AVONDALE, AZ — Mike Sirmans said his solar panel system was not working, and when the company refused to fix it, he stopped paying. Several missed payments later, there was a lien against his house.
“It has been terrible,” Sirmans said.
“I’ve been here a total of 28 years,” Sirmans said about his Avondale home, which he loves.
Now he is fighting to keep it after a solar company placed a lien against the property.
“I happened to go (on) down there to check on my tax stuff, and that’s when I found out I have a lien against my house,” Sirmans said.
The veteran admits he stopped making his monthly lease payments, but he said he had good reason. Shortly after his system was installed, he discovered it was not working.
“SRP was telling me your system was generating an 8th of power, it’s not doing you any good,” Sirmans said.
For three months, Sirmans said he called the company repeatedly, asking for someone to come out and look at the system.
“I tried to get them to come to my house and check the system, to see what’s going on. I never got anyone,” Sirmans said.
That left him paying full SRP electric bills on top of his solar lease for panels that were not delivering.
“I was still paying SRP the same thing and then giving them an extra $100, which was not right,” Sirmans said.
To this day, Sirmans said he has never received an explanation as to why a technician never came to his home.
“No. No, I never got an explanation,” Sirmans said.
If you are leasing solar equipment that is not working, the number one thing to know is do not stop making payments, no matter how frustrated you are. Stopping payments can trigger a lien against your home, and the financial damage can last for years.
Under Sirmans’ contract, he has the right to file a written complaint with the Registrar of Contractors within two years of the installation’s completion.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, here are other options you should do instead:
I reached out to the solar company for answers about Sirmans’ case, but they have not responded. Sirmans is hoping this gets resolved soon.
“I would like to have the system totally removed from my house and get this lien removed from my house,” Sirmans said.
I helped Sirmans file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office and connected him with an attorney who is familiar with solar issues. I will continue to follow his case.
Solar information and resources are available online at abc15.com/consumer.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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