PHOENIX — With more than 250 days of sunshine each year, the Valley should be a great place for homeowners wanting to reduce their electricity bills by going solar, that is if you pick the correct installer.
Tim Carson says he did not and learned a very expensive lesson. He hired Jet Solar in Tempe and signed a $71,000 solar loan to pay for the project.
"I just wanted to be able to run electricity without paying APS costs," Carson said.
In May, the company installed dozens of solar panels on his roof.
By the end of the year, Tim was still not able to use the solar.
The system has never been functional and Tim blames Jet Solar.
County inspector notes say "no one showed up" at inspections and there was no "panel upgrade" needed to connect the system.
After repeated emails, phone calls, and two visits to Jet Solar's Tempe offices, owner Lerrill Jones finally agreed to take our questions about Tim's situation, and he takes no blame.
"As a contractor, we met our contractual obligation," Jones told us.
Jones says his company installed the panels as he was hired to do and he says they followed up by sending workers out to Tim's address several times after installation.
Without working solar, Tim had to pay all those high summer electricity bills he wanted to avoid.
He's also stuck paying back that $71,000 solar loan because the installer told the lender the job was complete.
"We're paying $500, thereabouts, and not getting any benefit from the solar," he said.
We reached out to Tim's lender, Dividend Finance asking why Tim should have to start paying back a loan for a system that's not producing.
Dividend Finance says after investigating, they deferred four months of payments for some customers, including Tim and Tim got back the $1,000+ already paid.
Jones blames the lender for doing even more.
He says Dividend Finance withheld $92,000 of his money from various projects.
"It affects customers being turned on, it affects employees who are not able to get paid," Jones said.
In a statement to us, Dividend Finance says:
Our customers are our first priority and we have offered loan payment deferrals without interest for four months to impacted customers who are waiting on interconnection completions. We are sourcing third parties to assist in completing the projects at no cost to the homeowner. Although I am unable to discuss specifics, I can tell you that all actions taken with JET Solar are in alignment with our contract. Any funds held in reserve ensure the completion of projects that JET has defaulted on and third parties sourced by Dividend will assist impacted customers on their projects."
While we were trying to get Tim's project completed, the state's Registrar of Contractors suspended Jet Solar's license citing more than a dozen complaints, including those for "abandonment and poor workmanship.
I asked Jones with a suspended license, if could he stay in business.
He said, "that's my goal."
But shortly after they left, the state revoked Jet Solar's contractor's license.
In an email to Tim, Jones says in part "...Unfortunately, as of November 16, 2022, all open projects have been taken over by Dividend Financial. They will complete the remaining work and take care of your customer needs. If you have any concerns or issues that need to be addressed, you can contact Dividend Financial..." Lerrill Jones/JET Solar
And Tim received an email from Dividend Finance saying in part they "have been made aware that Jet Solar is no longer in business. We are in receipt of the recent communication from Lerrill Jones of Jet Solar that Dividend will complete the remaining work associated with your solar installation."
Before you hire an installer, check their contractor license.
Also ask for a list of previous customers and contact them about the work.
The Federal Trade Commission has information about solar power options and questions to ask before installing.
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