numbers, it doesn't do a lot of good.

I do do this: If the caller says, "I'm from [Microsoft | the IRS | somebody who says "You have been selected"] and I'm calling about your [computer | tax penalty | cruise to nowhere]," I respond, "You lie like a dog" and hang up.

One of my neighbors recently got a "grandparent" scam call: "Your grandson has been [arrested | is sick | is in trouble} and you have to go get gift cards . . . ." She figured out it was a scam and, man, was she ticked, but she went through what seemed like an endless time of heartache before she twigged to the truth.

If someone wants gift cards, it's a pretty good sign that the call is--er--less than truthful . . . .

Afterthought:

There are no depths beyond the reach of humankind.