ComplaintsforUniversal Electric PNW, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  07/31/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This company was contracted to install our Sol Ark and solar panels, and the work started in Dec of 23.There is still unfinished work at my house including a hole in my inside garage wall and an unrepaired driveway where they had to cut a section out to bury pipe under the drive.I have contacted them several times to get this work done with no response at all from them.I have attached their emails for reference.

  Business response

  08/23/2024

  I would like to first address that ************** did not at any time sign a contract with Universal Electric PNW. He signed with United Solar on 6/6/2023 and paid them in full in july of 2023. The owners of United Solar, who were **************, ***********************************, ***************************** and ******************************* received the full payment for the ***** project and spent it unknown to us at Universal Electric PNW.
  
  
  We at Universal Electric did not receive the ***** project until November 2023 with the understanding that Half the contract value would be paid to Universal to cover the materials and labor.
  
  
  ************** was fully aware that he had already paid United Solar in July in full and did not inform us of this when we started, in fact when I went over the install, inspection, and PTO process reminding him that once electrical inspection was passed you would have to notify the financial institution "Verity" to release funds, he literally responded that it wouldn't be a problem, that he would have his wife who it was financed under instantly contact them to do so. So while we installed the two systems on his house and shop during the worst weather this last winter he was aware the entire time that my company was not going to get paid. While we hand dug a 100 foot ***** in the rain and snow because the rental company couldn't make it to his house, as we cut through the asphalt to run the conduit to the second structure he was fully aware that I was going to have to pay for all the solar equipment and labor out of my companies pocket with no return. And once we were done he so casually gave me the bankers email address to invoice who we invoiced and they replied with not  only was statement paid to the other company who no longer existed but with the email chain where you told "Verity" almost 6 months before i meet you to go ahead and pay the other company in full. Proof you were aware that I was going to get no compensation for my company's efforts. With the situation as it was I took the * and I did not have to.
  
  
  
     Regardless, I sent 3 employees to his residence to back fill the ditch, commision his system, and assess the necessary wall patch. First I'd like to address the contract he signed with the individuals who are no longer around. The contract he signed with them clearly states they were not responsible for sheetrock repair or landscaping damage needed to install his systems and we were offering to do it as a courtesy. As far as the manuals, we not only left them with ************** when we did the install, but the crew brought additional ones when they came and commissioned the system. I also sent a digital copy of the manual as well, and a screenshot of the solar systems production over several days. As far as the sheet rock and asphalt, the individual I had contracted to do the work who'd arrived when my employees were filling the ditch refused to do the work because he was so rude to the three gentlemen literally using profanity and degrading them while they worked. One of them called me while on site and let me hear him berate them, that they were working too slow and if they were smarter maybe they'd be done already. Of Course he used more colorful language. If that is how he was going to treat my employees and people I contract to do work I will not send another person to his residence as those individuals  had since refused to return and work in a hostile toxic work environment.
  
  
  **************, is not going to get any help treating people like this, being rude or bullying people or companies is not acceptable. ************** has since left untrue harmful reviews on multiple platforms including the BBB trying to force my company which have already caused us to lose business. Our solar projects range from $15,000.00 to $100,000.00 so it's hard at this time to measure how much damage ************** has caused while enjoying the benefits of a solar system that he did not have to pay anything to Universal Electric PNW for. I do find the comments unfair and bordering on slander, which is unfair for a small business to suffer.
  
  
  I will also attach statements from the two of the individuals who were subject to ****************** abusive behavior who are employees still with the company and the email chain from "Verity". I will also copy and paste the information here as well
  
  
  ***********************
  
  ell us why here...

  Customer response

  08/29/2024

   
  Complaint: 22072785
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Several things that *********************** said in his response are completely inaccurate.

  We did not know that United Solar went out of business or that they didn't pay Universal Electric for the work that they United Solar contracted Universal to do.

  We did not contract with Universal, United Solar did.

  We were informed on 9/4/2023 that United Solar was being acquired by ***********************.

  Hello ****,
  
  This is ***** from United Solar and I just wanted to give you a quick update.
  
  We have changed ownership!
  
  We are super excited to have been acquired by our main Sub *********************** and to be merging with his company Universal Electric PNW.
  
  This does not affect your project in any way other than that right now we are transitioning and re-organizing our company management.
  
  Please reach out to me with any questions or concerns at any time but do know that we are working on our scheduling and your install is on the way.
  
  I will get back to you next week with an update on your permit approvals and scheduling and timeline.
  
  Thank you for your patience and for trusting us to install your Solar System.
  
  Please feel free to text me or call anytime on my personal line **************.

  Cheers,
  
  *******************
  United Solar
  **************
  ***************************************

  This was an email that we received from ******************* on Sept. 4th 2023

  Our project didn't get started until 12/14/2023 and was supposed to only take 3 to 5 days to complete.

  Universal sent us a request for payment on Feb 2nd 2024.

  We asked ******************* to send them payment and asked it the payment had already been paid.

  Here is the reply we got.

  We paid United Solar in full on June 23 2023 $70,926.69. Then the check was re issued July 6th 2023 for the same amount and they cashed that check/it cleared their bank on 7/10/2023.
  
  They have been paid in full.
  
  *************************
  Pronouns: she/her  (what is this?)
  Sr. Consumer Lending Processor | NMLS#******
  T ************** | F *************
  
  Your Future. Your Partner.

  This email also went to ************************* <***********************************> & *******************************************

  We then asked ************************* why we got this bill sent to us.

  This was his reply: on 2/5/2024

  Sorry about that ****, the jobs are normally paid 50/50 and this one happened to be 100% up front, so the invoice went out like normal, it just wasnt necessary in your case. I spoke with ***** and **** earlier and confirmed that were waiting on SnoPUD and then will get your system fully activated and monitored.
  
  Regards,
  *************************

  At no time during this project were we informed that United Solar went out of business or that the sale of United Solar to Universal Electric fell through or that they didn't pay Universal Electric for the contracted work.

  What we got from ****'s email is that it wasn't necessary to have to pay this bill as stated above. Nothing was said to us about any of this until I got the following email from **** on March 19th 2024.

  From: *********************** <********************************>
  Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2024 9:19 PM
  To: ********************* <******************************;
  Subject: concerns
  
  **************,
  
   Sorry for the lack of communication but we have been dealing with alot of legal matters since your project after discovering that United Seattle had misrepresented the status of your project during the purchase of United Solar. Since then the contract for the acquisition of United Solar has been Voided and at this time Universal Electric PNW holds no responsibilities or obligations to your project.
  
  Even so I will find another copy of the SolArk owners manual for you and I still will have the sheetrock repaired at no cost to you. I would like to get someone out wednesday 3/30 if possible. Please respond as soon as possible.
  
  I am sorry for the frustration of the situation and we will  help where possible but understand that in some cases our hands are legally tied now.
  
  
  ***********************

  This was my response to **** on 3/20/2024: This was also sent to ************************* and *******************************.

  Hello ****,
  
  I am sorry to hear that you are having legal issues and I hope that you get them resolved.
  I will be available on March 30th for the drywall repair.
  
  But if I am reading your email correctly you are telling me that you are not going to repair my driveway nor finish the set up of my Sol Ark app for system monitoring?
  Is this correct?
  
  Because from our standpoint these are all things that you have already been paid for and was in our purchase agreement.
  (Sorry about that ****, the jobs are normally paid 50/50 and this one happened to be 100% up front, so the invoice went out like normal, it just wasnt necessary in your case. I spoke with ***** and **** earlier and confirmed that were waiting on SnoPUD and then will get your system fully activated and monitored.
  
  Regards,
  *************************)
  
  (We paid United Solar in full on June 23 2023 $70,926.69. Then the check was re issued July 6th 2023 for the same amount and they cashed that check/it cleared their bank on 7/10/2023.
  
  They have been paid in full.)
  
  Any legal problems that you are having with United Solar dont have anything to do with us or the project that you started.
  We had no knowledge of any issues between your companies, and they are not our problem.
  All we knew is that you were contracted to do the project and we discussed this before you even started.
  We have acted in good faith with you and your company from the beginning, even with all of the delays and miss or non-communication.
  
  In closing we fully expect that you will finish the project that you have been paid for.
  If you are not going to finish, then you need to let me know who is.
  Any miss representation that you feel has happened did not come from ***
  You were fully aware of the whole project at the beginning, you and I personally talked about the driveway.
  
  We need you to let us know when to expect repair of the driveway and getting my App set up, which I was told it should have already happened from your guy on 2/28,
  when they came to fill in the ditch.
  
  Please let me know. 

  I sent a follow up email on 5/03/2024 with no response and another one on 7/9/2024 with no response.

  I didn't get a response from **** until I filed this complaint with the BBB and Washington State Attorney General on 7/31/2024.

  Several other things that **** stated are also in accurate about the work.

  Was I upset at the lack of progress and length of time it took to get this work done, yes I was.

  The lack of communication and showing up to the job with out all the necessary equipment was very frustrating for not only me but your own employees as well.

  They complained that this happened quite frequently, and when asked why they had to did the ditch by hand they told me that you wouldn't rent rent a machine to do the work with.

  I was told by **** that he was going to have someone come out to repair the driveway and no one ever did.

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

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