NM Attorney General Sues Vivint Solar for Its Unfair Sales Practices
The New Mexico Attorney General has filed a lawsuit against Vivint Solar. In the lawsuit, the Attorney General documents wide-ranging abuse and deception by Vivint Solar with its door-to-door sales of solar systems to New Mexicans, including Vivint Solar’s use of Power Purchase Agreements. Via these Agreements, consumers pay more and more over a 20 year period for a system they do not own, allowing Vivint Solar to steal tax credits. These Agreements are incredibly unfair. Consumers are often tricked into signing them.
The Attorney General lawsuit also documents other unfair business practices by Vivint, including clouding titles to consumers’ homes. The lawsuit was filed after a long and thorough investigation by the Attorney General, revealing hundreds of clouded titles and thousands of Vivint customers defrauded in New Mexico.
To read more about this lawsuit, and to look at a copy of the Complaint itself, go to https://www.nmag.gov/uploads/PressRelease/48737699ae174b30ac51a7eb286e661f/AG_Balderas_Sues_Massive_Solar_Company_for_Defrauding_New_Mexicans___Jeopardizing_Their_Home_Ownership.pdf.
Treinen Law Office has represented many consumers against solar companies, including Vivint Solar. Many other sellers of solar systems use the same or similar tactics like those exposed by the Attorney General lawsuit against Vivint Solar. Many companies use the grossly unfair Power Purchase Agreements, although some companies do not. Treinen Law Office applauds the efforts of the Attorney General to protect New Mexican consumers.
Completely agree! I am 1 of such people that got conned into buying a Vivint solar system. I hope a class action suit happens to Vivint; they’re outright liars! Be wary of Vivint Solar, they are very deceptive! They do not offer a customer satisfaction guarantee.
Completely agree! I am 1 of such people that got conned into buying a Vivint solar system.
I have proof of another “solar company” in Albuquerque that is scamming people and telling them misinformation Check into Powur, PBC out of California.. they are lieing to our people.
I also have Vivant and they promised coming out in a year and doing an Eval to make sure the panels I had was correct. I’ve called and called and that has never happened. They said they would do the maintenance and that has not happened. Trying to get help is impossible. We purchased them about 5 or so years ago. Mt husband passed 3 years ago and I am a widow. I would love help and getting out of this fake company saying one thing and doing another.
Thank you, Kelli Murphy
Vivint |Sunrun victim here in Evanston, IL
I paid $11,000 cash in November 2020 and they did install panels finally in March 2021 but as of this writing (July 2021), system still not on and no one will respond to me about why or when. If I could get my money back and this crap off my home, I would. They’re total scammers and are now part of an even larger company so I have zero hope for resolution. This company should be shut down
Imo
We think we have been scammed too. They installed the panels and all the electrical garbage on the side of our house (which we were originally told would be installed inside the garage). Inspectors have come out three times, each time something was wrong with the installation. We included an LG battery as part of our agreement so that we’d have back-up should the electricity go down. We were told by sales that it would handle our central air conditioning … why else would be want back-up in Southern California? After it was installed, the installers told us that back-up NEVER includes air conditioning. In the meantime, nothing is hooked up, we’ve lost electricity a couple of times since we began working with Vivint. Just like everyone else, no one responds, customer service is lack-luster at best, and here we are with an albatross hanging on the side of our house, The purchase agreement says that we cannot sell our house to anyone who won’t agree to take over the service agreement. And so now, since nothing is working, we have not idea what will happen if we want to sell. This is the biggest mess and the most pathetic excuse for a company I’ve ever run into. We wonder if the law suite in New Mexico will include people for other states. I don’t want money, I just want them to take their garbage off our house and patch/fix the holes and damage left behind.
I agree with everybody’s comments. I’m going through hell with them now trying to sell my deceased brothers house. The purchaser doesn’t want to assume the purchase agreement so they told me I would have to do a buyout or pay for the rest of the term on the 20 year contract or find a new purchaser that would assume the agreement (what a joke to have to shop around for your purchaser of your house). When you try and get in touch with them it takes forever and nobody seems to have any knowledge of their contracts. Finally got a conference call with one of the consumer associates and he was supposed to give me a buyout price which was insane for the solar panels only being on my brother’s house for less than 2 years. Their nothing but legal loan sharks and hopefully they get put out of business.
Hello, so I purchased my house and took over contract and after 6months with them I contacted them and I want out. and they told me I can either buy it after 6years, or im locked in.
I am having similar problems with Meraki Solar in Panama City, FL. A saleman came door to door and gave my brother and sister in law the speech. My brother called me to hear about the solar he was selling. He told us that we would be saving money and helping the environment too. Everything that the other people has said. Needless to say, I received an electric bill for 210.00 for the power usage for December. It was supposed to be 20.00 and then pay 160.00 for the solar panels to loanpal. At first my bill from the electric company wasn’t 20.00 rather like 35.00, then 40.00, and then 55.00 and now 210.00. He also said that we would be receiving a check at the end of the year from the electric company. Needless to say that was not true either.
I have Vivant solar and I am not saving any money. My electric bill has not gone down plus Vivant (Sun Run) is charging me different charges. In the summer my bill goes up to 500 or more because I have central air but the solar does not help at all. I would like to discontinue but I do not know the process to do so. I did not buy this solar outright. When they came around to sell the solar they charged me $1.00. I asked what the gimmick was and they said it is not a gimmick. It will save you alot of money. It just added money on that I would pay monthly. How do I check out to see if I am being scammed?
My Mom is a victim of Vivint, in Southern California. Being the trusting soul that she is, she signed away on the 20 year lease program. I have called Vivint and spent many hours on hold, and have been “accidentally” hung up on several times. Twice I spoke with someone that sounded helpful, only to call a week after and be told they are not there anymore. Mom has been completely taken advantage of, and it has been exhausting trying to make this right.
I have had nothing but problems with vivint now SunRun, since the beginning. All lies they said we would save on are Electric they said they were working with the Edison company. Not only am I still pay for Electricity they are charging me for the solar panels which they say there was no charge. We have know contract on which they are changing us. I try talking to them in the beginning wasn’t getting anywhere and Edison it was causing me to have too much stress and I’ve gotten too depressed. I don’t understand how this company can do this to people
We have sold our home but Vivivint & Sun Run stand in our way!! HELP!! We’re already leaving the sale with just about nothing because of our inviting our daughter and your family to live with us and be a part of the growing house ended up being its own rip off in itself please what can we do we need help!!
I just cancelled prior to getting the survey done, kept getting the runaround from Arrowpoint Solar. Had a bad feeling so I told them to forget it, he told me there would be a 10% fee for cancellation, for what, nothing has been done. It has been less than 30 days since I got involved. Hope everything works out for everyone, so glad googled Vivint and came upon this sight.
I have been scammed by Vivint Solar. I have been lied too. I am in Massachusetts. I’m hoping someone will see this and help my wife and I. We’re seniors and disabled. They promised us, my son and daughter it would cost almost nothing for electric. Lied and I recorded a lot of there lies. I had them, management at my house and tell us something is not right. They said this was a bad install. Anyone who can help us. They won’t take it off my roof. Please,
need to talk to someone about vivit solar they were suspose to cume back out never did no savings brackets falling off solar panels its all bad
How do I get in contact with someone to get help with this mess Vivint created? Any suggestions?
My mother signed a lease with Sunrun in 2018?
She got I’ll went in to a facility and died in Nay if this year. My brother paid her bills. And then he didn’t get anything else from Sunrun for a few months. No one lived at her house. Her neighbor went by for something and found something taped to the gate. Sunrun had taken her to collections ! My brother tried to talk to someone there without luck. After my Mom passed the house was for sale & the sale could not happen until my brother paid them some money to release the lien. Now there has been a collections notice in the mail to my dead mother for as much as buying the damn things . Spoke to the buyer who didn’t want to keep Sunrun and they would not let them out of the contract !
Vivint mis represented, their services, had my daughter sign a very deceptive contract, listing her as the property owner. She is not on the deed & never has been. When sunrun acquired the contract, they would not give me any information, re: billing, etc.
Now sunrun has billed my daughter over $29,000.
She has not lived at the residence for over 3 years.
They refuse to give me any information.
How
Got scammed by salesman of VIVINT SOLAR too here in Hawaii . Promised that we will be paying $10-$20 a month with the electric company BUT it never happened…I called them right away the day that I received my first bill in the month of October & the customer service I talked to said that I’m not getting enough power from their system because it is SNOWING…. Yes, snowing ?
SNOW IN HAWAII??? What a very LIE answer I’ve got from them/VIVINT…
And the worse that I found is that they put a LIEN in our house . Why ?? Pls help us 🙏
I am receiving 3 bills SUnrun, vividsolar and SDG&E. this is ridiculous
Me too.
I will sue them. I am an engineer. They messed with the wrong guy.
What they are doing to me and you is fraud.
Godlovesu20@gmail.com
If you need info email me. I will love to help you with contacting CEO from the company.
Ty
Scammed to the max. I was told I had 24 hour monitoring but when solar connections went bad. The company for 4 months did estimated pricing. Told I had 80% capabilities but found out with almost 3,000 tru up and adding more panels that the Vivint vs PG&E agreement was 50%. The salesman lied to me on many factors when conning me to lease panels.
So wonder they sold out to SunRun in California. They took there money and ran.
We got scammed as well here in Maui. MECO is a monopoly electric company and will not allow more than one battery pack per house. We cannot get more panels unless we retrograde the battery.
We are also victims of this fraudulent company, both vivint and sunrun. Nothing but problems, and never any customer service or ability to resolve any of the matters. We are desperate for an attorney to help us sue them, get a full refund on our investment, and get this useless crap off our home. They hooked up it to the wrong meter, we have asked and asked for them to fix it, and they have never done. They assured us numerous times someone monitors the system and would take action immediately if it should stop producing and get it rectified ASAP. We are on our third episode of it stopping production, and it takes us several billing cycles to notice our increased electrical bill. No one calls. We are too busy to constantly check the system. That is like the electrical company asking us to constantly keep track of power surges, electrical interruptions, price raises, etc…..Now they are lying saying that my system never included active monitoring and they aren’t responsible for the outage. They still refuse to admit they even hooked it up to the wrong meter. I want a full refund, I want credit for all the time I supposedly should have been getting solar energy credit on my bills, and I want all the equipment removed ASAP!
When they installed my parent’s panels, they damage the roof, and water entered the attic and damage the whole ceiling, and we had to pay a lot of money to get fixed. My parents were not aware that the contract was for 20 years. They spoke little be of English and they made then sign the contract without explaining and using my little sister to translate. Now, they put a claim on my parent’s state which they do not have anything, they lost Everything on healthcare cost because they both had cancer. Only thing left is a house that they put on a trust. I have no money to pay them. I still have to pay for the mortgage, property and school taxes.