Woman pays $21K deposit for roof, solar panels but 12 months later has nothing

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. ā€“ A South Florida woman thought sheā€™d have her new roof and solar panels installed by hurricane season after handing over thousands of dollars in January.

Instead, sheā€™s been getting the runaround for an entire year.

That was until Local 10 News Investigator Jeff Weinsier showed up inside the sales office of Vision Solar in Deerfield Beach and got involved.

ā€œIā€™ve had tears on phone calls, itā€™s frustrating,ā€ said Tracy Walters, who lives in Pembroke Pines.

After leaving a $21,000 deposit with the company in January, she has nothing to show for it nearly 12 months later.

According to her agreement, work completion for a roof and 28 solar panels was in April, but Walters knew that was an estimate.

In May, a roofer did show up and pulled a permit, but then vanished.

She says sheā€™s been calling Vision Solarā€™s New Jersey headquartersā€™ every week since.

ā€œThe last conversation was that they were looking for more roofers,ā€ she said.

With a quick Google search, we found TV stations in Tampa and Orlando have done consumer-related complaint stories on Vision Solar.

The company has an F rating with the Better Business Bureau, which lists 410 complaints in the past three years.

Eventually, a woman in their Deerfield Beach sales office read Weinsier some bs prepared statement and wouldnā€™t answer any questions about Waltersā€™ situation.

But just a half hour after Local 10ā€²s visit to the office, Walters got a call from corporate with an apology and an offer for a full refund, which she declined.

Local 10 News received a statement from Vision Solarā€™s chief marketing officer, claiming, ā€œI am deeply troubled to hear about her experience,ā€ and admitting it shouldnā€™t have happened, saying ā€œwe own it.ā€

The full email can be read below:

Hi Jeff -

Per my earlier voicemail, I wanted to connect via email after digging into Mr. Walters project. I am deeply troubled to hear about her experience. As a growing business, we acutely recognize how essential each of our customers are to our success and demand more from ourselves and our team so no project ever gets to a point where customer frustration escalates to your news room. That wasnā€™t the case here and we own it.

Earlier today, we contacted Ms. Walters directly and took ownership over our poor communication and let her know of roofing vendor staffing challenges and unforeseen permitting delays that have gotten us here. We offered her a full refund of what she has spent with us to date, which she politely declined. As you are already aware, she is lovely and simply wants to complete the roof installation and initiate the solar project. We are actively partnering with our roofing vendor and the local municipality to expedite this project to her satisfaction and our standards.

Please note, we take this matter very seriously and are working to refine our internal processes to ensure this doesnā€™t happen again.

All the best,

Bennett Andelman

Chief Marketing Officer

They are suddenly working to expedite Waltersā€™ installation.

The company claims roofing challenges in Florida, but Walters has been watching whatā€™s been going on in her Pembroke Shores neighborhood.

ā€œPeople are getting their roofs done in the neighborhood,ā€ she said.

Despite everything, Walters is willing to give the company another chance and is hoping Vison Solar will now clearly see this is not the way to treat their customers.


About the Author:

Jeff Weinsier joined Local 10 News in September 1994. He is currently an investigative reporter for Local 10. He is also responsible for the very popular Dirty Dining segments.