ComplaintsforRenu Solar & Roofing

• Initial Complaint

  12/19/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I began the process for having solar panels installed on my home in 9/21. This was delayed due to distribution channel issues which was fine. When it was ready to install the Renu workers didn't install them correctly which delayed things. When it was finally corrected it was delayed due to a Renu employee not filing any forms with **** for months and then leaving the company (apparently this happened to many of their clients). Since then the Renu has not provided the necessary information that **** requires to begin operation. In order to file the required information Renu needs to send out a technician to get a reading of something to provide ****. That has not happened for months and after many follow-ups by me to Renu and many assurances that they are working on it, they continue to not follow-up with me and provide me any additional information on progress without me making contact first even though they assured me they would follow-up regularly every Wednesday until it was resolved...which has not happened. I am now left paying on the loan that was setup with ******** for a product that is not working due to Renu not taking proper actions to resolve the problem that they caused.

  Business response

  01/16/2023

  We have reached out to the customer and went over the project with them.  This project required special inverter settings with the utility (****) limiting voltage and cycle time.  We were not able to change these on site, and we have acquired the permissions with the manufacture to set up the required inverter settings remotely.  We changed the settings and submitted them to ****.  Once **** approves we will be able to submit the cut in card from the inspector (the inspection has passed) and then the customer will have permission to interconnect to the grid.  We will remain in contact with the customer as we obtain the necessary approvals from the utility. 

• Initial Complaint

  11/17/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  September 21, 2020: Met with RENU solar salesman on 9/21/2020 and signed for financing to install solar panels (original ******* agreement)September 28, 2020: Canceled solar agreement within the seven business days; email and attachment included. September 29, 2020: Entered into new agreement buying the panels outright from RENU. Over the course of 2020-2021: Paid for the panels and had them installed to working condition in March 2021.November 19, 2021: Began being wrongly billed by ******************** I thought it was a mistaken email until I saw the money start to be taken out of my account. At first I tried to resolve the matter through RENU. Through my communications with them, I realized they had dropped the ball and never communicated my termination of the original agreement to *******. Meanwhile, RENU cut off all communication with me. They even handed me off to a lawyer who no longer returned my calls. To this day they will not respond to my inquiries. So ******* had no way of knowing that I had terminated. However, after I showed proof of the termination to them, they said the problem still remained with RENU and was not their problem. At this point I had been wrongly billed by ******* for five months until I figured out how to get it stopped. ******* had originally directed me to turn it off through my account with them, but I had no account. ******* finally began seeing that I wasn't just some customer refusing to pay my bills, but at the end of the day they still refused to refund me my money. I pressed them on this since RENU is one of the business partners. For their part they seemed to be trying to force RENU to refund me the money, but after a couple of months (and really almost a couple of years I have gotten nowhere). ******* asked me what I was looking for to resolve this. Attached is an email I sent them. I have many more emails and documentation of my communications with these two businesses.

  Business response

  12/08/2022

  We have been working with ******* to provide resolution to this customer.  It took a while as our lawyer worked through Sunnova's legal department.  ******* has agreed to terminate the contract and we have agreed to reimburse the customer for the payments made to ******* after the customer and ******* sign the termination letter.  We will be sending copies of all of our warranties to the customer for their reference.  We have also spoken with the customer over the phone about this.

  Customer response

  12/19/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. They have refunded me the money in question. I am waiting to receive the warranty papers.
  
  Regards,
  
  *****************************
  

• Initial Complaint

  11/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I signed a contract in June for solar panels. The salesman had me sign for a loan which I told them I didn't need I could pay cash but the salesman said this was for their security and I could pay cash and there was a discount for cash. We signed documents and the salesman took photos of my rafters in the attic. Months go past and the only thing I saw getting done was measuring the roof. I tried calling the contact man for my project leaving a number of messages with no reply. I finally got a reply and was told there was a change to my plan but it wouldn't cost me anymore. Someone finally called to tell me that my rafters were not sufficient for the weight, and they could do it for approximately $650- to $900. Someone was scheduled but never showed up As the months go buy I have very little contact telling me what is happening. Finally I get a reply telling me that the job in the attic would cost about $4,500 or I should hire someone. For starters I have no idea what is required or of the job. It took them months to inform me of this considering they took photos the rafters in the attic when the salesman first came to the house. I have been quite upset because I talk to different people telling me different things and sometimes seemingly ignoring me altogether. I want the job done within the price quoted and I will pay cash when I see that the project is started. I had a nice windfall of money this year and this would be the year that a tax credit would do me any good but that seems to be lost on them.

  Business response

  12/08/2022

  We have been in contact with this customer regarding their concerns.  Our Structural Engineer determined that the structure needed reinforced in certain areas to safely install the solar pv.  The original estimate for structural repair was not correct and we updated the estimate to include the entire scope of work the engineer requires.  The customer signed a change order on 11/16/2022 and we are moving the project foward.

• Initial Complaint

  11/07/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  > ReNu Solar and Roofing installed solar panels on our homes roof in June of 2020 > Paid nothing at the time of install but have been paying over $200.00 per month since install.> I have been calling Renu and their parent company, ************** Corporation since February 2022 about a roof leak that has been caused by the installation of the solar panels. I have had another roofing company come and identify the location of the leak, which they said the roof is leaking at the place where the panel is installed. The water is coming through our ceiling and ruining our ceiling.I have called them both many many times since the roof started leaking through the ceiling, which makes it difficult to know how long its has been leaking.> Renu sent two different people to look at the problem but have not fixed it yet. The last Renu Rep told us that there is now mold growing where the roof is leaking. There is probably also mold growing in the insulation and on our living room ceiling.> I called both Renu and ******* again today after I was woken up at 5:30 am when water was again coming through the living room ceiling and hitting the chair where I have to sleep.> I am so tired of calling these companies and begging them to fix the problem or just remove the solar panels (the panels have not produced what was promised) and replace our roof. > There was never a problem with our roof until after the solar panels were installed.> Please help us. Thank you, ************************

  Business response

  12/08/2022

  We sent a tech to the site is early November and determined the leak was due to the chimney flashing and not due to the solar installation.  We confirmed all of the solar penetrations where properly flashed.  When we inspected the attic, we found water marks adjacent to the chimney and determined the water is traveling down the gable and then on to the ceiling.  Attached are pictures showing this.  We have informed the customer a roof repair, ie, chimney flashing is needed and that the leak was due to a pre-existing condition.

   

• Initial Complaint

  11/02/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  BUYERS BEWARE!!!! Sales agreement was signed on 03/22/22 with a promise to have an operational system within 6 months. 08/11 Electrician showed up at house and left after a short time. Project not completed and parts left all over driveway. Pictures sent to Chris at Renu. Electrician showed back up on 08/16 and left, job still not completed and now another call to Chris at Renu. 08/17 new electrician showed up and job was completed. No communication during the month of September so my fiancé took it upon himself to start calling **** to get them to come out to house and finalize their part. 10/18 we had to start paying the solar loan and still do not have an operational system. **** came to the house on 10/21 opened the box and said parts are missing, Renu needs to come finish the job. Fiancé speaks to Andy at Renu and he promises a call back. 10/29 Still no call from Renu so I called both Andy and sales lady left voicemails for both. 10/31 no return calls yet again from Renu, so fiancé calls and Andy claims he is waiting to hear from scheduling. Fiancé tries to call scheduling himself and Andy picks up with phone. Odd how the same person answers the calls no matter what department you call. 11-01 Fiancé calls Renu again after no return call, Andy claims were penciled in for 11/18. I called after work and spoke to a receptionist asking for a call back first thing tomorrow morning as waiting another 2 and a 1/2 weeks is unacceptable. Renu cancelled multiple times and screwed up the original job and this is how they treat the customer. How is it acceptable Renu received their money and now doesn't want to complete the job? We were sold on the fact our loan would be less than the electric bill we currently pay. Now I'm paying an electric bill and a solar loan. This is an acceptable business practice?

  Business response

  12/08/2022

  We have been in contact with the customer in early November regarding their concerns.  After reviewing this project we determined that the Utility's DER equipment was likely causing us to send our equipment back for warranty claims.  Our tech installed temporary equipment.  We could have communicated better with the customer that the equipment was temporary until we could process the RMA/warranty claim.  After our talks with the customer we will continue to move the project forward to Permission to Operate using the temporary equipment.  We will swap out the equipment for new when the new equipment arrives.  We will also redo the electrical installation at the inverters at this time.  We will replace any damaged siding, and will work with the customer for this.  As of this response the project has passed inspection and is waiting on permission to operate from the utility.  We will work with the customer directly to address the equipment swap and any other work.

• Initial Complaint

  11/01/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Renu has installed the solar panels on the roof of my garage at **********************, East Earl, PA ********. They have trenched the connection. This work has been done since some time in July. Since then, they have not turned the system on. They told me the inspector did not approve the system to be turned on yet. They have 2 small posts in my backyard that have been there for months. They started the payments on the project months ago now. It was my understanding that these payments would not start until the project was finished. Currently, I am paying for the solar that is not working WHILE paying *** for an electric bill that is running around $200 a month at the moment.

  Business response

  12/08/2022

  This complaint was submitted on 11/02/2022.  The solar project was inspected on 11/10/2022.  Our planning department received Permission to Operate from the Utility on 12/02/2022 and activated the system on that date.  This project took longer than our traditional timeline due to trenching and other atypical project requirements.  Since the customer made payments on their system before it was operational, we reimbursed the customer for 2 of their payments according to our contract guarantees.  All the work is done and this customers system is operational, interconnected to the grid, and has passed all third party inspection and utility requirements.  

• Initial Complaint

  10/23/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We had ReNu install a solar system a few years ago. It has not worked properly since. We had been working with their customer service gentleman the whole time to resolve the issue. Basically, they were going to install more solar panels for he stated it would fix our problem. This was the last resort according to him. Long story short, we have been going back and forth with them this whole time allowing them to do several fixes that did not work. We trusted this guy when he told us the new panels on the ground would fix the problem. A few months ago, when they were to install them, my husband received a call from the company saying the owner knew nothing about out problem and that the customer service man had been lying to us the whole time and that they cannot help us anymore. They told us that the man had been fired. They wanted us to settle for a few hundred dollars for a system that we paid 50,000.00 for and are still paying for. We were told in the beginning that our electric bill was guaranteed to be the minimum of 17.00 a month and that the loan for the solar system would be 300.00 plus a month. We have been paying on the loan and still paying almost the full 200.00 a month for our electric bill. We just want the system removed and our money back.

  Customer response

  11/04/2022

   I am sending this email to update my complaint.  Our solar panels are not working at all now.  According to the computer they have not generated any electricity for the whole month of October.  
  

  
  

  Business response

  12/08/2022

  We have been in contact with this customer since July of 2022.  When the customer purchased the system we did not have a production.  We have offered to extend our current production guarantee to this customer.  After we had come to an agreement on the terms the customer declined to sign the agreement.  We continue to be willing to extend our current production guarantee to the customer. 

   

   

  Customer response

  12/27/2022

  I have attached the letter from their lawyers requesting us to sign to accepting a $2000.00 payoff and stating that we will never put any comments anywhere about the company,  We did not agree to this.  This is what I believe they are talking about when they said we had an agreement.
  
  The only thing that my husband and I had agreed to was ****** was going to install more solar panels into our front yard.  He said that this would fix our problem because we did not have enough panels.  ****** had also told us that one of the reasons that the panels on our roof were not working properly was because they were an old system and not the new system that is currently being installed.  I have also attached pictures of where ****** had come to my house and spraypainted my yard to map our where he was going to install these panels.  You will also see attached the permit from the township that Renew applied for, not us, to have these panels installed.  I have several emails, text messages and voicemails from ****** and his co-worker Julia setting up July 9th of this year for them to come and install the panels in our yard,  I have also attached a photo of the frames for those panels that have been laying in my yard for months.  They are still laying there.
  
  It is not fair to me as a consumer to have to be paying on a $50,000.00 loan for equipment that has not worked from day one and is still not working.  We were told that our electric bill would be $17.00 a month guaranteed.  We have yet to see that.  We were also told that during the summer we would build up S Reqs that PPL electric would purchase back from us.  We are not only paying $300.00 a month for this non-working system, We are also now still paying over $200.00 a month for our electric bill that we were told would be $17.00.
  
  When they were to come and install the panels in our yard, ****** had excuse after excuse and then one day my husband received a call telling us that they were not going to fix anything, that ****** has been fired because he lied to us the whole time and that he never relayed any of the problems to the owner of the company and that they would be coming by our house to pick up the pile of hardware that is still laying out there.  Then all of a sudden they stopped taking our calls and we get the letter from the lawyer,  This is the worst company I have ever worked with.  ****** was their employee and if he was lieing to us the whole time, that is on them and not on us.  Why is it that we should be out $50,0000.00 for a system that was to be 100% guaranteed?  

  Business response

  05/09/2023

  This customer does not have a production guarantee, however we offered to extend our current production guarantee to this customer.  We had an agreement in place to do this but the customer did not sign the agreement.  We are happy to work with this customer to resolve.

• Initial Complaint

  08/22/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On August 24, 2021 we contracted with Renu Solar and Roofing of Harrisburg, PA, for solar panels for our home in Essex, MD. As of today, August 22, 2022, we still are not generating solar energy. Our contract specifies 3-6 months for the installation. Clearly Renu has not fulfilled their contractual obligation. Panels were installed in June, 2022—over 8 months from our initial contract date—but they are still not functioning. We were not able to get the tax credit for this year. We have not been able to reap any of the benefits on our electricity bills or the state tax credits. Yet we have already paid out close to $13,000 to Renu. We are very dissatisfied with the company’s response. Here are highlights of our timeline: Jan. 2022, we contacted Renu for info about the timeline. We received an email on 1/4, we would be updated in 15 days. On 3/5, we were told we were still in permitting stage. We wrote to our officials to get help with permits. Permits came through 3/7. In May, we still had no date for installation, and weren't getting any response to phone calls. We wrote an email on 6/6/22 expressing our dismay and explaining we would file a complaint with BBB and Maryland Attorney General. Immediately we were scheduled for installation 6/13. They didn't show up on that day but came the next day, 6/14. On 6/28 county inspectors came and we failed the inspection. On 7/23/22 we contacted Renu about the status of our solar panels. We were told by Renu they were still completing paperwork. Today, 8/22, a month later--and a year after we intially contracted Renu--we still have not received any confirmation that are panels are working or when they will be. We have been very dissatisfied with Renu's lack of communication and misinformation among other things. We have been patient, called, done everything we can to get this job completed. We expect better from a company that receives an A+ from BBB.

  Customer response

  09/21/2022

  I am providing additional information that you requested.

  Renu did not initiate any contact until after I emailed them and called. They then returned my call and sent a vague email that they were waiting on permits. We are still waiting for the permitting from Baltimore County and have had no follow up from Renu to let us know the situation (*** already came out so we "think" that the last step for our panels to be active is the county but it would be good to hear form them). However, we still have to have Renu help us get the credits we are supposed to. 

  They have not addressed the BBB complaint directly at all or acknowledged it until we contacted them about it. 

  Business response

  12/13/2022

  We have reached out to the customer and have worked to resolve all issues.  Each project is different and there was a delay in the permitting and interconnection process for this project.  Our team has worked though these issues and the project passed inspection on 8/09/2022 and was granted permission to operate by the Utility on 9/22/2022.  This customer is interconnected to the grid and producing energy. 

  Customer response

  12/15/2022

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because we are still waiting for paperwork to be processed so we can get our **** credits. The company has to submit the paperwork and they made repeated mistakes in the application and in what they communicated to us ( I have a log of my conversations with them about it). The company's response does not comment on the compensation we requested and deserve. Why will we not receive a discount inline with the money we lost by not having working panels for all those months? They did not keep the contract as they wrote it. We did everything possible to accommodate them.

  I am also very dissatisfied with the response because the company is not accepting responsibility for the delays in the permitting and other reasons our installation occurred 6 months after it was supposed to be completed. There is no reason for the lack of communication and misinformation we received throughout this process. We lost a lot of money due to their delays and missteps because we were not generating any solar power during the longest, sunniest days. We started the process in late August of 2021 so it could be completed by the spring and summer of 2022, and it wasn't even started until a year after we signed the contract (although the contract said 3-6 months)!

  In my recent phone conversations with company personnel, they acknowledged that the delays and problems were the company's responsibility because they were understaffed. We deserve some compensation for the 6 months of delays--during the sunniest part of the year--that the company's poor performance caused us. Instead, we have been called repeatedly about the final payment even though they had not completed everything.

  Until we get the **** account set up, we cannot close the complaint or make the final payment because we cannot trust the company to complete this final step.  Our panels are working but as the response makes clear, that wasn't until September of 2022, well past what the contract specified, and we still need to get the **** account set up to receive the credits we are due. Once that happens, the job is complete.  

  Regards,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  07/03/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We paid ReNu Solar & Roofing 3 installments of $4,258.50 beginning July 2, 2020 to have fifteen solar panels installed on our roof. They were working fine until we needed to have our circuit breaker box replaced on May 21, 2022. Before having our breaker box replaced I call Fausto V**** at ReNu Solar (###-###-####) and asked him what to do. He said have your electrician shut off and disconnect the power to your solar panels then replace the breaker box. As soon as that work is done, call us and we'll send out someone to reconnect your panels to the new breaker box. On May 23, 2022, I called Mr. V**** to tell him the work on the breaker box was done. He said ReNu would send someone out to reconnect the panels. I've been calling Mr. V**** every week since then. Mr. V**** told me to call Alexander G******* (###-###-####). I called him and spoke with him once or twice but nothing happened. Twice Mr. V**** told me someone would call me and establish a date to have the system reconnected. I've not received any call. For the Month of June, 2021, our electric bill with the solar panel operating was $3.31. This year for the Month of June without the solar panels working our electric bill was $83.11. We should be compensated for that unreasonable loss and get our solar panels reconnected ASAP. Thank you for your efforts to get a resolution to this problem.

  Customer response

  08/04/2022

  No, I have not received any follow-up from Renu Solar & Roofing since filing my complaint with the Better Business Bureau about them.

  Incidentally, I learned in a conversation with an acquaintance that their family member has been having the same kind of problem with this company.

   

  Business response

  09/23/2022

  Any work after the installation that does not fall under our workmanship warranty, as is the case with this issue since the customer elected to disconnect the solar, would be subject to a service charge.  The customer may have his electrician reconnect the system to the new Service Panel and if we are able to troubleshoot the system remotely we will try to do so.  We will be happy to reach out to the customer to see if there is a simple solution or the customer may call in at ###-###-#### to book a service appointment.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Adam T***** President
  ReNu  |  Your Power to do more    
  P: ************  |  F: ************ 
  

• Initial Complaint

  06/08/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We went to Renu Roofing and Solar to seek information regarding Solar Panels and if it would benefit us to get them. They came out and talked with us, mapped the roofing surface of our roof and ran our credit. Due to not so good credit they were able to get us a system that they said would generate electric and eliminate 70% of the electric bill. I told the person on MULTIPLE occasions that this is an all electric house and since I have lived in Pennsylvania my entire life, I know how much electric an all electric heated house can use. They said it was fine. To date, even on the sunniest days we can only achieve 50% energy independence which does nothing for us. It does not reduce the bill enough, our highest winter electric bill was $750 in one month. We went to Renu and they told us they cant do anything EVEN though they told us verbally we could have them removed if the system wasnt producing what we were promised. I contacted ********, they hold the loan for the panels, and they agree that based on the power usage to consumption ratio, the system is not enough (which RENU admitted they under estimated). I have attached a screenshot of the best month the solar panels could produce. ******** has contacted the owner and he does nothing.

  Customer response

  07/05/2022

  Hello.  We heard from the company through the bank, ********, that owns the panels.  This was their response:  

  I apologize if this is a bit confusing but I am going to explain it to the best of my ability via email. This customer was promised 15,475kWh. We guarantee 85%. 15,475 * .85 = 13,153kWh. Please see the attached reports for the past year (July 2021 to June 2022). For that timeframe, he produced 14,118kWh which is within our guarantee. Additionally, I have included June of 2022 in this report even though the month is only halfway through. He will be well within the guarantee by the end of the month.  

  That was from Renew Solar.

  Our response to ***************************** from ******** was this:

  This is all well and fine, but the whole start of removing the solar panels and not having them anymore was the sole fact that we were guaranteed that our electric bill would be cut in half once these were active. 
  Showing me we are producing what we are supposed to does not settle the fact that we have not seen 1 decrease in our bill over fall, winter or spring. We would like the solar panels removed because at this time this is an out of pocket extra expense to have them on and they do not help reduce the electric bill as guaranteed in our original meeting. So at this time we pay the same bill amount as before, if not higher and then on top the price of the solar panels, if you bought something that was to help reduce your original cost and did not, why would you continue to pay for it? if we knew this would not reduce the bill like stated in our original meeting we would have never gotten the panels. We need an answer as to how we can have these removed and the payments gone asap. 
  
  Example: 
  Here are last year charges for July and then last month charges.... they are around the same, not even a half decrease !!! technically June was cheaper last year then this year which I can understand due to price increase but not even half our bill cut is unacceptable. 
  
  I will post the attachments of our electric bills.
  

  Business response

  07/23/2022

  To clarify some of the responses: ******** does not own the panels the customer does.  ******** is a finance partner and provided the financing for the customer.  Since the customer owns the panels they get all the tax credits and the renewable energy credits.  We provide production estimates and we back our estimates with our production guarantee.  We use lidar data to estimate shading for our customers and factor that into our estimate.  After review of the contract and documents: we estimated the production to be 15,475 kwh.  The actual production for year 1 was 15,044 kwh.  This is a difference of under 3% of our estimate and is well within our production guarantee.  We don't have control over how much power the customer consumes.  Since the customer has gone solar *** cost to compare rates have gone up 26% in 2021 and then 38% in 2022.  We would be happy to speak with the customer regarding any questions they may have.  

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩