It’s been documented in countless articles and investigations that many Sunnova customers were promised entirely false benefits.
From checks from the utilities instead of electric bills to tax rebates and warranties that didn’t exist.
Often the door knockers are NOT employed by Sunnova but by local installers or “lead generators”. A large part of the system cost is for kickbacks, referral fees, affiliate fees, …
Can you PROVE their promises? #
Depending on your state law, you might be able to legally record all conversations and phone calls. There are many free cell phone apps and I automatically record every call on my cell phone.
I also sometimes record in-person communications when I expect to be lied to. And, I don’t have perfect memory and it’s so helpful to get phone numbers, email addresses, etc. listening to the recording.
However, it is extremely time-consuming to transcribe audio and quite expensive to hire a court reporter for transcription, so I try to follow up with a summary of the conversation in writing. For Sunnova email works great, but I also contact companies through Facebook Messenger and sometimes it’s much more productive and faster than email. Every company is different and there’s LinkedIn to find individuals and companies.
- Can you prepare a spreadsheet with your calculations for losses?
- Do you have receipts for repairs and pictures of installation damage?
- Can you document when your system underperformed with screenshots from the Sunnova site, or otherwise?
Get all promises in writing. #
Follow up on calls and talks by email, summarizing the important issues.
As you’re reading this, you probably already have a problem with your solar system. When it comes to resolving disputes and documenting issues it’s super important to get everything in writing. Corporations LOVE to do business on the phone because it’s so difficult to document what was said for court or regulatory complaints.
That is one reason why it is so difficult for consumers to find an attorney to sue corporations. The corporations document and and their employees, executives, and lawyers frequently create or falsify documents and they lie under oath. They rarely get caught and even if you prove it, the average judge does NOT care.
It’s up to you to keep notes and to document the events.
As per our call / conversation [today, yesterday, date], I’d like to confirm that based on your analysis of our electric bills,
… the solar system will get us checks from [your utility] averaging about $…
… our electric bill will be reduced by about $ … annually based on current use.
… we will receive a tax credit for $ …
… we will not incur any costs for removing and reinstalling the system for roof repair or replacement.
… whatever they promise or explain, document it.
Did I understand you correctly?
Try to include all important points discussed and end your email with a question so they’ll have to write back and you have proof of their promises. You could also end with “when can we move forward?” or anything relevant to your situation. If you’re not sure what they said, ask them to explain. It’s important to be able to prove that they received your email.
Be very careful if they “clarify” an issue with legal terms, often they are very skilled at protecting themselves with terms few understand.
Of course, you also need to carefully review the contract BEFORE you sign it as it often does NOT reflect the verbal promises.
While you may have several days to cancel, it is my experience that once a contract is signed, people do not analyze it in detail, don’t understand many of the clauses and they mostly look at payments. We’re all busy!
Unfortunately, the contracts get longer and longer and most lawyers have no clue about solar and would likely not be helpful even if you paid them a few hundred dollars to review the contract. Sorry, but that’s been my experience — it’s up to YOU to protect yourself.
If you’re dealing with problems after the system was installed you have to review your contract — what are your rights and obligations?
Important: Contracts vary by company, state, and over time, so don’t go by “others'” contracts discussed on social media.
Study YOUR contract.
Legislative or Regulatory SOLUTIONS #
- Prohibit ALL door knocking and impose substantial fines, such as $1,000 with $500 going to the homeowner who reports them.
- Mandate standardized DISCLOSURES summarizing all major provisions.
- Prohibit mandatory arbitration for all consumer contracts.
- Provide low-interest government financing (like student loans) to be forgiven when companies don’t live up to their promises (let the government go after them).
Filing a Lawsuit #
Due to mandatory arbitration clauses and often hostile judges, it is extremely difficult to find attorneys willing to take on these companies.
Please contact me if you know of lawyers taking these types of cases!
As many solar companies go bankrupt, attorneys might not get paid even if they win your case.
Stopping Payments #
If you FINANCED your system you could stop payments, but you need to be able to DEFEND yourself if they sue you. You might end up with a collection on your credit.
Paypal froze my account due to faulty algorithms, falsely claiming fraud around 2010 and I couldn’t sue in local court because of their terms. I posted on my blog how PayPal screwed us and put two small businesses out of business when they froze both of our accounts for six months. Paypal thought I owed them and every time a new collector wrote, I disputed with the link to my blog post. All collectors stopped collecting and it was never on my credit.
You have options and what’s best for YOU depends on YOUR situation — your finances, health, etc.
