Review for Freedom Solar Power

Office location: 4801 Freidrich Ln, Austin TX, 78744

03/24/2023
Mandy Georgetown, TX

Unlawfully threaten their customers

TL;DR- Threatened to break and enter on my property, threatened to file a lien on my property when all sent invoices were paid, forged signature, compromised customers data and privacy, failed delivery 5 times, deceptive advertising about cost savings, misrepresenting staff titles and credentials, refused reasonable accommodations for a communication disability, there is NO SUPPORT once they have your money. When you complete your solar project with Freedom Solar you will be mailed a photocopy of a hand written note from their CEO Bret. It states to contact him personally with any issues because he wants to assure that you are fully satisfied and happy with your new Solar System. Watch out! This one is a big lie! Do not even bother wasting your time reaching out to Bret. He cannot and will not be bothered to respond. Instead of working with customers to resolve disputes in good faith, he will enlist Cokinos Law to send you threatening letters. I guess in an attempt to use a business to weaponize the legal system against consumers. Super gross. Originally, I reported my experience with Freedom Solar to the FTC, SEIA, and BBB. About one month after giving formal statements to FTC, SEIA, and BBB in regards to Freedom Solars violations of Consumer Rights and deceptive/misleading information, I started to receive invoices that made no sense to me from Freedom Solar. They had the incorrect address, different amounts than I had paid before, and were listed as being for the “Start of Project”… and no new start of project was authorized at my home. I sought clarity from the Freedom Solar billing department and received no answers. I did not pay them, because I had no idea what they were for and I genuinely thought it was another one of their incompetent mistakes. I also have records of previous invoices that have all been paid, and I received a project completion statement from Freedom Solar showing that all balances were “Paid in Full”. About 8 weeks later I received a letter from Phyllis Hat Cokinos Law in Austin threatening to put a lien on my home and to break and enter to remove my system! I was shocked. After unfortunately working with Freedom Solar I knew they were prone to mistakes and a very unethical business, but I never imagined they would make an attempt to weaponize the legal system and make unlawful threats against a consumer in an act of retaliation. To make things even “better” the threatening letter that Cokinos law was full of errors, including- the incorrect date the project was completed and the incorrect address! Like you are threatening a lien and you can’t even get the address, correct? It’s literally embarrassing. Do they just go around trying to put fraudulent liens on the wrong addresses? So scary what people in power do to random citizens… They forged my husband’s signature on a document. The signature they have does not match his actual or digital signature. The document is not in his account where all signed documents are saved, request for signature is not in his e-mail, and in the contract that I have, which is finalized, is signed by myself and the person at Freedom Solar only. My husband’s signature is not on the finalized contract; the business does not sign the contract before the customer. However, the contract they gave to Cokinos Law has a “signature” stating my husband’s name. Watch you Credit Scores! On multiple occasions an employee from Freedom Solar sent me someone else’s personal information, including financial details! I was shocked and very upset that my personal information and financial details had been sent to another customer also. They claimed that this was not the case. I have honestly thought about contacting that person to let them know that Freedom Solar compromised their information so they can take legal action if they need to. I haven’t because I am not the type of person to do anything nefarious with another person’s information, but part of me is concerned that they might have sent their information to someone else, etc. Anyway, I have been keeping a close eye on my credit report, cards, email, etc…. very worried about that, they obviously have a total disregard for their customers data and privacy! They missed / rescheduled install dates 5 times! I get that things happen, people call in sick, parts are on delay, but, really, 5 times? If you are having such staffing or supply issues, get it together and then start scheduling appointments. I missed 5 full days of work because of this, it’s absolutely ridiculous. On the almost 6th missed install time, the sales person Alex e-mailed me and said the install was going to have to be rescheduled because the electrician had COVID and they needed to pour a concrete pad for the Power Wall….. However, no discussion of a concrete pad had ever been discussed, we requested the Power Wall be mounted as the previous one is mounted. I replied back to him with this information and to try to get a new install date. Within 2 hours, the guy who Alex S said had COVID showed up at my house to install the Power Wall. He was great- very skilled. I asked him if he had COVID and he looked at me like I was crazy and said no. I think that the people at Freedom Solar are so used to lying and making things up that they can’t even tell which is which anymore, Alex S couldn’t even admit to making a simple mistake through all of this. Freedom Solar uses deceptive advertising, misleading ads, and inaccurate data related to the costs savings of their Solar System in order to get people to buy in. When in reality our monthly power bill INCREASED after we installed solar. This is because most of the utility providers in Texas charge a (much) higher rate per kwh if you are on a “Solar Buy Back” plan & high Oncor Delivery Fees- which of course, Freedom Solar encourages you to sign up for. However, they absolutely do not provide education, support, or breakdowns of what type of plan you need to be on to get the “cost savings” they advertise. I believe this is not only due to incompetence, but due to very poor design of their solar systems in general. For example, we did not increase our electricity usage, in fact, we decreased, and our bill was still increasing. When consulting a real Licensed Electrical Engineer and speaking with Tesla, they confirmed that our ($45K) system was designed poorly and actually required TWO Tesla Power Walls in order to get ANY cost savings- and no the cost savings are not anywhere near what Freedom Solar advertises. We unfortunately bit the bullet and purchased an additional Tesla Power Wall. Our bill has decreased, but it has never even come close to the cost savings advertised. Freedom Solar Intentionally misrepresents unlicensed staff as Engineers / Electrical Engineers. This is super scary to me because these people are working on our homes! I am always so worried / paranoid about an electrical fire that I like to have record of who has worked on my home. This occurred on multiple occasions when I asked to speak with a licensed Electrical Engineer regarding questions with our system / plan and how it would work. For example, during an e-mail exchange, I asked to speak with an Electrical Engineer prior to signing a contract. I was then handed off to Nicole L, who is a “PV Designer and Sales Engineer”. When asking for her license number I was denied that information. When attempting to find a Licensed Electrical Engineer by that name in the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations, no records were found. When seeking clarity, I was met with pressure to sign the agreement/contract in question and given ultimatums and threats instead of the education I needed in order to feel safe. If you’re wondering why I continued at this point- I had already paid $45,000 and in attempting to work with another Solar Installer, they all directed me back to the original installer because the system was less than 3 months old. I was just in too deep. It was awful. If you need any type of accommodation for a disability- DO NOT expect Freedom Solar to abide by the Federal Law. Alex S and Brice R failed and refused, multiple times, to make a reasonable accommodation for an effective communication method requested for a disability. Need help understanding your utility bill? Need help with the Power Wall app? Need advice on panel maintenance? Help with the Sunpower App? System is offline? A panel isn’t producing? You absolutely cannot rely on or expect Freedom Solar to help or provide any support for your system once they’ve cashed the check. They have your money and that’s where it ends. You will have to call a contractor or another solar provider to try to get help. It’s absolutely absurd that you could pay nearly $50K for something and receive absolutely no help or support (which they promise and advertise) afterward. All I can say is, don’t walk, RUN! RUN away from Freedom Solar. When you are making this tremendous financial investment in your home, you want to work with a company who is at minimum willing to abide by the law; and factually, that just isn’t Freedom Solar, they are about as unethical as it comes. This is a huge investment in your home and the company you work with to provide a solar system at should make you feel informed, safe, prepared, and be willing to work with you directly through any issue that arises. You will absolutely NOT receive that if you go with Freedom Solar. You will be lied to, price gouged, and thrown to the curb- and if you voice concern to an official governing agency, you will receive threatening letters from Cokinos Law.