More Green Light Solar customers come forward, sales teams spotted in Caddo and Bossier - The Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate

Shreveport solar paybacks; 25 years and thousands of dollars | Business | shreveportbossieradvocate.com

More customers who say they're unhappy with Green Light Solar/Go Solar-Spartan Solar have contacted The Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate with complaints about the company and its tactics.

One man in north Shreveport said that salespeople from the company "came to his job" and waited for him for two hours there. The man, who is a veteran and works two jobs, said the salesman kept contacting him while making multiple promises about the solar system, one of which was that he would never get a SWEPCO bill again. His solar system did not come with battery storage and without batteries, the U.S. Department of Energy says the homeowner would be reliant on the grid or other power, such as a generator.

Multiple homeowners in Shreveport-Bossier and other parts of northwest Louisiana and now Texas are coming forward to report that they are victims of what they say are aggressive and hard sell tactics by solar panel sales teams who are identifying themselves as Green Light Solar, LLC of Texas. Homeowners say those tactics include coming to homes late in the evening and refusing to leave until documents are signed.

The SBC Advocate has obtained the loan contract that homeowners have said they are signing without knowledge of what the document is or the terms for which it binds them. Several homeowners said they never received a copy of their contract.

In the loan document provided to the SBC Advocate, the homeowner was charged $46,000 for solar panels at 4.9% interest for a total payback of more than $77,000 over 25 years. The monthly note is $174 per month, but at 18 months jumps to $283 for the life of the loan.

A homeowner in Bethany said that her increase in monthly payment amount was unexpected. She said she purchased panels from Green Light Solar, LLC of Texas "two or three years ago" after being told her SWEPCO bills would end with installation of the solar panels. According to the homeowner, monthly payments on her panels increased from $180 to $378 when she did not make a large "buy down" payment by the 18th month. She said she is also still getting a SWEPCO bill.

According to the contract, if the homeowner defaults or dies before the total loan is repaid, the document states that the loan is binding — in other words, it must be repaid — by the homeowner's children or other heirs and legal representatives.

If a homeowner declares bankruptcy or defaults in any other way, if their home is foreclosed upon, or even if it is taken by eminent domain, the contract says the entire note for repayment of the panels could come due and a long list of charges could accrue — from attorney's fees and collection costs to costs for "repossessing, storing, preparing for sale and reselling the project (solar system)."

Additionally, the contract states that the homeowner may not sell their house unless the panels are paid for in full.

Every person interviewed said they made their decision to install the panels based on company pitches that included false statements that included but were not limited to; that the panels would mean no more power outages, that the homeowner would receive no more power bills, that the homeowner would make money selling their extra power to SWEPCO, that the homeowner would be receiving large cash tax credits, that new government laws were going to mandate all homes be converted to solar within a few years, and, in some cases, that the homeowner's solar system would be free because of grants.

The 16th clause in the contract takes on the sales claims specifically, and is the only section written in all caps. "Your agreement to pay for the project as described herein, and may not be contradicted by evidence of prior, contemporaneous, or subsequent oral agreements of the parties. There are no unwritten oral agreements between the parties."

In other words, attorney Jerry Harper said the 16th clause means "They (homeowners) cannot rely on any of that sales talk they may have given them on how much money they are going to save on the system or even that the system works."

"The contract expressly says that it’s set up for the assignment of the retail installment contract from Green Light to EverBright, which is a separate entity. EverBright and its assignees are only interested in one thing, 'Did you pay me at the beginning of the month?' If not, they have the right to accelerate all future obligations under the contract so that they may be made immediately due and payable and sue the homeowner for that plus attorney’s fees and costs."

The State Licensing Board of Contractors is now gathering information and complaints. Regional Compliance Supervisor David Hamm asks anyone who wants to share a complaint against Green Light Solar LLC of Texas to email him.

Customers who believe that they were misled into purchasing solar panels are also asked to file a complaint with the Louisiana Attorney General's Office by calling their hotline at 1-800-351-4889 or using their online portal. Both entities said they need documented complaints before launching an investigation.

On Friday, the office of Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell asked the SBC Advocate for additional information, including a copy of the EverBright contract.

A SWEPCO spokesman said his company "will be issuing a consumer alert along with other outreach via direct messaging and automated phone calls clarifying that SWEPCO does not sell solar panels and is not partnered with companies that do." SWEPCO has already issued a warning and response to Green Light sales claims to the SBC Advocate.