By Christopher Elliott
Guest Columnist

Christopher Elliott

Editor’s Note: Christopher Elliott is the chief advocacy officer for Elliott Advocacy. Email him at [email protected] or get help with any consumer problem by contacting him at http://www.elliott.org/help

Something went wrong with Christine Miller’s solar panels. Now the company that was supposed to install them has sent her a bill. Does she have to pay?

I have a situation with Sunrun, a company that sells and installs solar panels. After discussing the need for a roof upgrade so that my roof was stable for solar panels, Sunrun began work in preparation for solar panel installation before they had a permit. 

They stopped the roof work halfway through because they had no permit. They had discovered that installation on my patio, which has two electrical fans, was not permitted. They had already removed tiles and set new tar paper down. They didn’t put the tiles back. 

When I started dealing with them, I made it very clear the roof work was the only money I could afford. I am a newly retired teacher, single and trying to reduce my monthly bills. I wanted to go solar to help the environment. 

Since they abruptly stopped the project, I assumed it was cancelled and asked who was going to put my roof tiles back. Then, one morning the roofers showed up and put the tiles back. After a brief conversation with a Sunrun employee, I thought the deal was now closed and done. A few weeks or a month later, I received a phone call from Sunrun asking me if I had canceled the project. Because the roof had been put back and all seemed closed. I said yes. What I should have said is that Sunrun halted the project. A few weeks after this I received a bill for $4,672 from Sunrun. Items that had not been done were also listed.

I began contacting the project manager, customer care, and the billing department. Nothing has been resolved. I do not know how to proceed. I want Sunrun to see that this bill should be rescinded. If they had done their due diligence about the permits as they said they would before they over eagerly pushed ahead, I would have never moved forward because I had made it very clear, I can’t spend any more money. — Christine Miller, Hemet, Calif.

I’m so sorry to hear about your ill-fated solar panel installation. It sure sounds as if Sunrun missed a step or two before it started work. Since it abandoned your project, should you have to pay for it? 

Yes and no. Sunrun did some work, but I’m troubled by the charges for work that it didn’t do but charged you for anyway.

Normally, a contractor will pull the necessary permits before starting work. But in this case, it looks as if they started some preliminary work before applying for a permit. Once they realized they couldn’t continue with the project, they stopped and sent you the bill.

It looks as if Sunrun didn’t cancel the project. Instead, it wanted to resolve the permitting issue before continuing. But you didn’t have the funds to fix the patio, so Sunrun agreed to cancel the project as long as you paid for the work already done.

I think a brief, polite email to Sunrun might have cleared up some of the confusion. Sunrun should have quickly removed the items it didn’t do from your final bill. 

I contacted Sunrun on your behalf. It agreed to reduce the amount of your bill by $2,336. You aren’t happy with that resolution. You believe the permits were Sunrun’s responsibility to procure, and that you shouldn’t have to pay anything, and you’ve decided to consult a lawyer. I wish I could have done more for you.