SolarCity

Joke was on us. The government won't refund you a solar credit more than your tax return amount. Our actual tax return was only 3k, so we only got a 3k solar credit, nowhere near the 11,000 that the loan required be put down within the first 18 months. The loan amortized and we were, of course, $8k short of the lump sum they wanted. Our payment has gone up $50 a month. (Of course, this came at a time when my husband was out of work due to massive illness, so the timing couldn't have hit us harder) Yeah, I'm mad. Should have done my homework, but honestly didn't think a big company like Tesla would pull a fast one like this on us. I emailed the rep about it and he never responded, so here I am.

Before solar our energy costs averaged $200 a month. Now we're paying $288 a month. Is the product working? Yes, the panels seem to be doing their job well so far. We've only had them for a couple of years. No leaks on the roof. We've had heavy snow and two layers of shingles on our roof with the panels, and no structural problems yet. After all of these reviews, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the panels continue to function well. It sounds like it would take an act of Zeus to get someone to fix them if they malfunctioned. Yikes. I just can't get that bad taste out of my mouth every time I look at the panels and think about the misleading financial burden.

Now I have an extra box on the outside of my house drilled into my brick home, that no one contacted me about or got my approval to continue with the job to make sure that this was okay with the homeowner/buyer. Then my next representative up and quit Tesla and I had no one to contact. I had to reach out to three or four individuals before someone got back to me and then they passed me on to someone else. Each time I had to speak to a new person I had to give the new information all over again because no one either documented it or chose to read the documentation. Tesla's resolution for being on what I feel deceitful, is offering me $200 for a nest offer that expired before I signed with them but I was never made aware of by my rep.

I just feel that because in the beginning I specifically told them that they would not be able to use the electrical box or the sub panel because it was full that they just thought because I was a woman I had no clue of what I was talking about. It's a shame you can't trust people these days and you have to read the entire small print. Now I really question how good their warranty is going to be for the next 25 years supposedly that I have my warranty for.

So, according to contract, we expected that we would be refunded for the time when we did not get any solar production - which is just for 2018 more than $700. Not to mention that we had to pay to grid company (SCE) additional $300 because we fell into higher tiers, which supposed to be covered by solar. But, Tesla/SolarCity does not accept any issues, and - after multiple calls - only sent us the small check covering just 1/5 of what we paid to them. So saying that customer service is the worst - is not making enough emphasize. Their customer service is based on ignorance, lie, denial, and staffed with people fully embracing such a tenet. So right now, we are looking into our legal options.

Also, prior to installing, I advised the salesperson that I was planning to sell the house and would it pose an issue upon sale, she stated no it wouldn't, there's no problem transferring to the new owner, and it also adds value to the house. This is not entirely true, she did not mention that if the owner did not agree to continue the lease, that it is costly to discontinue the lease. Also, when you pay the lease off, you're gifting the new owners solar panels and practically free electricity. Please stay away from Tesla and do research on terms with other companies.

3) We had a hail in Texas last year and roof needed to be replaced so I call Tesla to remove panels and their response was they are not schedule anyone until 2019 (five months away) so I said let's make schedule after that and response was we cannot do it now. Ridiculous thing ever! 4) They asked me to higher someone to remove panels and they suggested subcontractor that charge $3500 to just uninstall the panels. 5) I had to pay to remove the panels and they also expect you to pay your monthly bill regardless of panels on roof or not. 6) Now, it's over six months there are no panels on the roof (they are sitting in the backyard) and they are not sending anyone to install them. Now, that I stop paying they are calling every day for the payment and threatening to report to credit bureau. What a rip off business?

In addition, they did not know what an installation certificate was. When I asked them to contact the building department they said they "do not call the city to ensure completion." I asked to speak to a supervisor and was told that it would take 24 to 72 hours to get a call back. When I asked how was my problem going to be resolved the representative said that she would have to wait for the operations department to get back to me but she did not know when that would be. She said to try back tomorrow. They were very good on the install but on the follow up terrible. Do not use. They are not the only solar company in town.

The sole purpose is for the Carbon Monoxide to exit the home and long term exposure can cause debilitating lifelong health issues. When I contacted SolarCity now owned by Tesla they said unless I have a Lawyer they do not and will not compensate me for my repairs to the damage they did nor will they deal with me. Still paying for darn panels that under-perform and so disappointed by customer service. I need lawyer obviously.

I have all of this communication saved for the possibility of having to get serious in order to enforce my rights under said warranty and Arizona Consumer Protection Statutes. I am prepared to file with the ROC and Attorney General if necessary to get this ball rolling. I do not want to go this route if we do not have to. Which brings us all together here so I can attempt one more time with some people above the phone lifters that I have been subjected to thus far in my plight.

This is where I will tell you about my specific problem. My roof is seven years young, never a leak or problem. Until one day a Solar company comes along. We entered into an agreement a binding contract and the install begins! Fast forward one year and one month, setting is Phoenix AZ. We do not receive much rain here and when it does rain it's really just a sprinkle here and there, save for the rare wet storm. However, in October of 2018 it rained, A LOT, for three days straight in fact. This amount of rain was enough to alert me to a distinct odor of wet wood, mildew, funk etc... Upon further inspection I found that I had an area of my home with a large stain at the ceiling. Enter my not so great homeowner's insurance. I will spare you all of this nightmare except to say they would not look beyond the ground level and I am seriously embroiled in a battle with them because...

My solar warranty does not allow for anyone to touch the system or it will void the warranty. I can gain permission to have someone do so but this is where the problem grows. You see, as I stated before, the problem is the install so I must preserve the evidence of this in order to hold your company accountable since so far no one will give me the time of day. Unfortunately this puts me and my family of six in a very difficult position. I am out of time with my insurance and they are worthless, I've discovered, in protecting my family and home. So I am currently interviewing lawyers to assist in enforcing my rights with them, but we still cannot proceed with repair until the solar issue is recorded and preserved properly; or until you actually stand up and do what is right to save us all some time and money.

What is it that I am seeking from you three specifically? Well, one of you is a litigator, well versed in the rights of the consumers and the laws regarding contracts and warranties. Another a founder and high titled executive with binding interest for the success of your company and finally the third, the ringleader of all the phone lifters at the specific location that I have had the unpleasant and unprofessional experience of having to deal with over the past four months. All while being under extreme stress dealing with this problem that has taken my home and consumed me and my life so fully that I feel as if I am not repairing an issue with my home, but fighting to regain my life as I know it!

What have I presented to show you that I am correct in making this accusation? Not much yet I suppose but the rest of this letter and all of the attachments will round that out for us. So let's begin, shall we? On October 22, 2018 after first alerting your people to my concern I had Casey come out to look at the issue. He happily entered my attic and supplied me and my insurance with his finding that it was wear and tear around the A/C causing the damage and his opinion that I should hold my roofer accountable. Suspicion alert number one, why? My roof never leaked in seven years, why all of a sudden would it so dramatically?

You see at this point it was becoming clear to me that all of my home had damage, EVERY ROOM! So how does one point of entry cause water damage to extend so far? Suspicious alert number two. So I asked him, "Do you see any other point of entry major or minor?" To which he replied not that he could see and added the repair on roof is minor but the damage to my home beneath will be costly. This conversation took place via text (which I have saved). I should note I have been collecting picture evidence weekly since October 5th and only communicated via text or email for the entire process with all parties even the contractors and environmental specialists that I sought.

I reached out to Casey again on November 2nd 2018 to advise. I now had gained enough knowledge and evidence that I felt SolarCity was responsible and I wanted to provide that documentation and formally open a claim. He responded by stating he empathized with our plight but we would have to contact customer service. Why? Because he is just an electrician, he said. He was not capable of handling a roof issue. Wait! What did he just say? Suspicious alert number three. So why was an electrician sent to inspect and document a roof issue?

Ok, so this is where I did notify customer service. Several times as a matter of fact and the games began. I like games, I am quite good at Scrabble, volleyball and yes, even psychological games of one-upmanship. I do enjoy a smart and sporting banter but these CS professionals you have employed to fend off cost are not very good at this game, rendering it boring and fruitless. So I have moved on to greater opponents.

This is what brings the four of us together today! So, the ball is now in your court. How shall we proceed? Will you engage in this game at a more challenging level or will you call an end to this mess by acting with integrity and taking responsibility for your installers inability to properly affix the system to my roof without error causing absolute destruction; and thereby, graciously allow my family to be free from this awful experience, repair our home and resume our lives? I am looking forward to your responses and hoping you will act in good faith! Thank you for your time, definitely, if you have made it to the end of this letter. With much appreciation! Your warrantied customer.

P.S. Phone not provided because I want to continue my chain of accountability and please, don't forget to see the illuminating attachments which are just a few select highlights of the plethora that I hold in my pocket. As I was unable to send this letter to anybody within the company, I decided I would post it here in hopes that it will receive some attention for the time I put into creating it. I would also like to save any consumers some grief and dealing with this company.

The Good: The system works as expected and as promised. The installation took one day and overall was smooth. I had some other electrical work done after the install and that electrician commented that Tesla's work was very good. The bad, and the very, very, very ugly: Tesla sales reps lie. When they created the engineering plans for my system I was supposed to have had two Powerwalls included in the design. I was told it would take 1 week to 10 days to receive the plans for me to sign off on. That process took over a month and I had to call to follow up no less than 7 times.

Right before I was supposed to get the plans my sales rep contacted me and said, "Well we are having a supply issue on the Powerwalls you can wait for them to become available (approx July), or you can move forward with the install and we will add 5 years on to the Powerwall warranty (bumping to 15 years)." I elected to get the additional warranty and move forward with the install. Took another 3 weeks for them to generate the design for my sign off. I was told at that time that the install would occur in late April (it was now late Feb), it does take time to create the paperwork, get the permits, etc. In late April I was still fighting with them to get the contracts to my local utility for signature. My install did not actually happen until the last week in June.

During the intervening months I was forced to act as facilitator between Tesla and my power company in order to get the paperwork needed to generate the building and electrical permits. I had schedule the inspections, all of this was required of me so that I could make and install date that would ensure that I did not miss my state's incentive program and even with me calling, emailing, texting and basically pushing the process forward. I only made the incentive date cut off by 3 days.

When the powerwalls finally came available (recently) btw I was told they would be available in July (2018) I didn't get notified they were available until Jan (2019). I was told they never said I would get a 15 year warranty... Yet another lie on top of I sent that paperwork, I did that form, I submitted that permit application. All in all the PV install took approximately 6 months from the initial consult to the system being turned on, I had to call Tesla probably no less 100 times to push my install forward at every single stage. I am reasonably confident that had I not been on the phone with them 15 times a week I would not have had the install done until 3-4 after it was actually completed.

The net: Their process sucks, they have different groups for permits, contracts, utility form submission, etc. None of these groups talk to one another, it is all supposed to be facilitated through your "Sales Adviser." Perhaps there are some good advisers out there but that seems like a pretty risky gamble because mine was either over-utilized, or completely inept, based on my interactions. I'm fairly sure he was inept since it took him almost a week to send an email that he promised me each day over 4 days he had "already sent" and he couldn't understand why I hadn't received it. Turns out btw that the customer service center was able to send the exact same email which I received about 30 seconds after they said it was sent... So yeah inept.

Do yourself a favor and use a local install company that is not a gigantic corporation that is way more focused on selling cars than they are on doing solar power arrays. I have spoken with a few other companies now that I'm looking at someone else to do my battery backup install and according to them my experience is not unique. In fact it is the norm.

They've produced a DocuSign contract that I never even seen before that states I can never break the contract and that they can charge an estimated monthly fee even if the system isn't running. Which explains why they were charging me $400 a month for the 6 months that wasn't even up and running while I was still having to pay my regular electric company. SolarCity is a scam and I just need to lose my house over it! If anyone knows of any class action lawsuit please provide that information. I see a lot of reviews on here that are comparable to mine.

I had two other quotes from reputable roofing companies that my roof was in the 9 to 10,000 range to reroof. But Tesla then changed the cost for the roof to $21,800. I haven't had the rug pulled out from under me like that in a long long time. It was shocking. I have a Tesla car, and I love it, but it's totally different with Tesla Solar. Commissioned salespeople with slippery bait and switch pricing. I can't believe people think they can get away with that in 2018. Go with a local solar company, that's what I will now have to do.

I asked Kevin about this, he said all the money that is made from Tesla is coming from the energy that is produced from your roof. So I asked Kevin again, will I be receiving a bill from Tesla at all? He assured me that I would never receive a bill from Tesla, even though the contract talks about billing. The only bills that I would be receiving is through my electric company, Duquesne Light. Much to my surprise I'm receiving a bill from Tesla after the solar panels were put up and I'm producing electricity. Now trying to contact customer service is a big pain waiting on hold at minimum 15 minutes at a time, customer service Representatives refusing to put supervisors on the phone. The only thing that the customer service Representatives say is oh, why didn't you read the contract? Basically just infuriating me even more not even addressing my concerns with the lying sales representative.