ComplaintsforBlue Raven Solar, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  03/18/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We first reached out to Blue Raven on 7/28/21. It is now 3/18/22 and $50,000 later we still do not have a working system. We have called countless times and never have been able to resolve recurrent problems. The power company has needed something in the application changed for over 2 months and despite multiple phone calls it hasn't happened. The panel installers broke one of our windows two months ago and it is still boarded up and not fixed. When I call and speak with management they are very nice and try to help but apparently there is no communication between all the divisions in the company and so nothing happens. My next recourse is legal action but that seems so silly when all we want is for Blue Raven to finish the job we paid them to do.

  

  Business response

  03/24/2022

  I would like to sincerely apologize for the frustrations that the customer has experienced up until this point. This is not the experience that we wanted the customer to have. I have submitted this situation as feedback and let our department managers know that this has happened because it is not an experience that any of our customers should have.
  
  I have worked with our ********************** senior manager to reach out to the customer to resolve their concerns. Along with our manager, I would like to offer this email address, which the customer can use as another point of contact as we progress in fixing the concerns of the customer. The customer can contact me at ********************************** with questions or updates, and I will be working closely with our senior manager to ensure that repairs and resolutions are made.

• Initial Complaint

  02/21/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Blue Raven installed solar panels on our roof in Dec 2021. The installation went smoothly for the most part but we have had trouble with the company ever since. Most issues have been resolved at this point. The complaint I have today is regarding an Ecobee thermostat that we were given the day of installation. The Blue Raven employees attempted to install the thermostat and were unable to. They said they would have to get an HVAC guy out. By the end of Jan 2021 we still had not had anyone sent out to do this. My husband was finally contacted by a Blue Raven representative. He stated that they were only willing to pay $200 to send an independent HVAC out to install it and had been unable to find anyone willing to do it for that price. He told my husband that if we could find a local HVAC who would do it for $200we would be reimbursed. We contacted 2 HVAC guys that we knew. Only one was willing to come out and install the thermostat for $200.and that was only because he knew us personally. He came out the same day, Feb 8, 2021, spent 2 hours trying to install the thermostat. It never would load, same problem the Blue Raven guys had in December, so he finally contacted Ecobee support. Between him and support, they determined that the thermostat was defective. Something Blue Raven could have found out 2 months earlier if they had called support. Needless to say, we paid him $200 and still do not have an Ecobee thermostat installed in our home. My husband contacted the Blue Raven rep that same night, Feb 8. He told us to send him the invoice so he could reimburse us. A day or two later my husband emailed him again to verify that he received the invoice. He has not responded to that email nor to any other follow *** that my husband has sent. I also emailed Blue Ravens corporate office on Feb 16 and told them the situation and let them know that if we did not get a resolution to this problem, I would be filing a complaint. No response.

  

  Business response

  02/22/2022

  On behalf of Blue Raven Solar, I would like to apologize that this has happened,and it is not what Blue Raven intends for our customers. I have passed the feedback about what our team could have done further in regard to solving the Ecobee problem on to our team managers to let them know that this issue was something that we could have resolved much earlier in the process.
  
  I have worked with our Work Orders team to order an Ecobee replacement, as you may have seen from the email that our Work Orders' team lead, *******************************,sent you on 2/21/22. This replacement should be here in a timely manner, and we will have personnel out to replace the Ecobee as soon as it arrives. Along with this, I have notified those that should have previously taken care of the reimbursement check that this time lapse is unacceptable. I personally filed a check with our accounting team to get that reimbursement check sent out to you,and you should receive that check in the mail within the next 3-5 business weeks! Again, I am sorry about the inconvenience here, and if you have any further questions regarding this situation, please reach out to me at ***********************************

  Customer response

  02/22/2022

   
  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. I would ask the BBB to keep this complaint open until Blue Raven has followed through and completed the installment of the new Ecobee and we have received our reimbursement. Once those two things have been completed we will be satisfied and the case can be closed. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  01/22/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  My husband and I had our Solar installed by Blue Raven on September 21,2021. Our representative was ******. ****** told us about their referral program. ****** initially quoted us $1500 per referral. Once received our first referral check for it to only be $250. We contacted ****** for him to tell us that the program had changed to $500 for the first referral and then after $1,000. We have referred several families in which (2) familes purchased Solar has since been in stalled. ***************************** was installed either in September or October and ********************* was installed in December. Which would give us a total of $1500 in referrals. We have only received $250.00. I have been reaching out for months to get this matter resolved. I have called and emailed only be given the run round. I have reached out to ****** who isnt responding. I have spoken with several Blue Raven reps and nothing. I was told a that my check has been mailed only to receive nothing. I was told that it takes 2 weeks for checks to get to there destination which I know isnt true because they I receive a check for $134 and some change from Blue Raven monthly. This was also apart of their incentive. They would pay for Solar for 18 months and the checks would be payable to me. They have honored their word this far concerning that. I am very disappointed on how this matter has been handled. In my last email to ******* a I shared that I would be reporting them if this matter wasnt solved by Friday, January 22, 2022. I received an email started that they would send the payment ****** dont agree to this because she also stated in a previous email that check has been mailed on January 11,2022. This didnt add up to me. I feel like I am being scammed. I just want this matter to be resolved immediately .Thank you to this attention to this matter.

  

  Business response

  01/27/2022

  I, *****************************, as a representative of Blue Raven Solar, have been working with the customer regarding this matter. The customer has informed me that she considers this matter resolved, but she is welcome to continue to reach out to me with any questions or concerns she has! 

  Customer response

  01/28/2022

   
  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.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  12/19/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Blue Raven Solar promised savings and a collection of credits that can be sold to a utility company. After almost two years of ownership; we have yet to ever have benefited from these solar panels. I can show the 0% decrease in cost from my utility company across the entire period of ownership. I did gain an extra **** from Blue Raven.

  

  Business response

  01/12/2022

  We would greatly appreciate if the customer would send us his **** from his utility company so that we can ensure that the production from his panels is being acknowledged by the grid. Our systems show that the customer's panels are producing 92% of what our estimates for the customer's energy needs were, so if there is a disconnect between what the panels are producing and if the grid is recognizing the energy that is being produced, then we would like to bridge that gap and make sure that the customer is gaining all of the benefits of clean energy that come with his panels. 

   

  The customer can send his bills directly to us at **************************************************. 

• Initial Complaint

  12/08/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My installation stood in limbo for more than a month do to my HOA and Blue raven pointing fingers at each other, putting me in the middle of their whole mess. I canceled because of this and they still want to charge me the cancellation fee even tho is not my fault. If the installation doesnt get done this year i wont get tax break, without the tax break i wont be able to put it back into my loan and if thats the case Im stuck back paying over $200 in electricity and thats the whole reason i wanted to go solar to pay less in electricity. I dont have a job do to my condition and Im here stuck paying for something i never got, paying a cancellation fee even tho Im not the problem. I tried to speak about this cancellation fee with a gentleman called ***** over the phone, he was unprofessional, he never really gave me a solution about this just excuses and their side of the story. **************** wasnt his goal in this call.

  

  Business response

  12/16/2021

  Blue Raven Solar would be more than happy to help the customer save money on their electricity bills by helping them go solar.

  However, when it comes to Homeowner Associations, the communication must occur between the homeowner and the **** The *** will not communicate with the solar company. So, we send the information that we need to the customer and then the customer communicates with the **** We are unable to act until we hear from the **** At that point, it is out of Blue Raven Solar's hands. Blue Raven Solar has done everything we needed to do, when we needed to do it, and we cannot be held responsible for a delay caused by the customer's **** If the customer wants to continue in the cancellation process, they are responsible for the $1,215 cancellation fee. 

  Customer response

  12/27/2021

   
  Complaint: 16344313
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Yes please do, again the fact that this company felt like i was capable of handling this issue of being the middle man between them and my hoa isnt how we do things. I was more than enough patient with them and to boot they i broke the contract because the service and the professionalism wasnt satisfactory how is it ok for them to charge me a cancellation fee when the service wasnt done in the time it was promised.
  
  

  Sent from my iPhone

  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

  

  Business response

  01/12/2022

  This customer has resolved his issues with our customer advocacy department and has decided to move forward with his solar installation. 

• Initial Complaint

  11/23/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  HUGE SCAM! BEWARE! The salesperson goes door by door. We wanted to hear about the project and see what are the options. We just wanted to learn more about to company and the solar system. The salesperson wanted to check our score and see if we are eligible how much we can afford. We moved forward. Signed some digital papers that has been told to us, it was only for credit check approval. Then he said next step is engineering will check the house if it is eligible. And we signed paper for that. Engineering team came checked the house. They contacted us to sign some papers to move further. I didn't sign them. Throughout this time we had gone through unseen circumstances. I told them unfortunately I will not be able to move forward for now. They called me back and said that there will be cancelation fee for $1215. This was never mentioned to us until the moment company heard that we cannot go any further with this project. Sales person Jeremy is a big liar. I canceled the project face to face with Jeremy, he never mentioned the fee again. He only told us that he will contact the company and handle the cancelation. The company is a huge scammer. Go other places and make business with them. If they are after me for this made up cancelation fee, think what they can do after you decide to continue to the project.

  

  Business response

  12/10/2021

  The paperwork that customer signs is not for credit check approval. They are also emailed to the customer where they can read over it and see what it is they signed. A copy of the agreement they signed was emailed to [email protected]. This agreement includes a information about the entire solar process with Blue Raven Solar and highlights the cancellation fee in 3 locations. We also have the Welcome Call that customers participate in so as to communicate the commitment that is expected as they move forward with the solar process. We are sorry for the miscommunication, but we provide the Installation Agreement and the Welcome Call to try to reduce any miscommunication and encourage only committed customers to move forward. The $1,215.00 cancellation fee is not something we make money off of, but simply reimburses us for the work we do leading up to the point that the customer backs out (preparing the proposals, hiring engineers, paying solar representatives, etc.). 

  Customer response

  12/10/2021

   
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: As it seen in their response, there is a big miscommunication within their team and as a result rather than fixing their own issues, they are trying to punish the person that could have been their customer. Their sales person was either not trained properly, or this company uses this tactic to scam people to make money off of them. We had two different conversations with the sales person. I had one alone and we had another one when my wife showed up and in both cases the salesperson "NEVER" mentioned the cancelation fee. The only phone call we received was, checking on if we signed the papers yet or not. It can be seen in their negative reviews that they have been doing this trick for a long time now. I never commit to big projects if there is any fee or tricky tactics to get money off of me. For example: I refused to have a full-security system in my house because they were forcing me to sign a contract for 3 years. That's how strict I am. I asked the sales person personally: if we will pay anything right after the signatures and he only mentioned that "no, we will have a team  to check if your house is eligible and if it is and if you (myself) agree with it, we will move on and start the monthly payments. AGAIN, he "NEVER" mentioned the cancelation fee. It is a brand new house brand new community, next door neighbor has solar. It was obvious that it is eligible but yet they still wanted to send a team (we have been told their engineering team) and verify. 

  
  Sincerely,
  ***** *****
  

  

  Business response

  12/17/2021

  We understand that there are sometimes miscommunications. As a result of this, we provide the Installation Agreement. In the Installation Agreement, we also include a paragraph where we also highlight that we cannot be responsible for promises verbally made by employees of Blue Raven Solar that are different than what is provided in the Installation Agreement:
  "Non-Reliance. NO EMPLOYEE OR REPRESENTATIVE OF COMPANY IS AUTHORIZED TO MAKE ANY PROMISE TO CUSTOMER THAT IS NOT CONTAINED IN THIS AGREEMENT CONCERNING COST SAVINGS, TAX BENEFITS, OR GOVERNMENT OR UTILITY INCENTIVES. CUSTOMER SHALL NOT RELY UPON ANY PROMISE OR ESTIMATE THAT IS NOT INCLUDED IN THIS AGREEMENT." (Page 8)

  As a result of the customer's signature on the Installation Agreement, they agreed to the previous paragraph and the paragraphs that highlight the cancellation fee. We are willing to reduce the fee down to $425.00. This would allow us to just barely cover the cost of the work we did on the customer's account. 

  Additionally, in the customer's original complaint, they said that they after the engineering team came and checked their house (10/01), they never signed any papers. We had started the process of cancelling the customer's account due to inactivity. But, on 11/16 the customer signed their HOA application, indicating they were moving forward again. 

• Initial Complaint

  11/18/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  10/13/21 Had a consult with Sales person via Zoom call. They had done an assessment for bid via satellite as an evaluation for solar panels. We went over basic info regarding the criteria for finance. A hard credit check was done without us being advised. This was 1st bid and we had a more scheduled so no interest in applying for a loan yet.Zoom ended and we went to phone call so I could talk while doing errands. Sales person wanted to set up a time to inspect roof/attic of our house. He instructed me there would be an email sent that I needed to sign as a liability waiver for the technician to come to our house. I received the document and told the sales rep that we are still shopping around and wanted to verify that this was document was only initialed so the tech could evaluate our house. The sales rep said of course we just need it signed before anyone can enter. Oct 20th - Sales rep sends design via email. I respond asking for an itemized list/cost of materials. The response I received was as they could not. I asked for a itemized list of materials and told the sales rep we were getting a couple more quotes and would be in touch. I never received the list. I had numerous text/ emails from other departs asking for info to get started. I informed them several times I would let them know if we decide to move forward with the installation. I have email responses on dates below. 10/27 10/29 11/1 11/2- I responded informing the company we may be going a different direction but will let you know.11/8- Text wanting to know why we are not moving forward. I responded we are still researching and getting bids.11/10- Text informing us of a cancel fee. I inquired about a the fee as I didn't understand why we would be billed for anything. 11/12-Recieved email invoice for a cancel fee. Upon a phone call we were informed that we in fact did move forward with a contract unknowingly. These sales tactics are deceptive and unfair. I'm not paying this invoice.

  

  Business response

  12/02/2021

  This case is being handled by a ********************* Manager named ***********************. We encourage the customer to continue correspondence with him and we will support whatever decision he decides. 

• Initial Complaint

  11/03/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Blue Raven Solar installed our solar panel system on our home in August 2021. The sales rep walked us through all of the advantages of solar. My wife and I provided power bills so that the Blue Raven team could build a system that was able to handle the load on our home. The sales rep promised us an $80 power ****. The installation date came and that team was great but then it went downhill. - The system which we signed for per our installation agreement was only a 3000kw/h per year system. That was not was we were sold.- The $80 power **** we were sold on will never happen based on our current usage, and what we provided to the Blue Raven Solar Team. We average about 1700KW/h per month.- Blue Ravens solution is for me to purchase more panels at a "good deal" and is not willing to remove the product at this point in time. - Blue Raven admitted that they underestimated my need via a phone call with the customer service manager on 11.3.2021 at ******. But still falls back on the Solar Panels work as the systems was designed and and agreed upon.- At no point was a 3000KW/H per year system explained. It was all in the agreement which was clearly mis-read. If a per year system was explained we clearly would not have moved forward with the system. - Blue Raven takes no ownership in the fact that they have messed up the system and ultimately mis-lead a client into a system that they knew would not fill the needs of my entire home without the purchase of additional panels.- I asked both the installer and sales rep why only 8 panels were needed. A neighbor of mine had just had roughly 30 panels installed on there home. I was assured that 8 panels were all that was needed to offset my energy needs.- I feel very mislead and taken advantage of by Blue Raven. In my opinion this is a clear example of bait and switch tactics. They baited me into the contract with promises that will never happen without purchasing a more expensive system.

  

  Business response

  12/09/2021

  The customer is working on a discounted retrofit with our retrofit team. We will support whatever decision that team comes to. 

  Customer response

  01/06/2022

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  We are working on a resolution as stated by Blue Raven Solar.  However at this time I request that this complaint is not closed until the completion of the job. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

• Initial Complaint

  10/22/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I purchased and had a solar system installed by the company. Everything worked fine for about a year. Last fall I started having problems with the system reporting that the inverters were not reporting. If I reset the system or waited a few days the inverters would begin reporting again and backfill the info clearing the system error messages. I have made multiple calls to the company and they would sometimes send a technician out and sometimes say they cant do anything unless it is t working right now. At times it takes nearly a month to get someone out here because they dont have any technicians in this state. In September a technician was out and updated everything and told me if the problem happens again they will need to replace the main panel because thats the only place the problem could be. I had the problem start again a few days later and they scheduled a technician for three weeks out who they brought in from *******. He told me he fixed it by taking the cellular reporting option out and having just the WiFi reporting enabled. A few days after he left the problem started again. I called blue raven again and never got a call back. I called again today and was told they only had info that they were out here twice and the system is working fine now. I have called and reported problems at least a dozen times with technicians coming out but the company has no record of anyone coming out. I would like to get this system that I paid over fourth thousand dollars to work. Thats all I want is the system to work as its suppose to.

  

  Business response

  11/22/2021

  We have been working with Enphase (the producer of the customer's panels) to figure out what is going on with the panels. I will be contacting the customer by EOD tomorrow with a game plan for to fix the customer's system. 

  Customer response

  11/23/2021

   
  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, if they in fact do follow up. In the past six month I have contacted them many times and they say they will find out what is wrong and contact me back and never do.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  10/21/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Being **** for a service I have not received base of their negligence to complete an service in a timely matter after notifying them on a couple of occasions. They tried to set up appointment on the same day they knew I wasn't going to be available. I had contacted them on my second call about that concern gave them the date I was going to the hospital and the 4 weeks I would be in rehab. *** who was the salesman said he would have someone out not to worry about it and when I reach out to him today told me they had fell behind. Then someone called I was told it wasn't their fault and that I would still have to pay for the service. When asked about talking with someone in charge the guy thank me and hung up.

  

  Business response

  11/16/2021

  I have been working with the customer. The customer's system is ready to be turned on and start producing them power. 

*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. ↩