AMECO Solar & Roofing

Failure to make repairs

The clasps that hold the subpanel door closed broke when I was required to open the subpanel to reset the system. I've been trying for almost three months to get the subpanel door repaired, but Ameco refuses to take any action to repair it. It is currently taped shut, and I'm going to be required to hire a different company to make the necessary repairs to preserve the integrity of the system and then go after Ameco for reimbursement.

I would give 0 stars if I could. This is unequivocally the worst service I have ever received. Ameco has failed at every step, leaving us with an unfinished, non-functional system and costing us thousands in lost NEM 3.0 credits. Avoid this company at all costs. 1) Gross Negligence on Critical Paperwork. Ameco's carelessness is staggering. We personally caught a critical error (the wrong address) on their PG&E PTO application and notified them to fix it. Incredibly, they still submitted the incorrect paperwork. This single act of incompetence has caused a cascade of massive, unacceptable delays. We are still not approved, and Ameco has shown no urgency in fixing the problem they created. 2) Complete Lack of Communication and Accountability. Our representative, Ivan, completely ghosted us as soon as the contract was signed. It took numerous, persistent calls and emails over three weeks just to get the initial work scheduled. Now that there are problems, they are impossible to reach. 3) Appalling Installation and Total Lack of Professionalism. The installation was a disaster. * The installer, Miguel, did not complete the original job and left garbage strewn across our property. * The work was sloppy and dangerous, with live wires left hanging, missing screws, and unsecured panels. * After we complained, Ameco sent the same installer, Miguel, back. He promptly failed to finish the installation again, leaving critical Enphase components like the gateway modem and collar literally hanging in a state of disarray. 4) Perpetual System Faults (Due to Botched Installation). Because of Ameco's botched installation, our brand-new Enphase system is plagued with daily faults. We've had constant battery errors and gateway connection failures. This has forced us to spend hours on the phone with Enphase technical support trying to troubleshoot a system that Ameco failed to install correctly. Our project is still incomplete, we have no idea when we will get PTO, and we have zero confidence in this company's ability to do the job.

Significant challenges in getting the project to completion

I'm struggling to rate this company, as our solar system is now installed and working, and the final cost was reasonable. For that, they deserve a star. However, the journey to get there was quite possibly the worst service experience I have ever endured, stretching out over a grueling eight months. While some project delays are expected with complex installations, the profound lack of proactive communication and the constant deflection of blame onto others (rather than a focus on solutions) was incredibly painful and time-consuming. Let me provide a few examples that illustrate our extreme frustration: - Disregard for Design & Failed Inspection: The initial battery wall installation did not comply with the approved designs. As an engineer, I know how to read plans, and I immediately raised concerns to both the installation crew and the company. My concerns were summarily dismissed with a reminder that "we are the experts." Unsurprisingly, we failed our first inspection due to this non-compliance, costing us a full month in re-inspection scheduling delays. - Unacceptable timing for AC Disconnection: We were initially told to expect 5-7 days of AC disconnection to accommodate the inspection schedule. This "short" period dragged on for over four months due to inspection delays. While I understand inspection scheduling is outside their direct control, the sheer lack of updates was infuriating. We had to call, text, or email every week to get any information. At the final step, we personally communicated directly with the power company, which finally resulted in some forward momentum. Living in a hot climate, a non-operational AC for such an extended period was not merely an inconvenience, but a significant hardship. - Battle for Battery Removal & Harassment: After a crew arrived unannounced to replace a non-operational solar battery (a situation that was not coordinated and disrupted our personal plans), they simply left the old, non-operational ~300lb battery in our yard, stating that pickup "would get scheduled." This was equipment we had no means to move, let alone dispose of. When a pickup was finally scheduled, and after I took a day off work (because someone needed to be home to meet the freight team for pickup, and the company was unwilling to coordinate the pickup themselves), the freight company refused to take the battery. Their reason: it was too heavy and left in our backyard, not near the front of the house. We then battled for weeks to get any response on a re-schedule, all while our long-planned vacation approached. Subsequently, we were relentlessly pestered via text while on vacation, demanding we "immediately" deal with final payment and battery pickup, despite being in a situation that was entirely their responsibility. These are just a few of the many instances that compounded our frustration. What began as a genuinely positive experience (three months ago, I would have enthusiastically given five stars!) steadily deteriorated as the project wore on. Communication became progressively worse, to the point where the only time we could elicit a response was when they were demanding a payment. Even then, those communications were dismissive, unhelpful, and consistently focused on placing blame on everyone but themselves. This company desperately needs to re-evaluate its customer service and project management processes.

Incompetent

Incompetent is too nice a word to describe Ameco. They delayed my project by weeks because their surveyor could not get the correct measurements the TWO times he came. I had to finish the measurements my self to not delay the project further. They then decided not to follow their own plan when installing the panels which caused inspection to fail and having to resubmit plans again causing another delay.

Buyer beware - Don't buy from Ameco

We are seven weeks into our solar installation and we're tired of being told 'we're on schedule" when we never were told what the schedule was. Our roof had the tile removed on August 22nd and the Amerco representative said we'd be inspected in a day or two and then the electrical work would be done. Tomorrow will be seven weeks with tiles sitting on our roof. Communication is nearly impossible to reach the office or the so called "project manager" as no one is ever available when you call the home office. We had to have one project manager removed from the project after we got lied to. The inspector from Southern California Edison showed up one with paperwork showing the Ameco had requested that day for the electrical work to be inspected and the work hadn't even been started. It took several days of inspectors coming out from the City Building Department for the electrical work to finally be approved. A competitor started last Monday and finished the whole installation on Thursday with all of the inspections approved. We sadly picked the wrong company to do our installation.

Completely Inept and unresponsive

Contracted 6/22/22. Took until 10/13/22 to pass inspection. Made 4 trips to site to install, each time the crew showed up without the necessary parts so they had to come back again. Destroyed the concrete tile on my roof. The installers were in fact subcontractors qualified to do electrical work but not roofing. Ameco did not advise that they were going to use a subcontractor. After inspection and final pmt. on 10/13/22 Ameco failed to get the Permission To Operate certificate from PGE leaving me with an inoperable system. Ameco also failed to set up the Enphase app leaving me unable to monitor my system and see if is working as specified. Ameco also has failed to repair the window broken during installation as of 10/31/22. My conclusion is that Ameco is unprofessional, unqualified and untrustworthy.

Terrible; Fails to Produce Suff Energy, Warranty Ignored

Awful, nightmare. Started this July 2021, broken promises, refusal to honor warranty, unprofessional, energy production promised but unmet. Told that panels would cover my year's electricity, in full. Only covers 1/2 to 2/3. Energy production suddenly drops by 50%. Call Ameco, given excuses, useless info, refuses repeated requests to send out tech to examine, resolve. Told nope, but we can sell you more panels. Feel totally ripped off, abandoned. Took so long to install, started this July, installed end of Dec. Their main tech speaks nary a word of English, so never knew what was happening. The "project manager" never even came to my house. When finally installed and ready to activate, they made me, disabled guy w/ cane, with no knowledge of this stuff, go out, push buttons, levers, etc, and of course, didn't work properly. So unprofessional. Now I'm screwed, paying monthly on $29,000 loan for about 15 yrs, with a system that isn't working and Ameco has basically told me to go screw myself. Heartless. Cruel.