Consumer complaint received 2020-09-13
Company: Ygrene Energy Fund Inc.
State: CA
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan
Sub-product: Installment loan
Issue: Problem with the payoff process at the end of the loan

Complaint:
In XXXX, XXXX, I agreed to purchase solar panels, financed through Ygrene Energy and XXXX. I was told that purchase was more advantageous than lease, because the payments were tax deductible and that the loan was fully assumable by anyone purchasing my property. The new owner would not need to qualify and could simply assume the loan. These representations were false. No lender will allow the home to be sold with a XXXX lien and a new buyer is under no obligation to assume the loan, which required that I pay it off. In addition to the misrepresentations regarding assumability of the loan, I learned that the loan is not, in fact, entirely tax deductible. Only a small portion is deductible. The amount financed was {$29000.00}. The amount demanded to pay off the loan was {$36000.00} after approximately {$12000.00} of payments. Ygrene provided a payoff that included prospective, unearned interest payments for taxes not yet even billed or due for XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX. They refused to prorate.The XXXX XXXX reps, on behalf of Ygrene Energy, refused to correct this. When I threatened legal action, a Ygrene rep, XXXX XXXX, contacted me and reissued a corrected payoff without the XXXX payment. However, their new payoff expired on XX/XX/XXXX and my close of escrow was XXXX so they tacked on an additional {$3100.00} in unearned interest payments. 

The payoff also included a discretionary redemption fee that " may '' be assessed, which they refused to remove. 

In addition, the solar panels malfunctioned within the first six months of installation. In XXXX I received a $ XXXX year end statement from XXXX. I called to question the amount and was told this was my share of cost. I was not told there was a failure to transmit energy. When I received a XXXX  year end statement for {$3300.00}, I spoke to a supervisor at XXXX who said the panels had not transmitted any energy for 18 months from XXXX, XXXX through XXXX, XXXX when the inverter spontaneously began transmitting energy. 

I contacted XXXX and spoke to XXXX XXXX, a representative who is no longer at XXXX XXXX. She told me their records showed no ramp down or ramp up, which would occur if the panels were turned off, but she could not explain why there was a failure of their equipment to transmit energy. The panels were never turned off and the electrical box showed constantly changing numbers whenever I passed it. However, the inverter had failed to transmit energy for 18 months. A rep from XXXX and the installer met at my home to inspect the equipment. No one could explain the loss of data for 18 months, but the conclusion was that the inverter had failed. I made a demand under the XXXX warranty. XXXX has consistently failed and refused to respond to my correspondence since XXXX XXXX left. They have refused to provide the name of an underwriter or warranty company to which I can submit a claim. The system is under warranty for ten years and it failed within the first six months. I have lost {$4000.00} in energy credits as a result of defective equipment. Although there is no guaranteed output amount, this system failed to produce ANY energy or failed to transmit energy for 18 months. 

I am XXXX years old and currently unemployed due to CoVid. I have lost the following : . XXXX - in lost energy credits due to defective equipment {$36000.00}. - for a loan that was not assumable and a system that malfunctioned {$12000.00} - approx - in payments on a malfunctioning system

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation