Spruce Power review: Customer support for solar system

Spruce Power purchased my lease agreement in January 2022 from Sungevity Solar. I had no input or ability to object from this occurring. I was simply told after the fact that it had occurred.

My system then stopped producing electricity in August 2022. Although my contract specifically states that the vendor is supposed to monitor the system for performance and notify me if there are issues, Spruce was not doing this. I did not realize the system was down (i.e. non-functional) until late January 2023. I emailed Spruce (as the owner of my system) in February 2023 asking them to send someone to fix it. Spruce subcontracted with Solar Service Professionals to evaluate and repair my system. The subcontractor was unavailable for many weeks, and finally showed up in mid-April 2023. I was told that the specific part that failed was only rated for 10 years (which it had been since installation of my system) and this was an expected service/repair. I was also told that the replacement part would take 4-6 weeks to arrive. I am retired military and understand the need to follow proper procedures.

After 2 months with no new information I emailed Spruce asking for an update. My email went unanswered. There was no reply. After 3 months I called the subcontractor directly and was told that the parts vendor (which Spruce had authorized) was on backorder and that the required part would likely take an additional 4-5 months. The subcontractor also relayed that they could get the part much faster from a different parts vendor (but this would have to be authorized by Spruce). I therefore asked Spruce to authorize a different parts vendor. I reiterated that my system had already been non-functional for more than 11 months. Spruce was openly hostile in their response, telling me that they would not use another vendor and stressing that I was not authorized to directly speak with the subcontractor servicing my solar system. I suspect that the parts vendor (which was taking more than 6 months to fill the order) was the cheapest option for Spruce. I have been making my monthly lease payments for a non-functional solar system for 12 months and fear this will continue for another 4 months (based on input from the subcontractor).

During our back-and-forth emails, I have pointed out that the signed contract (for my solar system) has a performance guarantee. Spruce has relayed that they purchased the lease of the system and had no responsibility for any guarantees of performance in the original contract. This honestly seems criminal. How can they hold me hostage with monthly lease payments (for more than a year) on a system that is non-functional? Imagine leasing a car which has been in the repair shop (and non-functional) for 12+ months and the dealership expecting you to make payments on the vehicle despite you not having use of it.

I have therefore been attempting to find out how I can purchase the balance on my lease (so that I don’t have to work with Spruce). My lease explicitly states that it is my right to buy out the system. I now have 3 unanswered email requests for purchase information.

I honestly never leave reviews online for companies or service providers, however the behavior of this company is several standard deviations outside of the norm which made me feel compelled to provide input to anyone that will listen.

Sincerely,

Konrad Davis

([protected]@yahoo.com)