SolarCity

I signed up for Solar City 4 years ago (lease) and I recently had additional panels installed because of SDG&E's upcoming rate increase. Although I would have loved to purchase solar panels, it was just not affordable for me. There were no surprises for either installation. Everything was explained and communication from Solar City was consistent. My first install was on the garage so the county inspected the work. The latest install went on the house. Appointments for installation happen very quickly after the lease is signed. It is scheduling the inspections that seem to take a lot longer--anywhere from 2 weeks to a month. This has NOTHING to do with Solar City (read some complaint reviews blaming Solar City for long hair for inspections).

Unbeknownst to Solar City, the state had to do the inspection. The county inspector who was sent out is how we all learned that the inspection had to be done by the state because it is a manufactured home on a solid foundation. Right then, I knew this was going to be a long wait. Aaron ** and his team were in constant contact with the state securing the proper paperwork needed and getting contracts to me from the state declaring that I am the owner and to verify serial and model numbers of the house. It was a 2 month wait to get an appointment with a state certified inspector and Solar City was in constant communication with me apologizing which they did not need to do because they do not have control over the inspections.

No need for me to me to be upset with either the state or SC because I have no control over them. SDG&E approved turning on the second system within 2 days of the inspection (they can take up to 2 weeks, also). Now I enjoy seeing all my bar graphs in the negative. Although I pay more for the lease in the winter months than I would electricity (lease is fixed), I pay a third of what I would pay for months (June to October) for electricity. Last year, my final SDGE bill was $40.

Solar City is by far the most professional business I have worked with from the sales agent to the technicians and electricians, and follow up technicians. Family and friends who have signed up with them say the same. I got solar so I could reduce my electric bill but also so I know I am helping the environment. So, even though I know I am paying more overall with a lease as opposed to buying, I know I am making a difference environmentally. Solar City made it possible for me to get solar with their lease program.

I purchased a home one year ago and transferred the SolarCity contract. During the transfer, the customer service was extremely responsive. I have been satisfied with the performance of the system and I realize a small savings each month and also reduce my energy footprint. For the first six months, online billing was available and efficient. About six months ago the billing portal began to undergo an "upgrade". It remains offline and attempts to contact the billing department are frustrating experiences. They ask you to leave your number and you will be called back within 48 hours. They did attempt to reach me after 46 hours, however I was unable to take the call. That put me right back where I started, leaving my number for a return call within 48 hours.

The reason for my inquiry was to request a statement of my account since I believe they failed to apply a payment. I then requested a statement via email which resulted in a return email indicating that my request would be addressed. I have since sent in payment via US mail. This payment took 18 days to clear my bank. I received a subsequent invoice charging me an additional late fee.

Product performance has been satisfactory, billing department/customer service is terrible. Their failure to maintain an online billing portal and forcing customers to use US Postal Service for remittance is contradictory to a solar company's supposed commitment to the environment. I would love to be more supportive of SolarCity, but I cannot do so until they demonstrate more responsibility to their customers and the environment.

Horrible organization. Very disorganized. Terrible follow-thru. I believe that SolarCity has set up their customer non-service department so that they can just deflect away the problems they cause and eventually frustrate the consumer to the level that they just give up. SolarCity, I told you that you jacked with the wrong guy and this review is just the start of what I am about to do. The only reason I listened to your sales pitch was because I wanted to reduce my expenses. You sold me on a system for my home and never even sent someone out to actually look at my home. Everything went smoothly in the SALES side of things. I was important to you then.

I was promised a system that would reduce my $250+ electric bill (per month) to under $60 per month. Contracts were signed and on install day, your guy tells me that my roof is too steep to install on. We discussed it and I asked if the system would fit on my sunroom. You installed, checked the support beams to make sure it would hold it and came back to me with a yes. Installation began and was completed. Not even a mention that the system he was going to install was only a fraction of the size of what was agreed to. Weeks later I find out that the system installed wouldn't even cover 10% of my energy usage. I have talked to so many "supervisors" and several of them have acknowledged that mistakes were made and apologized to me for what happened, but none of them had the power to do anything to fix it. Everyone says they are sorry, but not sorry enough to actually fix the problems. Get used to seeing my name because I am not going away...

As a renter, I entered into a lease agreement with SolarCity and my then Landlord who need to sign off on the agreement. Due to unforeseen circumstances and a loss business and yes income I had to move from the residence where the panels were installed. I made contact with SolarCity and started the process to transfer the panels and provided SolarCity with $499.00 removal fee for the panels to be removed and stored until I could work out the details of the new location and re-install. Months passed of us going back and forth without any action to remove panels from home of previous residence so I stop making payments. Several months later I was refunded my $499.00 and signed documents to be removed from the lease.

However, recently I have been getting bills stating that I owe the monthly lease while someone else is living in the home benefitting from panels that should be removed from the home unless the homeowners are going to take on full responsibility of the lease/payments and all. I want the panels removed and put into storage if I am going to pay for a lease. I believe that SolarCity mislead me and the then homeowner by stating that I could store the panels until I got place where I could pay $499.00 more to have them re-installed.

Now that the homeowners and their new tenant is benefitting from the panels at the previous residence they should assume full payment of lease and ownership of panels and my name should be completely removed. I have no way of getting the panels and no way of stopping the current renter from gaining from something that should not be a part of their living space. Now everyone continues to pass the buck and I am the only one to lose by having my no payments reported. I moved out of the residence on January 27th 2016.

Save yourself the frustration. Use a different company!!! My husband has called repeatedly without a callback. SolarCity was very attentive until after the inspection. We never heard a word back. After many calls someone in customer service said the electrical box would have to be replaced at a cost of $1000. My husband requested a callback from someone to talk about it. No one has ever called back to explain the reason, process or options. After I explained that we have had no call or explanation from anyone to the SolarCity representative in our local Home Depot, we finally received a voicemail from Dave that it was being worked on and an email from Lex on the same day saying you will not assist in cost.

My husband called back the same day leaving messages for a callback. Again no response. The lack of service and response is incredibly frustrating. We were originally sold on their product and service promises. That is why we chose to do our business with SolarCity. We have an existing relationship. We pay our bills. How do we get to speak to an actual, knowledgeable representative, who will explain and work towards a solution?

SolarCity has been a nightmare to work with. My system was installed over a year ago and has yet to be activated. SolarCity also left an open hole in my backyard for 6 months with a damaged electrical cable they hit while trenching. Apparently my Solar rep quit and my file was allowed to linger without any action for 9 months even with me repeatedly calling to check the progress. Every time I would call the agent would act concerned, but there was never any follow through. The hole was fixed immediately when I threatened a lawsuit. SolarCity sold me on the price and rates of the nema 1 program, but stalled the project so long that the original interconnect documents became invalid and they want me to sign the nema 2 contract at additional expense to me. I have never felt so betrayed by a company before. I truly feel like a number to SolarCity.

From the very first contact with SolarCity to this very second as I check my system's production online, I have been constantly pleased with their level of expertise, customer service and professionalism. I will never regret my decision to use them for my solar needs.

I have been online for about a month now, and am happy with my results. Looks like it is going to work as I thought it would. My biggest concern is I did not get a Power Guide Usage Meter, since the program was stopped. I feel like this is something that I need to really track my electrical usage.

After my panels were installed, I happened to start having electrical issues in just one area of my home. After checking all the breakers and finding them to be OK, I chalked it up to something that the Solar install team had done. I called my SolarCity rep and they had an electrician there within an hour. It turned out it had nothing to do with the solar install and it was just a loose wire in one of my outlets on the wall that was having issues. The SolarCity electrician fixed it for me in 10 minutes and went on his way with no charge. Once again, the issue wasn't even SolarCity's fault, but they were still willing and able to help me out. Great company!

I have panels running for about 2 months. I will hit my first MWh this month. I have not had to pay for electricity since I got them. SolarCity is easy to work with and quick with responses. I wish there was a way around the electric companies to make installation easier and quicker.

Within a month after having our panels installed, our roof began leaking directly under the solar panels footings. We contacted SolarCity and they sent out a tech crew. They made some repairs to the roof. The next big rain the same location was still leaking. SolarCity sent out another crew and they did some more patching. The next big rain, the roof was leaking in the same location again, but worse than ever. I called SolarCity and they sent out another crew. Each time we were told that this was SolarCity's issue and they would resolve the matter at no charge due to the roof warranty.

Again they claimed to fix the issue, and the next rain the water damage was so bad that the drywall actually came down and I was able to video the exact location where the water was coming through. SolarCity again came out and "repaired" the roof then sent out a subcontractor to repair the drywall. The subcontractor showed up and refused to do the repair because they said the roof was not properly repaired. We are now two years later still dealing with the same leak. I finally told SolarCity that I would get my own roofer out to fix their issue. The SolarCity contact said that would be fine and SolarCity would remove the panels at no cost to us so our contractor and that SolarCity would start the paperwork now so everything would be in order.

When it came time to have the panels removed a month and a half later, SolarCity would not respond to my calls and emails. When I finally got in touch with someone, they told me I would have to pay to have the panels removed and the drywall was my problem. I said that 4 different SolarCity crews came out and told us this was their issue and the repairs would be done at no cost to us. The phone rep said "Did you get that in writing?" I could not believe my ears. How could 4 different crews tell me the same thing then now it is my issue. The rep promised to expedite the issue and over a week later, I am back at square one again. Being told sorry they dropped the ball AGAIN and they will start the paperwork again. I have heard this all before... over and over the past 2 and a half years and I still have a leaking roof and sagging drywall.

The first couple times the ball got dropped I thought maybe it was just a fluke, but now after hearing the same thing over and over again, I'm beginning to think this is their business model. At this point I would never ever do business with SolarCity again and do not recommend their service to anyone. I'm actually quite sick that I have a Model S on order. If I could cancel it I would. This company does not deserve any more of my business.

I originally decided to lease solar after talking with SolarCity rep that stopped me at a local home depot. The rep came to my house to do a site plan. After hearing about all of the incentives, Federal and New Jersey SREC's, I decided to buy instead. The SolarCity rep told me that his company would draw up the contract and electronically send it to me for me to sign the highlighted areas stating that I would receive the federal incentive and the New Jersey SREC's for 15 years. I was very happy at this point. The contract was sent, I signed on the highlighted areas, the solar panels were installed. I was delightfully impressed with SolarCity at this time.

About 7 weeks later, I was contacted by a rep at NJ Clean Energy Program stating that there was a discrepancy of the ownership of the SREC's. I was baffled at this point. I went back and looked at my DocuSign contract and there it was. SolarCity put themselves as the owner of the SREC's. I thought it must be a typo. I contacted the SolarCity rep that came to my house and he was surprised also because we agreed verbally that I would be the owner of the SREC's and the contract that I was to sign would reflect this. I trusted them a little too much and just looked at the highlighted areas for me to sign and didn't see that they put themselves as the SREC owner.

I then contacted the SolarCity Concierge that was assigned to my case. She told me that there was nothing they would do to change the SREC ownership. Now I am seeking legal options to make SolarCity do the right thing. I am a simple person who agreed to a contract verbally in "Good Faith" and was deceived by SolarCity in the DocuSign contract. I am writing this so if you purchase from SolarCity, this doesn't happen to you.

SolarCity is a big fraud. Sales rep told me I was going to have 98% solar coverage. I found out from DWP my solar coverage was only at 50%. I called SolarCity to find out why my panels were only producing 50% energy. The customer service person told me my panels are producing 100% energy but they could only install half of the original panels promised due to the structure of my roof. Really? SolarCity installed half of the original promised panels without coming back to me to explain what the issues were? Wow. I am still recovering from this action. I have requested they come remove panels. Am still waiting.

This is con company, never trust. Please listen to my story as following. I was hoaxed to install solar system by SolarCity in April 2014 on lease agreement. Sales from SolarCity said very beautiful further to me, how much money I can save. Their professional personnel to calculate my energy use then proposal 6.125kw DC system and charge $164.79/m, guaranteed price $0.2119/kwh. At that time SCE (Southern California Edison) was providing me energy at around $0.13/kwh. Of course, I turned them off. Several days later, they called me again, lied to me. They said their professional engineer recalculated then proposed 5.25kw DC system instead, charge me $124.76/m, guaranteed price $0.1550/kwh.

They made good report called "Energy Consumption Details and Assumptions" to convince me to believe how their solar system can save money to me. Before Solar, Average Monthly Electric Bill: $245.88. After Solar, Average Monthly Electric Bill: $27.67. However, after solar system installed I paid $1,759.86 in 2015 and $2.120.84 in 2016. This means: Average Monthly Electric Bill $147/m in 2015 and $177 in 2016. I stopped to pay them monthly payment and called SolarCity numeral times to complained the problem. Each time a new customer rep talked to me in different story. Either they said: "You will save money in further", or they said, "You said lease agreement, in any situation you need to pay money regardless service or not." They threatening to destroy my credit now if I don't pay them money. I don't know how to do right now.

SolarCity billed me around $30 more than what the contract show. Called the billing department; hold for around 15mins, no one answered. Sent email to the Customer Care team twice - no answer. They added $15 extra for not paying them via ACH. Now I am still on hold to reach their billing department. Terrible service!!

I am so over this. First off it took forever to be installed and turned on. Then they had a problem with the equipment and it was only producing half what it should be. A year later and I see an increase on my bill!!! What the heck, they promised our rate would NEVER increase. Now I am told that on my contract it said it would go up 2.9% the first year, and NEVER more than that. So what, are they saying by year 20 I will be paying upwards of 25-30 cents a KWH?!? That's some bull right there. They were bragging and boasting about this rate being locked in as opposed to my local MID who goes from .12 to .15 during the summer. Well guess what? All Winter long I could have been paying .12 and instead been paying .15 to Solar City, plus .12 to MID because Solar doesn't produce NEARLY enough to run my house each day. It's ridiculous. This company is a rip-off and I haven't saved jack squat.

I scheduled an appointment with their agent to visit house and check if I can install solar panels or solar shingles. I explained that in the past they told me that my house is not a candidate because of trees next to my house. I removed the trees and I wanted another estimate. 20 minutes before the appointment I received a phone call from the agent and he said that the house is not candidate because of the trees. I explained to him that I removed the trees but he did not wanna come out. After arguments he said he will come but he will be 20 minutes late. I could not wait because I have other commitments. It is so sad that I waited for him to come but he did not bother or wanted to come and check the site. It seems that they have enough business so they do not care anymore about new customers. I wish that we have more competition and that they were not subsidized.

Sold my house in March after almost 5 years with SolarCity and was never so happy to be rid of them. Absolutely the worst service after the sale I've ever experienced. When the inverters failed (3 times) it took days - once up to 27 days - to have my service fully restored. Hours holding on the phone with broken promises. The final insult which is still ongoing... After we initiated a payoff on the account and they acknowledged the payoff, they still took a payment from my account. Promised refunds have yet to arrive after weeks. If customer service and repair records are important to you stay away from this company.

In July of 2016 I took over an existing loan and panels with SolarCity. The first two months everything was fine; invoices were coming and I could log into online account. Then everything just stopped. For the past ten months I have received two invoices and they failed to show how my payments were being applied to my account. After numerous phone calls and emails I finally spoke to someone in credit/collections that promised me the problem would be corrected. So I finally receive an invoice this month after making a payment just days prior and once again it doesn't show how my payments are being applied. I simply just asked to send me the missing invoices showing how my payments were being applied and after a week I was told they are still trying to complete this simple request.

Today I called customer care and spoke to a rep named Torrey (NFD) who promised me that a supervisor or manager from billing would return my call in the next 30 minutes. As usual I don't receive a return phone call. I have already filed a complaint with BBB and in the process of completing my second. I'm at a loss and have no idea what to do. This company billing department is a complete train wreck. I will also be seeking other ways to deal with this issue including legal recourse. Do not get panels with SolarCity... worse billing department ever...

I went through my SolarCity accounts and here is what (according to your company) I found. Jan 2017 kWh 14.2 & 16.6. Feb 2017 kWh 292.5 & 300.8. Apr 2017 kWh 95.8 & 107.5. Which adds up to a combined total of 827.4 kWh. So even though I am not a Math whiz, I can multiply simple numbers. Now 827.4 kWh x 12 cents per hour equals $99.29 for the entire year so far. But I was charged $135.30 just for ONE MONTH.

I am a SolarCity customer at Oregon. I am really frustrated with the entire process of SolarCity designing this system and making it generate an excess 70% of my consumption capacity for which they have been happily ripping me for last 1.5 years. It has been horrifying experience working with their customer care to get their design corrected, they outright refuse to do so as per the so called policy.

I really began to question the financial benefits of installing solar panels because tax credits (both federal and state) are being taken by them and if your bills are less than 100 dollars a month, the panels don't provide any extra benefit. I end up paying much more with solar panels than without them. So please be very cautious and do a careful due diligence before you install these panels. Their sales team and customer care is very ill equipped to handle these queries and provides a pathetic customer service. Please look for alternate options if available, it's not worth going with SolarCity.

SolarCity has the worst billing department on the planet. I was advised by a customer service representative July of 2016 to cancel EFT with my checking account. My billing had suddenly increased without any documentation. Contract calls for no increases. To date I have had no explanation. I have called customer 12-15 times. No one knows why or how to correct problem. Do not use SolarCity.

Very happy with the work accomplished. I have no complaints. Very satisfied. I had an agent, Garrett ** that was always available to help me with the paperwork preventing me from messing it up. Thank you.

I have called SolarCity about the true-up if they can help. I just paid $169.00 and now they send me another true-up for 2015 and 2016 for $193. SolarCity is a crook that try to get more money from homeowners. They miscalculate the number of solar panel I needed and now I'm paying the price. I think they do that purposely so they can charge me for true-up. I asked them to get some of the solar taken off or turn off so that I don't have to produce too much energy (since it's their fault for miscalculating the number of solar I should have). None of them refuse to help me. I am sorry for getting solar panel from SolarCity. There are better companies out there that's better than solarcity. If there is a negative 0 for rate, I would have given them that rate. I DO NOT RECOMMEND SOLARCITY TO ANYBODY, SPECIALLY THE PERSON THAT CALCULATES HOW MANY SOLAR PANEL I NEEDED.

I truly appreciate the attention to detail shown by the SolarCity system installers, as well as the concierge service, making any number of call to answer questions and provide needed information regarding the product. Your service was excellent. Many thanks...

I would like to talk to you about the other half of the roof, how hard it was working with doc sign, the fact that I had to wait three months after your work was done to turn on the solar, and what year do I get to claim the tax credit. The year the work was done is December 18, 2016 or when I was told to go outside and turn on the March 2017?

I paid Solar City $12,000 for installation. They paid me back $1,000 for rebate. I also earned $4,000 for tax credit. My last two PG&E bills were $644 and $487 respectively. This month, it came down to $140 after the installation of solar system. I highly recommend to have your solar system installed. The project is "God Sent." Plenty to gain; nothing to lose.