SolarCity

We signed with Solar City in March 2014. It took until June for it to be set up. Then our first true up bill was over $ 800. We were told we needed more panels, it took until October 2015 before they were turned on. My next true up bill (June 2016) is already over $ 700. We have went to their office and made calls trying to figure out the bill. No help! No one knows anything or it isn’t the right department. They say they will call back and never do. When I call I have waited over 45 minute and no one ever answers. The say leave your phone number and they will call back and they never call back. We are now paying more with Solar City than when we were with just PG&E. It is ridiculous! If there was a way to get out of this I would! Check with other solar companies before you sign… Solar City is a big lie!!!

We just moved here from the Bay Area and moved into our house at the end of July. We always been a fan of solar and our first PG &E bill really sped the process forward. The first place we contacted was Solar City. The sales rep came out to the house and was quite pleasant but not very knowledgeable about tier pricing, etc. She was not very well prepped for the meeting but we went ahead with the consult.
Lots of questions popped up and the answers (when I did get one) were troubling at best. The site surveyor came out and we were still moving ahead. Simple questions were not answered to any degree of satisfaction and something just didn’t feel right. They assigned a «concierge» to the project which we never heard from until I had a question even she couldn’t answer.
The site surveyor had to come out a second time, which was fine, but there was confusion in communication between the «design team» and him as to what he needed to do. Also, I discovered he’d damaged the panel door to the point where we could no longer lock it even though anyone can walk up to it from the alley.
The worst part came when we got a email from them saying that they would need to reroof about ½ of our house. There was no real explanation in the email, just a picture of some digital read out on an unfamiliar device and a sketch of nearly ½ our roof needing to be reroofed.
When I called for an explanation, I was on hold for 15 min. They came back and said the tile would not support solar panels and that from what they could tell the tile was installed on top of a wood shake roof (how they can tell that from photos I have no idea). I told them the project needed to be put on hold because re-​roofing ½ of our house was not a project I would ok without speaking with an actual roofer.
We called the company that roofed the house (BSW here in Bakersfield), who, by the way, had repaired a few tiles during our escrow inspections. They showed us the paperwork showing the roof was completely new (no wood shake roof under that) and that the tiles would support solar panels if mounted with different hardware. They also install solar systems so we had them come out for a consult. The sales rep from BSW was very well informed and came completely prepared with a package of information and would ask/​answer questions before we had to!!!
Evidently, Solar City makes decisions about peoples homes with no explanation and no real roofer coming out to make an assessment. They make decisions that would cost the homeowner thousands of dollars based on photographs and through a mystery «design team» in Fremont somewhere that you are not allowed to speak with. That re-​roofing project would cost an additional $ 5600 (even tho they would pay $ 2500 of it) and I could only imagine the problems what would have arisen.
Also, Solar City, wanted to put panels on the east side of the house, saying that it was the second best place to produce power (south being first). This went against my instinct and when BSW came out for their consult, they suggested the south and west part of the house. When I asked them why Solar City would suggest the east, they explained it would produce a higher return for Solar City in the first 5 years due to depreciation and lower energy production.
At the end of the story, the customer service was HORRIBLE with Solar City. The mystery «design team» made decisions about what they wanted to do to our roof without ever sending a roofer out, and they lied/​made up reasons about why they needed to reroof in the first place. Not to mention the damaged panel door cover and no follow through with any communications they said they would have.
Needless to say, we’ve signed a contract with BSW for solar install and I feel very at ease. It just felt right and they were honest and upfront. I would NOT EVER recommend Solar City to anyone. As of tomorrow morning, the project with Solar City is canceled and I’m still in disbelieve that they could run a business like that.
Elon Musk is a great scientist and engineer but he is not a good businessman. It shows with how his companies treats their prospective customers.
Shady at best… how very disappointing!!!

Sketchy practices. They don’t have a contract in Spanish … Hmmmmmm wonder why??? My parents had sent me the contract and I immediately told them to not sign it they did and cancelled right away. They didn’t understand much. They almost signed away for 20 years at a 2.9 rate which goes up. Anyways shady practices. By law if my parents requested a contract in Spanish they should oblige. The reason they don’t is because «they ran out» no you want to scam people into signing stuff they don’t understand!!!

Had panels installed in mid-​septeber. Everything appeared to be running smoothly as panels were installed within 10 days or so. 6 weeks later, still no communication from them and nothing from PG&E about switching over. When I finally reached out to Solar City they said there was an issue with the permits and they were on it. Fast forward another 6 weeks, still no word from Solar City. I again reach out to them and they have no answers. Another two weeks goes by and I reach out again, «our managers our on it, etc.,» I still have no idea what the problem is, how they are trying to resolve it etc. I would recommend staying away from this company at ALL costs.

They have come to my house 3 times this week. If they weren’t so annoying I would consider, but they are bugging too much.

We are so proud to now be living in a green home. Our new solar system by solar city is going to save us tons!
Our entire experience has been very wonderful with solar city, they are always there with you every step of the way with their many friendly employees. I would definitely recommend looking into the great deals they have to offer.