Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti recently announced that he joined a coalition of eight attorneys general in sending a letter to five solar lending companies demanding they suspend loan payments and interest accrual for some customers.
The five solar lending companies confronted by the letter include Dividend Solar Finance, GoodLeap, Riverbank, Sunlight Financial, and Solar Mosaic.
Customers who have purchased solar power systems from Pink Energy and have not received a working solar power system should have their loan payments suspended immediately, the attorneys general demand. In addition, the attorneys general demand that customers who are experiencing other functionality and installation issues with their solar power systems should receive immediate assistance by the five lending companies.
The attorneys general write in the letter, “Consumers who were led to believe they were making an environmentally friendly and financially prudent decision by purchasing a solar power system from Pink, are now stuck making loan payments for an underperforming or non-functioning solar power system on top of their monthly electric bill.”
Pink Energy has also been accused by consumers of misrepresenting their eligibility for tax credits. It was assumed that even ineligible consumers could use their 26% credit towards a lump sum payment under many lenders’ financing arrangements, according to the attorneys general.
“For many consumers, not receiving the promised tax credits has left them unable to make the necessary lump sum payment required to keep your company, or an affiliated lender, from substantially increasing their monthly loan payment,” the letter states. “These consumers relied on Pink Energy’s representations regarding the tax credits in deciding that they could afford the terms of their loan, and the increased monthly payments are beyond what their budgets could handle – especially when the solar power system is not functioning properly (or at all).”
krmetti signed onto the letter after an onslaught of complaints that Tennessee consumers submitted before Pink Energy abruptly closed operations and filed for bankruptcy on October 7, according to Skrmetti’s office.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Jonathan Skrmetti” by TN.gov. Background Photo “Pink Energy” by Pink Energy.
