JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Westside homeowner is demanding answers from a solar energy company after she said they guaranteed she wouldn’t pay for JEA, and now, she is stuck with the monthly bills from both JEA and the solar panels that cost her thousands of dollars.
Caty Creech is one of several residents who have reached out to the News4JAX I-TEAM to express their frustrations with solar companies. These new complaints come after the News4JAX I-TEAM investigation on a Jacksonville’s homeowner issues with her solar panels that she bought from MC Solar.
Creech said she can’t get in touch with Daybreak Solar, a solar company based in Texas, after taking out a nearly $50,000 loan to pay for the solar panels on her roof back in 2021.
“Don’t do it. It’s not worth it because everything they say is not true,” Creech said.
The panels have passed an inspection by the city and JEA, however, Creech said there’s not much of a difference in her JEA bills.
According to Creech, a door-to-door salesman for the company sold her on the idea of going solar.
“She’s like I can guarantee you won’t have a JEA bill when we’re done except maybe your water which is what I do and they’ll even be buying power from you,” Creech said. “I’m like ‘Oh that’d be great, so what I’ll be paying for the solar panels is what I’d be paying for electricity anyway and in the long run it will benefit.’”
Creech said her last contact with the company was over a year ago after they repaired the first leak in her roof.
“I call, left about 20 messages, no calls back. They then blocked me. When I call, it doesn’t go through,” Creech said.
Now, she said there’s another leak under one of the panels, and she’s turning to the company for help again, but so far, she hasn’t had luck.
Creech’s JEA bills do show a bit of a drop in her electric usage since the panels were installed, but she still pays more than she was led to believe she’d have to pay, with minimal changes in her consumption habits.
“No benefit at all. None. I even asked, please send a technician out because I’m not seeing any benefits from the solar panels,” Creech said.
Daybreak Solar has an “F” rating from the Better Business Bureau.
And Creech still has to make her monthly payments of $229 for the next 20 years.
“I want resolution. I’ll be honest with you, they can come take them off and just get rid of them,” Creech said. “Don’t charge me any more money, keep what you’ve taken from me. Just take them off, fix my roof and let me be.”
The News4JAX I-TEAM attempted to contact Daybreak Solar but could not reach them after we got sent to voicemail and some of the phone numbers tied to the company were disconnected.
If you have a similar problem, it’s a good idea to file complaints with the Attorney General and the BBB.