Encor Solar (Out of Business)

After fighting for about a year, including the engagement of a law firm, panels were connected to the grid, We are still paying electric bills of more than 125.00 monthly and we owe about $90,000.00 for panels. We were required to begin paying for the panels before they were working because the financing was through Launch Financing. Have filed a complaint with the North Carolina Justice Department, but were told they could do nothing because the Chairman of the Board of Encor advised them that the company had closed and had no money. They suggested contacting Better Business Bureau and the Publlic Utilities commission, which I did. No help there, apparently Solar is not regulated by the Utilities commission. Numerous contacts to the Financing Company, Launch have provided me with the right to file for financial relief by applying for a three month deferral of payments. During that suspended period, interest would continue and the debt would still be owed. I do not consider that a reassonable offer. Has anyone filed a class action suit? My attorney advised nothing more they could do, but referred me to 3 bankruptcy attorneys who advised they do not handle this type of case. Sales tactics were unethical, The finance agreement was signed under duress. I never received a copy for the final contract including the interest rates. I just received this week a copy of the Financial contracts from Launch, although I had requested them numerous times from Encor. There was initially a customer service number that representatives answered. The reps seemed concerned but no results followed. The line then went directly to voice mail which promised a return call that never came. Eventually the line was disconnected altogether. It took hiring an attorney to get any response from Encor and that was through the legal department. They were successful in getting the connection to Duke resolved, but several of the panels do not appear to be carrying the promised load, leading to the continued high electric bills. There is no service organization. Launch promised to refer us to another company that would service the panels but we are still waiting. When I finally received a copy of the financial contract, it shows that the agreement is with Hatch Bank.(not mentioned on any previous communication. The initial contract was for 76,363 with Sunlight Financial with a rebate of 19,854(because installation/completion took more than a year, the rebates offered by the utility expired at the end of 2022 and installation was in 2023. The quoted APR was .49. The second installation contract was signed in February, 2023 for 37,139 and an interest rate of 2.99, inverter type Enphase. A rebate of 11,141.75 was included, and apparently not available in 2023 according to Duke/Progressive Energy. The second contract showed a finance company of KiFi. Again, the only copy I just received from Launch shows the "Lender" is Hatch Bank, with an interest rate of 1.49.

read more

Please, please <br />..someone from encor solar installer contact me <br />I need my paperwork from my solar and my contract ..<br />(redacted for privacy)

read more

I'm sharing my experience with Encor to not discourage people to buy solar. They are out of business, and my initial experience did match many of the negative comments. My installation process was bumpy and they were late in delivering a functional system as others have said. That said, since then the panels have worked without a hitch and my electric bill has only consisted of the hookup charge, between $15-$17 per month. A couple things I learned: * Duke resets your power credit in May, just as your AC is about to kick in for the summer. This is why people are seeing charges when they think they'll be zeroed out. I got around this by getting a 6k system instead of a 5k system, so I'm generating enough surplus power that I don't get a bill except for the connection fee. This is not Encor's fault and any other solar provider would experience the same issue. Blame Duke Energy or your power company and the NC legislature, which structured the law based on what the utilities, not customers, wanted. This was designed to frustrate customers and create a negative experience for adopters of solar. * While it was frustrating, most of the time it takes to get the solar panels turned on consisted of waiting for Duke Power to inspect and approve the hookup. The panels were installed by the installer relatively close to the agreed upon date. This wasn't Encor's fault and you would have the same issue with any other installer. I was again waiting on Duke, not Encor. * Be advised that the solar tax credit doesn't work as a check returned by the federal government. Regarding the sales contract, this is one part that was misleading. Regarding the following, I am not a lawyer and I am not an accountant. As I understand it, it works as just a tax credit held by the government that you use year after year until the credit is used up. So if you installed the system last year and the taxes for 2023 is $3000, you don't pay that $3000. If you're due a refund because you've already paid that $3000, you will get a refund of $3000. This is how it has worked for me.

read more

We overpaid and then you go bankrupt?? What the hell??

read more

Worst deal ever. They installed my panels since October of 2022. As of today, they panels have NOT been turned yet. Obviously the payments were never stopped or skipped. Kept asking for updates since October 2022 and they always had the same answer "working on getting an update for you" "working on getting a contractor to come and finish the job" "a relationship manager will call you asap". I just found out that they went about of business with 22K in their pocket. This was a scam. Reading others reviews, just noticed all of us were scammed.

read more

It has been a nightmare working with this company. After being threatened with a $5000 cancellation fee by one of their sales reps (Doug I think), I was coerced into getting the panels installed in October. The panels were not turned on till November but we had already made a payment to the loan company. After talking on the phone to one of their reps we were told that we would get a refund for that payment. Come January we still had not received anything so I contacted Encor again to see what the status of the refund was. Got a nice gentlemen on the line who was supposed to get the refund processed and then didn't hear anything again until I tried contacting them for Form 5695 on Feb 5. Now they have apparently gone out of business. My electric bill has not gone down as they had promised and now I can't even get a technician out here to make sure the panels are working correctly. The main contact at that company was Natalia Castillo nc@encorsolar.com and support@encorsolar.com. I do not have the sales reps name for sure (I think Doug) but I still have his phone number and the text messages that we exchanged. I want to know if there is anyway to get a complete or partial refund for this whole debacle. I will take getting them to remove the panels from my roof to get a refund if necessary. Or is there any legal recourse that can be taken? I have more e-mails and texts but unfortunately did not record any conversations. I will happily withdraw this complaint if I can get some answers to my questions and at least the refunded payment.

read more

I purchased a solar system over a year ago on Dec. 6, 2022, from Encor. The sales rep was great, and the explanation during the sale process about the product was thorough. It all went downhill from there. The paperwork with the local utility company took over MONTHS TO COMPLETE. Encor’s local manager, Andrew Ross, did not understand the process, and it continued to get rejected. The delays continued as Encor gave continued excuses to deliver the product. My initial install window was 6 to 8 weeks. The panels were FINALLY installed in April 2023, close to 16 weeks later. The panels were installed by a subcontractor, though I was told at the point of sale they would be installed by an Encor-certified team. The headache only grew from here. The inverter was installed improperly, the roof run was done externally, a critter guard was not added, and the contractors left a hole in my drywall with live electrical lines exposed. Not to mention the massive mess inside my house. I was also promised the removal of our old passive solar system on my house as part of my contract. At this point in the process, most of the local Encor team had been fired, left town, or was simply unresponsive. The only person who would respond was a PM, Chelsea. I had to pester Chelsea, who continued to say, “We are looking into it,” and “I’m so sorry, I will get back to you.” (I have pages of texts to both Chelsea and the Encor text line that can be provided for further proof of neglect). She finally followed through, and a contract was emailed to Encor. I had to do all the work for Encor to find a local contractor who would remove the existing solar panel. Now the contractor who removed the old solar system, to fulfill my original contract, is threatening a lien on my house because Encor has not paid them for their services. Since then, Encor has continued to neglect me leaving me with a $20,000 system that has not been inspected, turned on, or completed per the contract. I have had to take all initiative to contact and work with Keith Owens, their local license holder, for the last few months in attempts to get the final issues completed. During his inspection, he found that the roof run (mention earlier) that was supposedly fixed and ran internally, was done incorrectly and needed be redone! He informed me Encor management is not following up with him or allowing him to follow through. Encor has no licensed professionals in the area able to attend to the issues with my system. The only license holder they have, Corey, is not even in the state!!! On top of all of that and per my contract, Encor owes me over $1300 in refunds for my system and referral bonuses. I have documentation of months of texts to their customer service line with several ignored responses and no actual action. Additionally, I have emailed their support line, Vice president, and local project managers, and have received ZERO responses. I am now stuck with a $20,000 solar system – incomplete or turned on - and a company with empty promises and an inability to respond to any communication. Several other people I know who signed up for solar with Encor were also lied to about their product by Andrew Ross. They were told the system could produce “100% offset” and are now stuck with systems that do not effectively produce. Additionally, customers who canceled their contracts during the utility approval period are now (over a year later) being sent 2-4K cancellation payments, even though those customers signed proper paperwork to cancel. Encor is reckless, does not care about its customers, and is a complete scam! How they have an A+ rating on BBB blows my mind… (I have pages of texts, emails, and phone logs that can be provided if needed)

read more

Like others have said, Encor is stiffing us. Our contract stated that if the system wasn't up and running when the first solar loan payment was due, they would reimburse us for that payment. That was our case and Encor representative agreed they owed us the reimbursement. That was a whole year ago and the representative has repeatedly told us the check is coming (the old checks in the mail). You can't get them by phone I've found. The only way to contact them has been by text. So because of that we have a whole string of text messages with them. This gives us a further concern that if anything goes wrong with the system, Encor will never show up to meet their contract obligations. Don't do business with this company.

read more

They put the panels on the roof and disappeared. The system is non-functioning 18 months in, and I can't get anyone at the headquarters to call me or talk to me. This is criminally incompetent. My wife and I committed ~$70,000 to this system, and it doesn't work. It's the most expensive thing we've ever bought together, besides a child. And every time we have a killer power bill, she gets to tap her foot, and point to the useless panels on the roof and ask me where our savings are. Three separate reps ghosted me over two years, James, Matthew, and Ryan. One said ti was battery supply issue, one said it was SVB imploding, and one said that they are just running an awful shit-show in Florida and don't know what they're doing. Someone named Shay is coordinating with me getting things notarized, but she doesn't actually work FOR Encor, so she can't answer any of my questions. We notarized the "Notice of commencement" back in November of 2023 for a system that had panels on the roof in August 2002. I feel this past 18 months of anxiety and distress over what's going to happen with this huge investment is really unfair. I feel the company should compensate me 1) by making my system work and 2) making it free. I shouldn't have been (should BE put through this) as a customer. This is awful is every way. If someone in the Utah office happens to see this, can you PLEASE reach out and let me know what's going on? I need help, please.

read more

UPDATE 1/10/2023 - <br />They lied, I did not have access to the cancellation document until the 3 day policy expired, and their own sales guy told me I would have to call them to cancel for any reason. They are scum bags to deal with. <br />----------<br /><br />Cancelled the project due to finding Solar Installation for same exact size for almost half the cost. Was cancelled after their 3 day policy, due to their incompetence. I had to call multiple times to obtain the cancellation document. They then send me a bill for $4500 like 8 months later. I filed a complaint with BBB, their final statement was "We did not have to provide the cancellation document as it was in the contract at signing". That is a complete lie, there was no cancellation document in the contract, and the sales guy even told me that I would have to call to obtain the cancellation document if I decided to cancel the project. I have told them I am willing to cover the cost of the permits, as they sent the project to engineering after I called the 2nd time to obtain the cancellation document, which I did not get until I called a 3rd time. Do not trust these scum bags at all. They use multiple invertors, you only need 1 invertor. Not to mention a plethora of complaints about ENCOR taking their time on the install, so you end up paying your electric bill and paying for the solar system before it is even installed. Do yourself a favor and go with a different solar installation company.

read more