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Imagine deciding to have solar panels installed on your home. It wouldn’t seem unreasonable for an inspector to check out your roof first, right? But what would you do if the inspector also wanted to enter your home to look inside the attic? Would you let him in even if he had no proof that he worked for the company?

In this story, one woman is in this situation, and she refuses to let the inspector inside. Now, she’s wondering if she overreacted.

Keep reading to see what you think.

AITA for not allowing a contractor into my home?

I (34F) live alone with my two cats in a small suburban midwest city.

Because of the nature of my job, I move every few years.

I bought a house when I moved here in early summer 2021…housing is so affordable here it made more sense financially to buy than to rent.

She made an impulse buy.

I stopped by a home fair a few weeks ago and allowed myself to be talked into purchasing rooftop solar panels. They were kind of an impulse buy and I did no real research beforehand.

The salesman said I’d get a phone call within a week from the contractor who’d do my roof inspection (which was necessary for the solar panels’ warranty).

I got a call at 7pm Tuesday from “Jeff” who said he wanted to schedule a roofing inspection.

She schedule the meeting.

I said I didn’t work Thursday or Friday, so anytime either of those days would work – I could plan my errands around it.

Jeff said 5pm Friday, which I thought was a little late, but it was OK by me so I saved it in my calendar.

I did not hear anything from the solar panel company.

Today (Friday) at 4:58 PM, Jeff called me and said he’d be twenty minutes late, since he was “just leaving work now.”

This does seem a little odd.

I said OK, but it set off alarm bells in my head.

Why was he just leaving work when he was on his way to something that is work?

A half hour later, a normal black truck (no decals, no logo) showed up in my driveway. A man got out who was not wearing a uniform: he was a middle aged, kinda chubby white guy in khakis and a black tshirt.

He didn’t look threatening, but his lack of professionalism on top of his lateness made me anxious, so I asked for ID.

She expected more than a driver’s license.

He showed me his state drivers’ license, but said he didn’t have anything else – there was no contract for the project. He said he didn’t have a company he worked for, and he didn’t have a uniform, the inspection wasn’t anything “like that”…he said he’d just gotten an email that he was supposed to come out and check my roof.

The inspection would also entail going into my attic, which would involve going through almost all of my home to get to the stairs.

I said that as a single woman living alone I didn’t feel comfortable with allowing him into my home, especially not now that it was getting dark, given his lack of professionalism and identification.

He left somewhat angrily.

She has so many questions.

I emailed the salesman and told him what had happened.

Salesman responded within an hour and said he was disappointed to hear that and their company would rebook a “new employee and verify it’s at a reasonable hour and in a professional manner.”

I’m so confused by this situation I need to crowdsource…AITA? Am I the Karen? Is this just the way business is done now and I need to get with the times?

Is the solar panel company the jerk for hiring contractors on behalf of the homeowners and not keeping the homeowners in the loop? Is the contractor the jerk for being late and not having a decal, tshirt, name tag, or even business card?

That does seems odd, and I can understand why she didn’t let him inside her home. It’s better to be safe than sorry and to trust your gut. Maybe she should cancel the solar panel installation.

Let’s see how Reddit responded.

This person and her mother would’ve done the same thing.

Another person thought this seemed sketchy.

This person shares what seemed odd to them.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a neighbor who was angry after coming home to a surprise hole in their fence.

Another person suggests not doing business with this company.

If the next guy the salesman sends out doesn’t seem more professional, she should call the salesman back and cancel the whole order. It’s better to be safe than sorry, and I wouldn’t have wanted to let a stranger with no proof he actually works for that company inside my home either.

She did the right thing. This company doesn’t sound very trustworthy.