Additional Information for Freedom Forever, LLC

BBB files indicate that this business has a pattern of complaints concerning customer complaints. Specifically, customer complaints allege that the solar panels are not fully installed or are installed and not working. They state they are paying monthly for a system that is not functioning. Other consumers allege that certain products within the solar panels are not working. They are having battery and inverter problems and a delay in getting replacements or getting the issue fixed while continuing to make the monthly payments for a non-working system. Other consumers claim that they are being overpromised by the sales reps about production and time of installation. Many consumers state they are having customer service issues. Consumers indicate that they have trouble communicating with the business or receiving responses regarding all the issues they are having. Consumers also complain that the company claims to only be the installer and not the contractor.  On 10/25/2022  BBB notified the business of our concerns and requested their voluntary cooperation in eliminating the pattern of consumer complaints.

On 11/4/2022  the company provided BBB with their response:

To whom it may concern, This letter shall serve as our response to the letter received from the Better Business Bureau, on October 25, 2022 (“Complaint Letter”). Freedom Forever, LLC (“Freedom Forever”) is a service first company that places the customer first. We always endeavor to go above and beyond for our customers. We make sure we are not only fulfilling our contractual obligations but rather exceeding them in to provide a superior customer experience. This has meant for us, the extraordinary business decision to take a money loss on projects just to install them and make the customer happy when other companies would have simply cancelled the project. Where equipment was in short supply from the global manufacturing supply chain breakdown, we sent employees to small warehouses around the country to find individual quantities of necessary parts. We even developed our very own solar panel to overcome worldwide shortages in readily available solar panels. While other solar companies have faltered under the pressures of supply chain shortages, pandemic workforce challenges and uncertain economic times, Freedom Forever has grown exponentially. In 2021 alone, Freedom Forever has installed 23,058 residential solar systems across the following states: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin. This track record is exceptional in the industry. We are by all accounts, the gold standard in solar installations. We understand that from the sheer volume of solar projects we install, some consumers will be unhappy. There is no pleasing everyone. We trust the Better Business Bureau understands this better than anyone, but we deny in the strongest terms possible the negative allegations in the Complaint Letter. Below we will address each of the issues raised in the Complaint Letter in-turn: 1) “Customer complaints allege that the solar panels are not fully installed or are installed and not working.” This is categorically untrue. Freedom Forever installs projects fully and to working order. Our customer agreement has a scope of duty wherein Freedom Forever will install the solar system and will submit the paperwork to the utility for interconnection. We however cannot control a third-party utility and its timing of when they will grant permission to operate / interconnect the system. If a consumer has an individual issue with the utility, we always attempt to assist and expedite interconnection to the best of our ability. But again, the system itself is fully installed according to the customer agreement. 2) “They state they are paying monthly for a system that is not functioning.” Customers have multiple payment options when it comes to purchasing their solar system. If the customer is financing the system, the timing and amount of the payments (and any applicable interest accrued) will be subject to the terms and conditions of the financing agreement with the finance company. Any agreement between the customer regarding financing shall be solely between the customer and the finance company. Again, we install the system fully per the customer agreement. We cannot control any delays in interconnection with a utility. The utility is an independent third party with a separate contractual relationship to the consumer. 3) “Other consumers allege that certain products within the solar panels are not working. They are having battery and inverter problems and a delay in getting replacements or getting the issue fixed while continuing to make the monthly payments for a non-working system.” This is not correct. The solar system is installed with applicable warranties, including full pass throughs from the manufacturer. In the event that any part of the system is malfunctioning, Freedom Forever submits for warranty replacement and will coordinate the installation of the replacement part(s) when the manufacturer provides them. Freedom Forever offers an industry-leading 25-year production guarantee. At the end of a production year, if a customer’s solar system produces less power than the guaranteed annual production in their agreement, the customer can submit a claim about such deficit to Freedom Forever for review. 4) “Other consumers claim that they are being overpromised by the sales reps about production and time of installation. “ The customer is provided with an agreement that contains a production guarantee. The production guarantee spells out the exact amount of production the solar system will generate. As such, any allegation of an overpromise as to production is a misstatement. The agreement spells out exactly what the consumer can expect to produce and Freedom Forever stands by the production guarantee for an industry-leading 25 years. 5) “Many consumers state they are having customer service issues. Consumers indicate that they have trouble communicating with the business or receiving responses regarding all the issues they are having.” Freedom Forever maintains multiple customer service options including a toll-free number, text/sms, email, and chat via website and phone app. 6) “Consumers also complain that the company claims to only be the installer and not the contractor. “ Freedom Forever is a licensed contractor in every state it operates in. In conclusion, Freedom Forever strives to provide the best solar installation experience in the marketplace. We understand that not every customer can have the type of interaction they expected. But given the totality of installations we perform, the scope of the complaints referenced is dwarfed by the overwhelming number of happy customers we have in every state we operate in. We hope this letter aptly addresses your concerns and we are happy to continue the conversation to reinstate our good standing. Freedom Forever will continue to give our customers the best solar installation service. Any specific complaints are alleviated on their own merits. Again, if the BBB has any specific follow-up as to any specific matter not addressed in our response, we are happy to address it further.