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SunRun Deceptive Marketing Class Action Lawsuit
By Matt O’Donnell
SunRun Inc. has been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging the San-Francisco-based solar energy company deceived consumers into leasing SunRun solar panels by making misleading claims about their cost savings and about the increasing costs of electricity.
Plaintiff Shaw Reed alleges in the SunRun class action lawsuit that the company misled consumers into believing they could save money on “rising electricity costs” by using SunRun solar panels despite the fact that the energy prices at Southern California Edison began dipping or plateauing after 2008.
“The central premise of SunRun’s uniform marketing campaign is that increases in electricity prices will result in cost savings by installing the SunRun Solar system,” Reed says in the SunRun class action lawsuit. “But SunRun deceptively states with certainty something that is inherently unknowable.”
Reed further alleges in the SunRun class action lawsuit that the company was operating without a business license from 2007 to February 2012. The class action lawsuit is seeking a refund on customer fees from contracts entered into before 2012.
The SunRun class action lawsuit also claims company agents misleadingly told consumers they could terminate their SunRun contracts if they move.
The SunRun class action lawsuit is brought on behalf of all persons and entities in the state of California who entered into a solar power contract with SunRun prior to February 2012. It is also seeking to represent a subclass of all Class Members who were told by SunRun that they could terminate their contracts without further obligation if they moved.
The SunRun Class Action Lawsuit case is Shawn Reed v. SunRun Inc., Case No. BC498002, Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles.
UPDATE 6/29/13: A federal judge has refused to dismiss the SunRun Deceptive Marketing Class Action Lawsuit, allowing it to move forward.
Updated June 29th, 2013
All class action and lawsuit news updates are listed in the Lawsuit News section of Top Class Actions
378 thoughts onSunRun Deceptive Marketing Class Action Lawsuit
I am with all ou you. I was also lied about contract with sunrun, promising me 50% or more of saving per month. They are a bunch of liers making money off our roofs and still charging us for what panels generate. If any off you have found legal help please notify me. Thank you.
Why not take the wires out from the breaker. Or have the electrician to take it out for you.
We all should start class action suit NOW! Start a website. Let get the word out. they need change the contract. What are we going to do about it. Let’s get together. They have FB, why not put the word out.
Yes. We have been deceived on how much we were going to save by Sunrun/Verengo Solar as well. The whole contract was misrepresented and we want our solar panels removed and get out of this contract. We are paying more for electricity now then without panels. In fact, we used to use our Jacuzzi before solar and we have not used it since we have had solar installed and our bills are still very high. We were informed that the Jacuzzi was covered in figuring out our amount of panels for savings. We even replaced all our lights throughout our house with LED light bulbs 7.5 watts and still we are paying more than we use to. All was misrepresented and incorrect facts were given. We would like information on any class action lawsuits out there.
Sunrun/Verango mislead my wife and I about how much our system would cost us every year. The salesman told us that we would save $50-$100 per month if we installed the system. Pay Sunrun contract is .24KW on my 5200KWH/yr system for an average of $111 month bill. They told me to pay Edison $20-$30 a month to even out at the end of the year. Put those two numbers together minus my $225 average monthly bill without solar the previous year and my savings were supposed be around $75 month. And for no money down, it was a no brainer. After the first year, I had to pay Edison an additional $1100 along with the $20 I’d been paying them a month. My system overproduced 1300KWH so my average bill went up to appox. $140. Long story short, NO SAVINGS WERE RECORDED MY FIRST YEAR AND SUNRUN SAID THAT WAS EXPECTED. SLEAZY BUSINESS BY VERANGO/SUNRUN. Very misleading and deceptive. Email me if you are in the same circumstance. I am willing to take this to court.
Marshall, and the rest of you, I too feel ripped off. I was lied to by the sales person who sold the panels, I wont go into detail but it was obvious for a few reasons, the one that made the light go on when I found out shortly after signing the contract the salesperson was fired. Reading contracts is sometimes hard to understand, so I asked the important questions, what is my out of pocket expense, what is my monthly bill to SUNRUN, and how much will I pay extra to the electric company, in my case PG&E. I was told about an extra $50 at most per month, so doing the math I figured I would break even yet be able to keep the house cool(it gets hot here)plus, I was locked in at a fixed rate. I thought ok, the monthly is about the same, I wont have to worry about PG&E increases except SUNRUNS 2.9% annually, this is good. The salesperson told me I could use as much electricity as I wanted before 11 PM and after 7 PM, so we did, cooled the house etc. etc. After the first year we owed PG&E $800 for a true up amount and about $300 to SUNRUN for overproduction?? What?? Why am I paying for overproduction, who came up with the expected amount?
I have just gotten my first bill. The only reply I got from the person I called was. Yes, you pay for the excess energy you produce.
We were misled and the contract was misrepresented by the SunRun salesperson Joseph Aredondo. He said we were leasing the equipment but we are actually purchasing KW’s from SunRun’s system. He said Edison would pay us for the production over what we used at .12 per KW. They only pay .04 for a KW that we pay sunrun .21 for. Mr. Aredondo never mentioned reconciliation which is paying Sunrun for KW we don’t even use. See below
1. There is a 2.9% annual increase. While it is in the contract, the cost of production for SunRun doesn’t go up every year. I believe this is legal but certainly unjustified fee.
2. Besides the annual increase there could be a clause that states Sunrun can increase the rate per kilowatt at their discretion.
3. If you sell your home while in your 20 year term and the new homeowner does not agree to the lease, you are liable for the remainder balance of the lease… so this could mean 10’s of THOUSANDS of DOLLARS depending on the size of your system and the remaining term of your lease. The previous homeowner said that she was told that if they sell their home and the new homeowner did not want the system then they would remove it with no questions asked and no penalties…
4. You must pay for all energy your system produces even if you do not use it. They will estimate how much energy the system will produce but if it produces more….guess who is paying? YOU and for 20 Years…. regardless of if you need/or use it… Southern California Edison may purchase back the energy but they pay you pennies on the dollar..at least they do at this time….
5. There are other not so consumer friendly clauses in the contract pertaining to maintenance, damage, etc.
Buyer beware with SunRun. I blame myself for not reading the contract thoroughly or asking all of the right questions. This is a great deal for the pirates of Edison and SunRun and not so good for the working people that continue to be oppressed by big government and their money laundering energy companies.
I was missled by my salesperson that I was leasing the solar panels for a fee that was less than my monthly electric bill to Edison. He was right about my monthly bill being less than my level pay charge to Edison, but he totally lied about the leasing. I am NOT paying SunRun for the leasing of their solar equipment that thy designed and placed on my roof. Rather I am being charge a per Kilowatt rate for the solar energy that is produced by their solar tiles and then I owe them an annual RECONCILIATION CHARGE of $450 for producing more solar energy than they had predicted. I have no problem with letting them use my roof to produce solar power for the area. But I was never told ab out the annual charge for overproducing solar energy from a system that they designed and placed on my roof. I want out of this contract now! Others have contracts with other solar companies in my area and they donot pay any annual charge whatsoever!
A. Turk
I have been with Sunrun’s customer for almost 2 years. I did want to cancelled the contract but come to find out I had 3 days to cancelled. The contract was signed Saturday. How is that given me enough time to write them a letter to cancelled when it won’t get there on time. It will be too late! Done deal stuck with them for 20 years. And also there isn’t any of my initial to sign or circle when to cancelled. I haven’t save any montly bill from my energy bill. Yes I feel misleading, taken advantage especially when someone who is under middle class people. My bill hit the roof, I couldn’t pay it. For some reason, I don’t know what happens and why it went so high. There is a class action going on in CA. They are working on it. We have to wait to get an OK from the Supreme Court. I cannot afford to have a lawyers. At this point I want to get out of the contract too. Just don’t know how. I set it Go Fund Me as well. It really hurts. When I pay little by little. They threaten to my info to Collection Agency
I paid Sunrun $10,000 up front to pay for the installation of their panels, with the understanding that my only financial obligation was to pay the small monthly cost of electrical use to PG&E. This did happen for the first year, then I got a “round-up” bill for $1,000 from P.G.&E. Meanwhile, my wife informed me that she was getting a monthly bill from Sunrun, supposedly to pay for every kwh that the panels were producing. None of this was in the conversation before I signed the contract, otherwise I never would have signed. Now they tell me that I owe them over $5,000. For what? They won’t explain. They have not posted any of the checks I have sent them in the last four months and are threatening to turn off my electricity.
Help! How do I join this lawsuit?
John P. Moore
I worked for then in 2012,sun run and verengo teach their sales teams to be deceptive in order to close deal. if you got a a prepaid contract then you should not have to pay anymore money other than the 10 thousand you paid up front, it sounds like your rep might have sized the system to small.
I have been cheated by Sunrun Verengo Solar, they lied to me about savings and now I am stuck in a 20 year contract that just adds to my old pre solar panel energy costs and makes my monthly spending almost double.
I am very upset and would appreciate legal advice to resolve this problem with Sunrun. I want out of this contract and I want them to remove my solar panel system and repair the roof on my NEW home without any cost.
Thank you
Faraz Khan
661-304-5260