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Business Profile

Solar Energy Equipment Dealers

NY State Solar

Complaints

This profile includes complaints for NY State Solar's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see

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NY State Solar has 7 locations, listed below.

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    Customer Complaints Summary

    • 32 total complaints in the last 3 years.
    • 13 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

    If you've experienced an issue

    Submit a Complaint

    The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

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    Complaint status

    Complaint type

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:03/13/2023

      Type:Order Issues
      Status:
      AnsweredMore info

      Complaint statuses

      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      Im a semiretired 56 year old grandfather trying to recover from ************** surgery. Last year I was curious about all this Free Solar System for Homeowners. I searched on the internet for information. I thought NY State Solar was a government website for information. I entered my information & was contacted by NY State Solar salesman ***********************. He convinced me that I was a fool to keep paying ******** that by getting Solar I would be getting free electricity, etc. On 4/28/22 I signed a contract $49,478. Originally the price was going to be $10-12k cheaper (but due to the fact that Solar requires a new roof it was the price). Upon learning that I was not going to get new vinyl soffits installed (needed to prevent birds, ***************** from entering roof). I complained that a new roof replacement entails new soffits. Salesman *********************** said roof contractor ****** refuses & demands almost extra $3000 for new soffits installation. 5/18/22 I canceled Mosaic ************* canceled project with NY State Solar. I was immediately basically attacked by them demanding $9075.12 immediately for illegally canceling project. I told NY State Solar was constantly changing price of project. 1st just Solar Panels , now you need a new roof, next you must pay for soffits. What else is next? NYSS unscrupulously threats to *** me for absolutely nothing as nothing was done at all. 6/3/22 I was forced to sign Change Order for added costs of new Soffits installation. Which I was assured by salesman ***** that it was going to be absorbed by NYSS in order for project to proceed. Well it wasnt & was warned I have a Lien on my house anyway so no matter what I was going to pay one way or another. Fast forward to 3/6/23 NYSS salesman *********************** says finally *** Building Permits awarded. Now he says old contract doesnt exist because its been almost a year & all materials are $25-35k more expensive. I said NYSS voided contract by this. He said expect the Lien to be enforced.Help

      Business Response

      Date: 03/14/2023

      Hello,

      I would encourage you to reach out to our office to discuss your project. How you are describing the situation and the chain of events is not accurate. 

      To start, we do not advertise "free solar" in any way. While I can understand being curious about something like that, it is not accurate or what we advertise. 

      When we met you initially (before inspecting your roof) we quoted you for a solar system. Before you signed a contract with us we conducted a site evaluation to verify the condition of the parts of your home we would be working on, including the roof. When *** came back with a contract he explained that for us to move forward you would need a new roof because your current one would not last the lifetime of the solar system. At this point you hadn't signed a contract, we hadn't done any work and you could have walked away. Instead you chose to move forward. As part of this contract our roofer included a detailed list of exactly what work would be performed. New soffits is not part of that list, nor is it standard in the roofing industry to install new soffits on a house as part of a standard reroof. When you later wanted to add them it was an additional cost that you signed off on. It was not necessary for your solar project and you did not need to have our roofer do it. You could have not done it, had someone else do it, whatever you wanted. 

      After we had done our permitting, engineering, interconnection and other work you stated you wanted to cancel. We reminded you that if you cancel you have to pay for the work we have performed through the date you cancel. You are free to cancel, however you can't cancel and not pay us for the work we have already performed. 

      Regarding the pricing, the cost of our solar project itself has not gone up. What has gone up is the cost of financing. You canceled the loan and the cost of a new loan is much higher because interest rates have risen substantially in the past year. If you want to pay cash for your project there is no difference in price. If you want to finance it in a higher rate environment than the loan you chose to cancel it cost more now for that loan. 

      Please give us a call to discuss further, we are open to working with you on finding a way to resolve this.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 03/14/2023

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

      As you can see from NYSS response they are steadfast in this ongoing scam. For materials & financing to go up $25-35k more constitutes a Totally Different Contract. Almost 1 year obtaining *** Bulldog permits. What NYSS is basically doing is a Bait and Switch. All terms & prices are totally different which is unacceptable. This company Im learning from other complaints is asoley a Contractor. Not 1 nail or s**** has been put on. Only now after almost 1 year waiting for permits NYSS wants to continue project with totally different price & terms. I did nothing wrong as Im the victim. I didnt delay permits. I did not change price of materials & change financing. Please see through this thinly veiled threat. 

       

       

      In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.


      Sincerely,

      *******************************




       

      Business Response

      Date: 03/21/2023

      *******,


      Your home is in a flood zone which meant it could not go through the normal DOB process for permitting rooftop solar. It instead had to go through a full plans exam and a flood zone review. We agree that the permit took a long time, the part you're missing is that it wasn't us. We did what was in our control to move your project along quickly, DOB requiring a full plans exam and flood zone review which took approximately 9 months wasn't a delay caused by us. 
      The product and terms of everything in our control are exactly the same as when you signed your contract. We are offering to install the same solar system and do the same roof work in the same manner. 

      The only element that has changed is the third party that you were using to finance the project has raised their costs and rates (like everyone across all lending businesses I'm aware of in the US) over the past year. That has made your cost higher. Our cost for the project is exactly the same as a year ago, the only change you are referring to is the lenders cost which was impacted by the fed raising rates over the past year. 

      I would strongly encourage you to reach out to us and talk about finding a path forward for this. While we can't do half of the contracted work and not be paid for it, we are willing to work with you to find an acceptable solution and have some options we can discuss.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 03/23/2023

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

      [Your Answer Here]

      Almost 1 year elapsed- totally different costs - the different total prices already invalidate contract . the constant veiled threats to enforce the lien. These egregious actions are Predatory. The threats made me sign under duress. Now NYS Solar (a contractor who outsources) wants to fraudulently wants to collect when absolutely Nothing was done. *** Solar is using Predatory Tactics to senior citizens, to even threaten their health and mental welfare.

       

       

      In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.


      Sincerely,

      *******************************




       
    • Initial Complaint

      Date:12/27/2022

      Type:Delivery Issues
      Status:
      AnsweredMore info

      Complaint statuses

      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      This company does not stop calling me. They call me multiple times a day and *** told them many times to stop. Ive had to block about 20 numbers that they continuously call me from. I don't even own a house to have solar panels and I never spoke to anyone about solar panels. I don't know how they even received my number. It's becoming harrasment.

      Business Response

      Date: 12/29/2022

      *****

      We have researched why and how much we called you, as well as where we got your information from. Reviewing our phone records it looks like we called you three times, once each on 12/20, 12/22 and 12/26. According to our records you did not answer the phone any of those three times we called and did not advise us you wished to not be contacted. We have added you to our do not call list so you will not hear from us again. 

      We have also looked into why we were calling you to begin with. Someone with a different name than you submitted a form online to a website that sells leads (name/number/address) to solar companies like us as interested customers. They used your phone number with their name (unless your name on this complaint is wrong, likely a mistake where they mixed up a digit in their phone number). This lead has been sold to many companies, including us. While we tried you three times I'm sure other companies tried you more times.

      Even though you are on our do not call list, we are not affiliated with any other company that *** be calling you. If you do not want them to call you, you need to answer the phone and ask that they put you on their do not call list. This would have stopped us from calling a second and third time and prevented this complaint. 

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:12/02/2022

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      AnsweredMore info

      Complaint statuses

      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      This company does not stop calling me. They call me multiple times a day and *** told them many times to stop. Ive had to block about 20 numbers that start with 631 823.

      Business Response

      Date: 12/02/2022

      We have reviewed our records and have placed you on our do not call list. You will not receive a call from us again. I would note though that we were calling you because you met one of our representatives in your neighborhood on 10/18 and setup an appointment to meet one of our salespeople on 10/19. You were not home when the salesperson went out for the appointment. Since 10/19 we have called you six times, we would have been happy to place you on our do not call list after the first time trying to reach you if you had answered the phone and told us that. We were only calling you because you missed the appointment you scheduled.  

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:10/14/2022

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      AnsweredMore info

      Complaint statuses

      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      Everything was fine until I was told I also needed a new roof for my solar installation. Once that was a factor the financials drastically changed. Understandably so and my monthly payment was increasing as a result but I was misinformed completely that there would be no out of pocket on top of the increase. There was no misunderstanding about it on my end. My question was 100% clearly asked that the increase in payment included the full cost of the roof to which I was told yes. Well that wasnt true and after being committed to the project it became obvious that I was informed incorrectly. Then they tell me its too late and I signed and the project was too far ahead and if I backed out I would have to forgo close to 10k and would have gotten nothing in return. I didnt have much choice at that point. My options are proceed and pay the extra 4.5-5k and at least have Solar or lose 10k and get nothing. Not exactly the greatest options. I never would have proceeded if they informed me properly to begin with. Everything only became apparent after I started filing my taxes and there was clearly a gap in funding. I contacted them before work began to rectify the matter but that never happened. They gave me 1k back which was really just the salesperson forgoing their commission due to their error. The company itself walked away unscathed by the error and I was left footing the bill for their mistake. The installation had issues throughout as well which only made matters worse. They arent a good company in my opinion. Any company that pushes their mistakes and expense onto others should be held accountable or at a minimum it should be known by anyone who may consider working with them. There were many other negative aspects to the project but Ill stick to what is primarily relevant unless requested. I waited some time so as to not act in haste but the project was just one massive regret as a result of the bad financials brought on by incorrect information they gave.

      Business Response

      Date: 10/14/2022

      ** ************

      Before you even signed a contract with our company to install solar we conducted a site survey of your home including the roof and determined your roof needed to be replaced. If you didn't want to replace your roof in order to go solar (which has a separate cost as itemized in your contract) you were under no obligation to move forward with the project. You hadn't signed the contract, paid anything and we had only done a complimentary site survey.

      However, you did choose to move forward and signed your contract on 12/27/21 for the solar system and roof replacement. It clearly itemized the cost of each as it was fully explained to you and part of the project from the moment you signed off. 

      When you changed your mind months later it was too late, we had already done half of the project. As a customer service gesture we did offer you a discount at that point along with upgrading your panels to a more expensive model at no cost, even though you had agreed on the roof + solar cost and scope from the beginning. Your characterization that this was somehow pushed on you or a mistake on our part is false. 

      Your request for a refund for a roof and solar system that are installed on your home and which we upgraded at no cost to you as a customer service gesture is not reasonable and cannot be accommodated. 

      Customer Answer

      Date: 10/14/2022

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

      [Your Answer Here]

      Your proposals provide total cost only and no clear breakdowns as to where the funding aspect is specifically coming from. The proposals are also convoluted for many reasons and your company also did a very poor job of sending any updates as well for the many changes on the project In addition you know very well that the question was clearly asked to your salesperson and answered incorrectly. He outright admitted it to you and to me yet I have no doubt given your track record of dishonesty that you wont admit it here. I didnt change my mind on a whim or have buyers remorse as you are implying. I changed my mind because I was getting smacked with a $5000 bill that I had not been previously told about that no longer made the project financially justifiable. At the end of the day the financials have to make sense and they barely did without any out-of-pocket but it was my decision to move forward solely based on the increase in payment but thats it. I was ok proceeding with an increase in monthly payment only which is why I specifically and clearly asked the question about any out of pocket to which I was told no. You misinformed me completely, did a poor job explaining, and flat out gave me the wrong information that the increase in my payment covered the full cost of the roof without any out-of-pocket. Are you denying this now? My request is not unreasonable at all. The mistake was completely on your end yet Im the one that had to pay the price for your mistake and your company came out unscathed with a successful sale. How is that reasonable? Then you try to manipulate and manage me with supposed panel upgrades and other nonsense to convince me why I should be happy with the project as is but nothing additional is done to ever rectify the fact that I got stuck with the bill for your mistake. Theres no accountability here whatsoever on running your business when your company makes a mistake that puts you in a position like this. It was your mistake but your stance is clearly that youre willing to try and rectify an issue only until it actually cost you something, but its OK that your errors cost someone else. The stance is basically we screwed up but its your problem now because money is involved now so tough luck, you eat it. And somehow Im the unreasonable one according to you.

       

       

       

      In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.


      Sincerely,

      *************************************




       
    • Initial Complaint

      Date:08/08/2022

      Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
      Status:
      AnsweredMore info

      Complaint statuses

      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      In August 2021 I consulted with NY state solar regarding a solar panel energy system for my residence. At the time I was asked to provide PSEG bills so that the salesman could estimate my use for the year. We had only been in the house eight months at the time so I provided eight months worth of statements. I was assured that with this information, the proposed system could estimate my annual energy consumption. The salesman proposed an energy system that would cover approximately 104% of my estimated use for $50,000. Based on the expectation that the system has proposed would cover all or almost all of my energy consumption we went forward and had the solar panel system installed on our property. However, approximately six months later we contacted our salesman to inform him that in fact the solar panels were only covering roughly 60% of our use. The salesman came to our home on July 3, 2022 and stated that he made an error in his design of our system. At the time of our consultation we had provided our PSEG bills and showed that from January through July we had consumed approximately ****** KWH in electricity. The system that our salesman proposed would cover 104% of our cost consumption was designed to produce only ****** KWH. This, our salesman graciously admitted, was a gross under estimate of what our use would be for the year which is why our system is not covering enough to cover our actual electrical use. I asked that our salesman go back to the companies management team and propose a resolution. I was contacted by the vice president of operations ******* and then the president read garden. Both ****** and **** only focused on the fact that the system was producing ****** KWH as it was designed to do. Both ignored the fact that the Salesman underestimated what our use would be and thus misrepresented what the system could do. Neither even spoke to our salesman. We detrimentally relied on his misrepresentation and purchased the system.

      Business Response

      Date: 08/08/2022

      ********,


      As we have already discussed extensively with you (and you admit in your complaint), you system is performing exactly as designed. You purchased a solar system that we estimated would produce ****** kWh per year, and as you stated it is producing that. As we have already explained, we have zero control over your usage. You have to pay for the power you use, whether you're buying it from the utility or buying solar panels to generate the power so you don't need to purchase those kWh from the utility. There no third option where you get either the power from the utility or the solar panels for free, which is what you've repeatedly asked for. We have denied your request to receive approximately $25,000 in additional panels at zero cost to you so you don't need to buy that power from the utility because that is an unreasonable ask from someone who is receiving exactly what was estimated and they paid for. Please stop publicly making false statements in your complaints, yes we did speak to the sales rep and no your account of things is not factual.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 08/08/2022

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

       

       I disagree and respond as follows:

      1.) The system is not "what I paid for."  If you review page one of the contract, the system I purchased was estimated to cover 104% of my use. This estimate was supposed to based on the information I provided to my sales person at the time of my initial consultation in August, 2021. From January-July, 2021 I consumed roughly ****** kwh. I was told that if I went forward with the system as proposed, my electrical **** would be almost nothing since the salesman created the system to fit my needs. We now know, and the salesman has admitted, that he in fact underestimated my use and the ****** kwh system that was installed could never have covered my estimated use. For example, my use in July alone was almost **** kwh. If you had assumed that August, 2021 would have been the same, that already puts me at a 15,000kwh system with Sept-December still to go. It was clearly an error that such a small system would have ever covered our use. We relied on the salesman's representation that if we paid the $50,000, it would cover all or almost all of our use. Had we known that the system would only cover roughly 60% of our use (as could have been estimated by the information provided at the time of consultation), we would not have gone forward. It is this underestimate and misrepresentation that we relied on in making our decision to purchase solar panels at all. 

      2.) I am not demanding $25,000 of free material because I used more than you could have anticipated. I am simply asking that you acknowledge the underestimate and try to resolve this with me. The best result for me would be to have a system that covers what could have been estimated last August. In my opinion, knowing that we were looking for at 100% coverage, the system proposed should have at least estimated ****** kwh per year. This is why I asked that additional panels be placed. If you have another resolution, I am open to discussion. 

      3.) I have not posted anything inaccurate and my recollection is factual. Again, page 1 of my contract says 104% and the aurora proposals discussed at consultation stated that this system was designed to cover 104%. As I have stated many times, I am not asking for perfection. If I used more than you could have anticipated, I am happy to pay extra for energy I use. I just want a system that would have reasonably covered our home based on the information provided. If I used ****** for 7 months, the salesman should have known that adding only ***** more would not be enough, something that he has since admitted. As of the date of this complaint to BBB, ****, the salesman, advised that you had never even spoken to him about this issue. It is hard for me to understand how you could say I am not factual, when you did not even speak to **** and hear what he had to say. 

       

      In sum, I would like to resolve this amicably and hope we can find a resolution. Please do not respond with further discussion about the system performing at ****** as expected because this is not my complaint. My complaint is that we went forward because we were told that purchasing a solar panel system through your company would cover all or almost all of our electrical use BASED ON THE INFORMATION WE PROVIDED. The cost made sense because we thought we would have virtually no PSEG ****. However, because of the salesman's error, our system does not and could never have reasonably covered our use. 

       

       

       






       

      Business Response

      Date: 08/09/2022

      ********,

       

      When you first contacted us we prepared a quote for adding the additional panels to cover the additional power you want to generate. We also provided a discount on that quote given your perspective. You declined. When this was passed to me as the owner I asked what you were looking for and you stated "...I believe that an equitable resolution would be to provide additional panels to cover what should have been estimated based on the information that was provided at my initial consultation. Either that or a partial refund for the fact that the system installed does not cover what was promised due to calculation error....." 

       

      Again, the system quoted and installed is producing exactly the kWh it was estimated to. So a refund for a properly performing system isn't reasonable. At the same time going from paying for the power (with or without solar) and instead have us give you free panels to eliminate your cost that you would have paid whether you went solar or not isn't reasonable either.

       

      We offered a discounted quote for installing additional panels, we offered that from the beginning but will not be giving away free panels for a system that is performing as estimated. 

      Customer Answer

      Date: 08/09/2022

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

      [Your Answer Here]

      The offer to purchase additional panels for $23,000 in order to get what was originally promised to me was not acceptable to me. The issue of paying for power whether through solar or PSEG is not what is at issue. I repeat that the issue is that the system I purchased was based upon the salesman's representation that it would cover all or almost all of my usage. But for this representation, I would not have entered into the contract. If I was advised that a system designed to cover my estimated use based on what was received would have cost $75,000 I would not have gone forward. Moreover, if I was advised that the system as installed would only cover a portion of my use, I would not have gone forward. It is this error in estimating my use that is central to my complaint. Installing a ****** kwh system and saying that it will cover 104% when it will not is the issue; not whether or not my system is working. 

      I have attached hereto emails from the salesman, *************************, to another supervisor, ************************* wherein he admits his error and requests that I as the customer be offered a more favorable resolution. My understanding from **** was that ***** was going to discuss my case with you and perhaps weigh in on some other options. 

      I hope this admission of error by **** clarifies any misunderstandings and confirms what I have been trying to explain about the system not being what was promised in terms of estimated use. 

       

       

       

       

      In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.


      Sincerely,

      *******************************




       

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