Complete Solaria Reviews

Prior to signing with CS I called PGE to confirm that I could keep my rebate if I switched developers. I also got instructions on how to update the developer name. After signing with CS I gave them this information and reiterated how important keeping this rebate was and that without it I could not afford this project. They assured me they could provide an off-grid system and since they had all the equipment in stock they could finish by the end of April 2021. They also confirmed the could handle updating my rebate and provide a system to use as I planned.

We encountered delay after delay and with every delay I would ask the status of my rebate and a confirmation that the switch went through (LASG kept contacting me and I had a feeling it was because they were still listed as the developer). I was also afraid if installation took too long the program funding the rebate would run out of money since you only get the check once the install is complete. I also continually asked about paying the loan which I had to pay 90 days after install (to give me time to test the system) or 11/15/21 (8.5 months after starting the install, they assume you have installed by then and want to get paid) whichever came first as I was afraid of not getting time to test. I was told not to worry that they would work it out and no matter what I would get my 90 days before paying.

Long story short I had to contact PGE to get the status of my rebate since they never answered me even after months of asking them every Monday for an update. On May 18th the rebate was cancelled because they never switched the developer contact to themselves and missed providing information to PGE. I contacted CS alerting them and begging then to do something. Long story short they were rude to PGE and then stopped resp to PGEs questions to reinstate the rebate. They just didn't care to put the work in and we're ok with letting it expire. I ended up having to work with PGE to get it reinstated in August. It took that long because the program did run out of money which wait-listed me. August they got more funding and I got reinstated. They finally installed panels in June and had a battery install appointment in July. I was very nervous that whole time knowing if the rebate wasn't reinstated I couldn't afford this so summer was very uncomfortable for me.

When the batteries were ready to be installed they asked me what part of the house I wanted the batteries to power.... I asked for an off-grid system so that would be the whole house. I kinda freaked at that question and reiterated the off-grid use necessity. I was now worrying I would have a system I couldn't use that just increased in price by $26k. After I told them this was off-grid so the whole house I was then told the installer had COVID and was ghosted by CS. I had to find out on my own that the permit they got can't be used for off-grid, my rebate was lost a second time in October and I now am paying the loan even though the system is not finished, and even if finished would never be able to be used the way I wanted, and the cost increased $26k. So I now have an incomplete system I can't afford and can never use, and if I use it for it's intended purpose I am in trouble because I don't have a permit for that.

My project manager to this day has not responded to any calls, emails or texts since June, that's 6 months of ghosting me. I was put in touch with a retention specialist (They have 3 retention specialists... How many project do people cancel?) who stated on November 2nd she would straighten things out and find a suitable resolution in a week. It has been 3 weeks and not only did she miss our last meeting she has not shown a single result to date and still hasn't told me I don't have an off-grid permit. I only know because I called the county myself.

They know I only want this if it can be used off-grid, they know the off-grid permit was denied yet they continue to hide this from me and try to continue work. They know I lost my rebate and can't afford this yet they continue to try to want to do work. They know I am paying the loan. They know batteries are 9 months out. So I won't get my 90 days, to the contrary I most likely will have paid for this for at least 14 months before ever getting to turn it on. Which I can't because I don't have the right permit for off-grid.

Everything they told me to date has been a lie. I have asked to terminate the contract and was told they can't. I've also realized that my system costs $4.8/watt which is $2/watt more than the average for a system that size in California. This has been the worst experience of my life. Do not use this company. Like many solar companies who used to be really good, these guys are unprofessional and can't do the job if they tried, which they don't. They will take your money and delay you forever and screw you over every which way in the meantime.

- Sent the solar panels to the wrong warehouse.

- Failed to design the system in accordance with the state of Massachusetts.

- Failed to respond to the utility company to provide the necessary documentation for the system until repeated calls from me.

- No Showed on the installation date because of the above and didn't say anything to me, I had to call them to find out what was going on.

- They have consistently failed to provide timely updates to the utility company without me constantly reaching out.

- They have consistently failed to respond to my attempts to contact them including attempts via email, text message, phone calls, and voicemail.

- The few times that I did manage to get someone to answer the phone they would tell me they would look into it and have someone get back to me, but they never did.

- I had used a promotion to get a 2yr no interest, no payment loan through Service Finance to pay for half of the system. Service Finance and Complete Solar said the loan needed to be disbursed to Complete Solar after the solar panels were on my roof even though the system still isn't operational. I kept pushing back on releasing the funds because I was worried Complete Solar would be even less responsive once they got their check.

- They having seemingly been dragging their feet finishing the installation after they received the payment from the loan company, Service Finance, so my 2-year promotion period started in 05/2021 even though the system is still not operational as of 09/2021.

- Their "production guarantee" is based on the interconnection date, not the loan disbursement date, so they received their money from the loan but they aren't responsible for the system actually producing power until whenever they finally get around to finishing the installation.

- I have reached out constantly across multiple means of communication and I haven't heard from them since 07/20/2021 and it is now almost 2 months later on 09/14/2021.

I can understand covid might make things harder, and that they also rely on the utility company to respond, which are both things out of Complete Solar's immediate control. However, Complete Solar SHOULD be giving regular updates and responding to communication attempts, and they absolutely SHOULD be responding to the utility company as soon as possible.

I do not understand how these circumstance can be viewed as anything other than Complete Solar funneling people to Service Finance so they can both make money from the loans while Complete Solar drags their feet on the installation. A customer should not need to send weekly emails asking for any sort of update, and should not have to wait 2+ months for any sort of contact. Even with all their supposed warranties and guaranties how can I trust that to mean anything when they can't even be bothered to finish the initial installation? Save your money, save yourself the hassle, go with a different company. If I could go back and do it all over again I would have gone with the more expensive but local company. Don't make the same mistake the rest of us have by trusting Complete Solar

After waiting on an inspection that never came and not hearing from the subcontractor (Clean Tech) for months, we received an invoice from the subcontractor; Dave ** at Clean Tech told us to not pay it since Clean Tech clearly wasn't doing their job...but then he didn't remedy the situation at all! You'd think they'd be embarrassed enough to immediately hire someone else to finish the job, but instead seem to be at the mercy of Clean Tech like we are.

We went with Complete Solar because they were the cheapest deal, but now that we've missed out on the 2020 tax credit while paying hundreds of dollars in power bills that we thought we'd be done with by now, we have paid much more than we would have if we had gone with a more expensive, more reliable company. Do not make the same mistake we did!