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4.6 10 Reviews

Silicon Solar Complaints Summary

9 Resolved
1 Unresolved
Our verdict: With Silicon Solar's exceptional service, your concerns are likely to be addressed quickly and effectively. However, stay informed about their service offerings and policies. Regularly review user feedback on various platforms to get a complete picture of their customer service. Prepare specific questions or concerns you might have before contacting support for a more streamlined experience.
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1:06 am EDT
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Silicon Solar Frauds and Thieves

These people are only in business to steal in the name of green energy. Founded by a so-called kid genious in college who won business school kudos with this, his attitude of take the money and run and who gives a crap about the customer afterwards summarizes my experience. In my case - website will not take an order forcing it to be called in and taken manually. Young girl who clearly could care less takes order (but we see the website and believe the company must be good, but this must just be a useless phone operator). Oh how wrong we were. Girl place the order on internet system without letting us know about all of the "warnings - no refund, basically you are screwed if we don't feel like sending you a good product. We will make it impossible for you to return and we don't issue RMAs." Well, this seems a common them - the forcing to call the order in. Then judgement: my product came: solar cells by the watt. Everything completely shattered into little bits. Not even remotely looking like the picture. Looks like someohne just smashed glass and sent it. Absolutely no returns allowed and the excuse given: we said that there couls be some breakage. Perhaps (but this is not reflected in the picture) nor is it believable since what was sent was pure trash usless to any fool or even experimenter. No rteturns, no nothing. Not to mention the way it was shipped was so inappropriate for glass - WOW - their attitude comes through of take da money and run. Worked with my credit card to dispute all. Many photos, prints of the website, and 43 pages (yes, can you imagine coming up with 43 pages of single space complaint - that is what I had), and on principal I beat this succubus beast of a company. All the while the founder was ###ting contracts around the country for his BBA/MBA program sending hot air about how great he was. This company is pure feces. My credit card company strongly agreed - but don't waste your time doing what I did. And I didn't even get a shipping refund there and back. As a further add on. Do you know how the company had me paid back? They forced it on UPS to pay the insurance value. It is a much longer story I have no time for here again. This was a theft on their part to rob UPS t pay me when it was clearer than day that they were at falt for everything. So when they say NO FEDEX under any circumstances, please understand that FEDEX wouldn't play their game and let them cheat customers and insurers. Apparently UPS does and they are shipping a lot of crap via UPS. Enough. The company is professional thievery and misrepresentation of products (all cheap crap) at its worst.

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Germanium Solar
Washington, US
Jun 21, 2013 11:13 pm EDT

Jason of Silicon Solar, learn to read. The complaint has nothing to do with foreign scammers, so don't try to divert the complainer's issue. You're idiot comment here is more evidence of what a useless scam of website you have. Do you still have multiple websites masquerading as different companies to give customers false impressions that there are other options out there when it is the same group of thieves running them all? MBA solar dude, you should move your corporate HQ to Nigeria which would be an improvement on your current deceptive scam you claim is customer service to the uninitiated.

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Jason silicon solar
San Diego, US
Jun 21, 2013 6:35 pm EDT
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learn to spell.. we have lots of foreign scammers who try to get us to ship places. we assist every order... im in customer service.. if you have an issue contact me... jason.d@siliconsolar.com

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siliconsolar
Ithaca, US
Apr 28, 2011 7:55 pm EDT

I apologize for the inconvenience you have experienced with our company. Regarding your statement about fed ex, no we do not use that carrier unless a customer has their own account. Their rates are more expensive then UPS and their damage rating is the same (14.9% nation wide) along with the fact that their transit time is very comparable. As for UPS paying the damage claim, they would only do so if they felt it was sufficiently packaged to their standards which a lot of the times they simply do not do. I've even had an international UPS rep tell me that business's are better off using a third party logistics insurance carrier. We have since significantly improved our return policy to be more transparent and fair to consumers along with the introduction of product warranties. You can review the new policy here http://www.siliconsolar.com/no-hassle-returns.html. If you can provide me with an invoice number it would help me better to rectify this situation.

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Silicon Solar Rip off

I ordered 10, 000.00 worth of product from Silicon Solar, They offered a 5% discount if I paid with a check. The product was to picked up in Ca on May the 19th.

The product never arrived I canceled the order on the 29th and have been trying to get my money back ever since.

Do not purchase anything from this company.

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siliconsolar
Ithaca, US
Apr 28, 2011 8:02 pm EDT

I apologize for the inconvenience you have experienced with our company. I'm sure this has been resolved by now but in order for me to look into it further I would need your invoice number. Can you please provide it for us?

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Silicon Solar Does not honro warranty

Upon the recommendation of a Silicon Solar Customer Sales representative regarding my need for a flagpole floodlight, I purchase one Silicon Solar Commercial Sign Light (SKU: 16135) on January 31, 2008. The light was subsequently mounted on my flagpole and worked just fine following occasional sunny days throughout February and March. However, beginning sometime in April the battery began having difficulty accomplishing a full charge following total sunny days. E.g., the floodlight stayed light for only 4 or 5 hours, instead of the 10 hours throughout February and March. By May 1st the floodlight would not light following totally sunny days.

Subsequently, I hired a solar engineer from Earthwell Energy Management (Louisville, KY) the check the solar panel placement, incidence angle, and orientation. The engineer reported they were perfect. He suspected the battery was malfunctioning and suggested I contact Silicon Solar to request a battery replacement. I reported this information to a Customer Sales Representative who rudely informed me there was nothing wrong with the battery and refused my request for a battery replacement, stating the two-year Silicon Solar Commercial Sign Light warranty did not include the battery, which was only warranted for 60 days. Furthermore, she stated the 60-day battery warranty was stated in the Terms & Conditions Agreement I accepted at purchase. A review of the Terms & Conditions Agreement does not state any information about a 60-day battery limited warranty. In the meantime, the engineer returned to the flagpole site a second time, took the floodlight off the flagpole, and reported the battery would not hold a charge.

Your web site states the Silicon Solar Commercial Sign Light (SKU: 16135) is backed by a two year warranty. If there is a small worded Terms Agreement statement regarding a 60-day battery limited warranty somewhere on your web site then your company is practicing deception. Therefore, the purpose of this letter is to request your company refund the $240.00 I paid for this product.

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siliconsolar
Ithaca, US
Apr 28, 2011 9:33 pm EDT

If you can provide me with an invoice number it will help me to rectify the situation.

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siliconsolar
Ithaca, US
Apr 28, 2011 9:14 pm EDT

I apologize for the inconvenience you have experienced with our company. Unfortunately batteries are not covered under warranty due to the fragile nature of their life expectancy when combined with solar products for end user use. If a consumer does not properly position their panel at the correct incidence angle, with the proper orientation in a free from shadows area, the battery life expectancy is in danger. Typically a batteries life is 2-3 years. But if not correctly positioned, performance starts to decline eventually leading into premature death. This is because of battery sulfation.

In an analogy, lets think of a battery as and 8 oz glass filled with water. Then let's think of a bottomless container of water being a solar panel. Dumping the water out of the glass can be thought of a device consuming power from a battery. So lets say that your prohibited at any time from spilling more then half of the glass (the circuitry in the light will not allow the battery to deplete beyond 50%). So you spill 4 oz of water out of the glass throughout the night (simulating the light working at night). The following day your only able to fill the glass of water up with 2 oz of water (simulating shadow crossings at some point in the day on the panel which prohibits the panel from charging the battery at all). So that night you can only spill 3 oz of water because there's only a total of 6 oz in the glass (simulating shortness of light operation). The following day again you can only fill 2 oz of water, so that night you can only spill 2.5 oz of water and this cycle continues until your left with only 2 oz of water left in the glass after a refill.

This is much like whats happening with your light. Shadows from obstructions move 360 degrees around objects throughout the day and they get longer in the winter months because the sun gets lower in the sky. So Even if at the time of the initial install there were no shadow crossings on the panel, or even that day for the matter, doesn't mean that that they don't occur throughout the year. That's why we recommend to install the unit on a bright sunny day in the early morning, then between the hours of 10 am and 4 pm check the panel every hour on the hour for shadow crossings. Then do this once a month for an entire year adjusting the panel as necessary. Even the slightest bit of shadow crossing on a solar panel can cease the entire panel from producing power because each cell acts like a power switch to all of those preceding it throughout the panel. If one cells is crossed with shadow then all the cells behind it can't get power through. Much like a road block.

Depreciation in lighting performance (hours of operation or brightness) is directly linked to the charge capacity in a battery bank. The charge capacity is directly linked to the output of the panel which is directly linked to its installed position relevant to the sun and obtrusive shadow crossing objects such as high grass, shrubbery, tree's, other foliage, telephone poles, sheds, houses, decks etc.. If your light begins to under perform before 8 months in a gradual slope, it's a 99% guaranty its directly related to panel positioning. So even if you have the proper inclination and orientation, if a shadow crosses the panel your battery will die prematurely.

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11:34 am EDT
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Silicon Solar Very Bad Company

Buyer Beware, believe everything you read. Once they take your money good luck with your order. If you do order with them use a very reliable credit card that has a good fraud department. After 2 months we have only received parts of our orders and now cannot get anybody to call back or even answer the phone or online tech support. This company is a rip off if there ever was one and their customer service is even worse. DON'T BUY FROM THIS COMPANY! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

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siliconsolar
Ithaca, US
Apr 28, 2011 10:00 pm EDT

I apologize for the inconvenience you have experienced with our company. We have put in countermeasures to ensure that customers are notified of product stock at checkout and allows them to choose whether or not to ship partially or wholly depending on stock conditions. your payment is only accepted when the product is shipped to you. Can I get your invoice number so that I can help to reconcile this situation?

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Silicon Solar Shipped partial order/ charged restocking fee for order they never completed

How do I explain how bad my experience was? I'll start from the beginning. Well, I saw several bad reviews on siliconsolar before I made my purchase, but their price was just too good. I broke what I needed into two orders, one real small to test them, and then if they proved "safe" I was going to place the second and larger order.

Needless to say, it has taken 7 months, countless phone calls and emails to get my money back. They kept saying they would fix the order, but they didn't. They then said they would give me a refund, but they didn't. Finally the fraud department at my bank refunded me my $332.88. So I paid interest on $332.88 for 7 months, because they sent a partial order that I couldn't use, and never finished anything they started.

In order to give you an idea of how much crap I had to go through, I'm attaching one of the email chains that went between me and the company. If you notice, at one point I even cc'ed every email address I could find for every employee at the company just trying to get somebody to respond.

I did remove my name from the emails, that’s the only thing I changed. When you look at the dates, I want you to realize that my bank refunded me yesterday, [protected], for this purchase. After the last email from them, they were several phone calls, including one from my bank's fraud department, which at that point I was guaranteed a refund within 7 days. I see how much their guarantee was worth...

-----Original Message-----
From: Silicon Solar Inc Customer Service [mailto:[protected]@siliconsolar.com]
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 17:16
To: Me, Me E
Subject: RE: RMA 5619 shipping date for missing items (inv.52663)

Dear Me Me,

We did receive your Rma and your refund will be issued shortly. You can contact Corey at [protected] ext 242 or by email corey.[protected]@siliconsolar.com to get updated information about the status of your refund. If there is anything else I can help you with please feel free to contact me.
Thanks

Holly
Customer service
[protected] x 208
[protected]@siliconsolar.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Me, Me E CTR NE Florida, N6
[mailto:Me.e.[protected]@navy.mil]
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 4:53 PM
To: Silicon Solar Inc Customer Service
Subject: RE: RMA 5619 shipping date for missing items (inv.52663)

According to the tracking information below, the package was received by
your company 10 days ago. I wrote the RMA number in bold letters on 5
different sides of the box. I also included in the box a copy of the email
in order to help ensure that the correct account was credited.
Also attached to this email is a letter with the order summary.

About how much longer should this take until I can finally get a refund?

Tracking Number: 1Z V28 52R [protected] 9
Type: Package
Status: Delivered
Delivered On: 02/13/2009
1:11 P.M.
Delivered To: BAINBRIDGE, NY, US
Signed By: SMITH
Service: GROUND

VR

Me Me

-----Original Message-----
From: Silicon Solar Inc Customer Service [mailto:[protected]@siliconsolar.com]
Sent: Monday, February 09, 2009 15:47
To: Me, Me E CTR NE Florida, N6
Subject: RE: RMA 5619 shipping date for missing items (inv.52663)

Dear Me Me,

I apologize for the delay of the flanges and for any inconvenience that this
has caused for you. I have reopened your Rma and you may Return the Pump
back to us. Once its received back you will receive a refund .

Again I would like to apologize for the trouble. If you have any further
questions or concerns I will be glad to assist you.

Thanks
Holly
Customer Service
[protected]@siliconsolar.com
[protected] ext 208
Direct line: [protected]
Fax: [protected]

-----Original Message-----
From: Me, Me E CTR NE Florida, N6
[mailto:Me.e.[protected]@navy.mil]
Sent: Monday, February 09, 2009 1:35 PM
To: [protected]@siliconsolar.com; [protected]@siliconsolar.com;
[protected]@siliconsolar.com; corey.[protected]@siliconsolar.com
Subject: FW: RMA 5619 shipping date for missing items (inv.52663)

Can I get a response from anyone at this company?

-----Original Message-----
From: Me, Me E CTR NE Florida, N6
Sent: Monday, February 09, 2009 13:28
To: Me, Me E CTR NE Florida, N6; 'Darla Van Ostrand'
Subject: RE: RMA 5619 shipping date for missing items (inv.52663)

I have been more than patient at this point. I still have yet to receive the
flanges, or an RMA # to return this purchase. If I can't get a response, I'm
contacting the BBB, and I'll leave a review on every website I can find as
to my experience with this company. How much longer?

Me Me

-----Original Message-----
From: Me, Me E CTR NE Florida, N6
Sent: Monday, November 10, 2008 13:06
To: 'Darla Van Ostrand'
Subject: RE: RMA 5619 shipping date for missing items (inv.52663)

I still haven't received any communication from your company. What RMA
number am I supposed to use to ship this item back?

-----Original Message-----
From: Darla Van Ostrand [mailto:darla.[protected]@siliconsolar.com]
Sent: Friday, October 10, 2008 12:10
To: Me, Me E CTR NE Florida, N6
Subject: Re: RMA 5619 shipping date for missing items (inv.52663)

Me, Me E CTR NE Florida, N6 wrote:
> Darla
>
> I think I've been more than patient, it will have been almost a month
> since I placed the order. I placed the order that far in advance in
> order to do the install myself on the one free weekend that myself and

> my help had available.
>
> Now, I'm stuck with half of what I need, the other half on backorder.
> And half of the half that I have, will not work for my needs. After
> careful review, the pump that was sent has a one way valve, that was
> not advertised on your site, and will not work for my project.
>
> Can I use the existing RMA number to return what parts I have received

> so that I may get a refund?
>
> VR
>
> Me Me
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Darla Van Ostrand [mailto:darla.[protected]@siliconsolar.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, October 08, 2008 11:23
> To: Me, Me E CTR NE Florida, N6
> Subject: RMA 5619 shipping date for missing items (inv.52663)
>
> Dear Mr. Me,
> I spoke with a representative in our Returns/Exchanges department and
> she said the solar hot water equipment will be received by us
> (currently on backorder) and once we receive them we can ship out to
> you the missing equipment. We should be shipping these out tomorrow or
Friday.
>
> I apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you and realize you
> had scheduled to complete this project this weekend.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> --
> Darla Van Ostrand
> Customer Service
> 15 Catherwood Rd.
> Ithaca, NY 14850
> 1-888-solar11 [protected]) x237
> darla.[protected]@siliconsolar.com
>
> This e-mail is confidential and is intended solely for the use of the
> recipient (the part to whom it is addressed). This message may contain

> material protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you are not
> the intended recipient, be advised that you have received this e-mail
> in error and that any use, dissemination, forwarding, printing, or
> copying of this e-mail is strictly prohibited.
>
>
Dear Mr. Me,
I apologize for all the inconvenience and frustration you are experiencing.

I have turned this order and your request over to our Solar Hot Water
Customer Sales Dept.
Hana is the representative you should contact in the future regarding your
order.
Her direct extension is: 256

She may not be available until next week as she is currently working in the
warehouse working to get all the SHW orders and partial orders out.

--
Sincerely,

Darla Van Ostrand
Customer Service
15 Catherwood Rd.
Ithaca, NY 14850
1-888-solar11 [protected]) x237
darla.[protected]@siliconsolar.com

This e-mail is confidential and is intended solely for the use of the
recipient (the part to whom it is addressed). This message may contain
material protected by the attorney-client privilege. If you are not the
intended recipient, be advised that you have received this e-mail in error
and that any use, dissemination, forwarding, printing, or copying of this
e-mail is strictly prohibited.

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siliconsolar
Ithaca, US
Apr 29, 2011 3:57 pm EDT

I apologize for the experience you had with our company. Just to show you of how the situation occured, here are the internals notes are staff made regarding your concerns.

9/22/08hp Chat- customer was wondering if the pumps come with flanges i advised the customer that they do. placed a missing item rma to have flanges sent out to the customer. 9/22/08Hp -Authorized- please ship out missing flanges to the customer. 10/6/08 DV customer still has not received missing flanges and is also missing sensors 10/8/08 DV customer called as he still has not been shipped the items. Told customer I will check on shipping status. I emailed the customer info rec. from HP that SHW equipment in due in our warehouse this week (has been on b/o) so the missing equipment should go out tomorrow or Friday I emailed the customer this information and apologized for any inconvenience this causes in regard to the plans he had to install the unit for his customer this weekend. 2/9/09Hp- customer never received flanges and now has realized that the pump will not work for their needs. Customer is to send back pump and be issued a credit minus restocking fees. 2-16-09 TC RECEIVED LG PUMP W/ CONTROLLER(0011 & GL30) IN NEW CONDITION ON 2-13-09, CUSTOMER WOULD LIKE CREDIT MINUS RSF 2/23/09Hp customer sent email checking the status of their refund advised customer that the refund should be issued shortly. To contact corey or mary for further information.

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Silicon Solar Incompetence

Fool me once shame on me, fool me twice...And I must be an idiot. I had problems a couple of years ago (order lost, found, lost again, shipped but item didn't work, got it to work, stopped working after a month, gave up) but figured they were still around and gave them another try. If you want an exercise in futility by all means TRY to order from this company. Their website repeatedly rejected my order (credit card system inoperable) so customer service attempted to manually process the order. A few days later I was notified it was still rejected. I called back and spent even more time trying to get this processed. In the end I just gave up. Seems they don't need my business and I don't need the frustration. They were nice, just can't seem to get the job done.

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siliconsolar
Ithaca, US
May 25, 2011 7:19 pm EDT

We are sorry that you have not been happy with or service, in an effort to reconcile any outstanding complaints against us, we wish for you to supply us with an invoice number and/or any other information for which we can formally identify you in our database. This is an attempt to authenticate you as an actual customer. If you can provide your invoice number or other identification that we could use to find you in our system to the following e-mail address reviews@siliconsolar.com, we will do our best to investigate and possibly compensate you for your negative experience. This will be on a per case basis of which compensation, if any, will be determined based on the history of the account. This is just one of the steps in which we are taking to reconcile complaints. We have taken many other steps such as instituting a new Return Policy that protects both the consumer and us to make the purchasing experience better. We have also created our own complaint/review site which is located at http://www.siliconsolar.com/silicon-solar-customer-satisfaction-guaranteed.php for customers to post negative or positive reviews of which we will constantly respond to. You will also be able to review our complaint vs customer history and see that we actually have a 99.8% customer satisfaction rate.

Sincerely,
Joshua Kenyon
Managing Director

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Silicon Solar bad service, poor design

where to start... As they offer on their website, i asked them to design what i needed. when i got the parcel, one of the manifolds was not included, and i was short 1 of three circulator pumps that i was billed for. the pumps that did come would not work with the controller they recommended. the roof mounting system is very marginal and i found that the more i questioned them via e mail, the less they liked it based on the tone and the content of the answers. finally they told me if i didn't like it i should design something myself. i discovered later that the circulator pumps were way oversized and they had not asked the most basic questions when they were "designing" the system... like how long would your longest run be? what i received would have used way more energy than necessary, kind of an oxymoron to putting up solar panels. The heat exchanger would have required complicated pressure bypass loops because it was not the correct pipe size. when i contacted jared he told me he would default to my plumber. i told him i wanted to return the pumps and heat exchanger, and he told me to do so. They would not pay the postage and all they stopped all communications when i requested a shipping label. I sent the package at my expense and they refused to accept it. so now i have to dispute the charge on my credit card. my advice... do not have them design anything. do the homework and learn enough to know what you need. and second, do not order it from silicon solar. they are not there to help after they get your money.

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Billy Rappold
Diamondhead, US
Mar 27, 2012 8:13 am EDT

I ordered a $14 pump, paid $12 for shipping, got the WRONG PUMP, DEMANDED MY MONEY BACK, got the $14 but not the $12 for Shipping me a pump that they screwed up on. It has been so long since I dealt with these people that I honestly forgot HOW BAD THEIR SERVICE IS/WAS. Back in [protected] I purchased something from them. I never got what I ordered, THEY DID NO RETURN PHONE CALLS THEN, AND THEY ARE NOT RETURNING MY PHONE CALLS NOW. Back in [protected] my Credit Card Company had to get involved, and I got my money back. This time I paid with Pay Pal. FORGET Silicon Solar. CHUMP ROOKIES.

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siliconsolar
Ithaca, US
May 25, 2011 7:23 pm EDT

We are sorry that you have not been happy with our service, in an effort to reconcile any outstanding complaints against us, we wish for you to supply us with an invoice number and/or any other information for which we can formally identify you in our database. This is an attempt to authenticate you as an actual customer. If you can provide your invoice number or other identification that we could use to find you in our system to the following e-mail address reviews@siliconsolar.com, we will do our best to investigate and possibly compensate you for your negative experience. This will be on a per case basis of which compensation, if any, will be determined based on the history of the account. This is just one of the steps in which we are taking to reconcile complaints. We have taken many other steps such as instituting a new Return Policy that protects both the consumer and us to make the purchasing experience better. We have also created our own complaint/review site which is located at http://www.siliconsolar.com/silicon-solar-customer-satisfaction-guaranteed.php for customers to post negative or positive reviews of which we will constantly respond to. You will also be able to review our complaint vs customer history and see that we actually have a 99.8% customer satisfaction rate.

Sincerely,
Joshua Kenyon
Managing Director

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Silicon Solar Bad service

This company has a great product, it's too bad thier service is so bad. I have been lied to from the begining as to when my order would be in. I was going to cancel my order but Todd the sales manager called and I thought everything was straighten out. Justin contacted me and told me my order was complete and was ready to be picked up. I drove to Bainbridge, a 2 hour trip oneway to pickup my order. They substatuded the differential temp controller for one with a very poor instuctions, written in pigeon English. Also the tank sensors were not in stock and would be sent to me. So much for my complete order. I emailed and called and finally was to be sent the sensors, I received the wroung ones. After more emails and phone calls I was promised I would be sent the correct ones. Well now I have 2 pairs of the wroung ones. In the mean time I ordered a differential controller from the Alternative Energy Store and received it in 2 days. I hooked it up and got my system working, with no help from Silcon Solar. I wish someone else handled SunMaxx collectors because I realy believe they are an excelent product. The sun has hardly shown since I finished the installation but even on a cloudy day it still makes hot water. It is a shame that this company is so bad when it comes to customer service. I've gotten more help from thier competition then from them. I wish I had found this site before I ordered from them, I would have avoided them.

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Victor
, US
Jul 15, 2009 12:36 pm EDT

This company has provided terrible service. I still have not received the correct product- they have charged me for the item.

In May, I ordered an iSol Plus by phone and they delivered a different product -the iSol Plus 2X (similar name, PN is only 1 digit off) I know I requested the unit with the variable voltage as recommended by the sales guy.

Easy to see how they slipped up.

I quickly returned the product, was assured they would ship the correct unit on receipt. They have had the return over 11 days and I cannot confirm if they have shipped or not. I have not received any tracking information.

My emails, help ticket and voicemails are not returned.

I asked to be credited for the $4 return shipment and was told no - somehow it was my fault for the incorrect order (?)

I strongly recommend you buy elsewhere. If they are this screwed up over returns - how can you expect them to stand by their product.

Turns out the phone sales guy was an "owner" and denies that he put the order in wrong. What legit business gets is shorts in a knot over $4?

Will report on the product if it ever arrives. I am now talking to my credit card and the NY State Consumer Board.

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bruce2
, US
Aug 30, 2013 12:33 pm EDT

Same deal as many of the other complaints - slow to ship, difficult to contact, never replies to emails or voice mails. They rarely answer the customer service phone line, but the trick is to call the sales line, they will pick up immediately and the staff iss the same as the customer service line. I talked with Matt and he told me my order was shipping the same day and I would get a tracking number via email - that did not happen. Called back 2 days later and got someone else - same story, will ship today and will send a tracking number - again that did not happen. Found Matt Ferrell's ( COO ) phone number and left a message, and surprise, he actually called me back and gave me a tracking number. Unfortunately they never shipped product with that tracking number. I filed a dispute with PayPal to try to get some action going, but they never responded to PayPal either.
A week later I called the sales number and was per FedEx told product was due to be delivered the same day, even though I was looking at the tracking data which said FedEx had never picked up a package. I called FedEx and confirmed they did not have my package. I escalated my dispute with PayPal and called Matt back to cancel the order. To my surprise, I got a email the next day with a new tracking number which showed they shipped the package that day? The saga goes on...
DO NOT do business with Silicon Solar. I wish I had searched for reviews before placing my order - lesson learned!

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Liz Wetzstein
58562, US
Jul 02, 2014 10:37 am EDT

I bought a water fountain it didnt work I chatted with someone several times no reply not very helpful I would like to use my fountain but I cant it just wont pump and we have had alot of sun.dont buy from this company they dont backup their product I paided for the product but cannot enjoy it

liz

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siliconsolar
Ithaca, US
May 25, 2011 7:24 pm EDT

We are sorry that you have not been happy with our service, in an effort to reconcile any outstanding complaints against us, we wish for you to supply us with an invoice number and/or any other information for which we can formally identify you in our database. This is an attempt to authenticate you as an actual customer. If you can provide your invoice number or other identification that we could use to find you in our system to the following e-mail address reviews@siliconsolar.com, we will do our best to investigate and possibly compensate you for your negative experience. This will be on a per case basis of which compensation, if any, will be determined based on the history of the account. This is just one of the steps in which we are taking to reconcile complaints. We have taken many other steps such as instituting a new Return Policy that protects both the consumer and us to make the purchasing experience better. We have also created our own complaint/review site which is located at http://www.siliconsolar.com/silicon-solar-customer-satisfaction-guaranteed.php for customers to post negative or positive reviews of which we will constantly respond to. You will also be able to review our complaint vs customer history and see that we actually have a 99.8% customer satisfaction rate.

Sincerely,
Joshua Kenyon
Managing Director

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siliconsolar
Ithaca, US
Apr 28, 2011 9:39 pm EDT

If you provide me with an invoice number I can give you a $20 credit to reconcile the situation. No, shipping the incorrect product to you is not your fault and you shouldn't have been charged for return shipping on an incorrect product. I apologize for the inconvenience you have experienced with our company.

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7:10 am EDT
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Silicon Solar Bad customer service

I purchased a solar fountain pump that was delivered not working, I called customer service and they said they do not take returns for 60 days.. then proceeded to tell me to take it apart (which I did not!) It is obvious the solar component is not working.. They now don't answer their phone calls.. ..Buyer beware.. Cancelled credit card transaction.

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siliconsolar
Ithaca, US
May 25, 2011 7:24 pm EDT

We are sorry that you have not been happy with our service, in an effort to reconcile any outstanding complaints against us, we wish for you to supply us with an invoice number and/or any other information for which we can formally identify you in our database. This is an attempt to authenticate you as an actual customer. If you can provide your invoice number or other identification that we could use to find you in our system to the following e-mail address reviews@siliconsolar.com, we will do our best to investigate and possibly compensate you for your negative experience. This will be on a per case basis of which compensation, if any, will be determined based on the history of the account. This is just one of the steps in which we are taking to reconcile complaints. We have taken many other steps such as instituting a new Return Policy that protects both the consumer and us to make the purchasing experience better. We have also created our own complaint/review site which is located at http://www.siliconsolar.com/silicon-solar-customer-satisfaction-guaranteed.php for customers to post negative or positive reviews of which we will constantly respond to. You will also be able to review our complaint vs customer history and see that we actually have a 99.8% customer satisfaction rate.

Sincerely,
Joshua Kenyon
Managing Director

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7:12 am EDT
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The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Silicon Solar Silicon so-so

Beware of Silicon Solar's exchange/return policy! This item was recommended to me by their sales rep, and it is the most underwhelming water pump I have ever seen in all my professional years. The pump is TINY and weak, the LED lights are dim and don't illuminate anything, and the fountain heads are of very poor quality. The solar panel doesn't come with any mounting bracket, and if one were to mount the panel to something themselves, it would void the warranty. After placing the pump in a clean, freshly-filled pre-fab pond, the pump worked for one weekend, and then began to fail over the course of 2 more days. After calling their customer service reps for help in exchanging it for something of better quality (like their lighting), I was reminded that I would need to pay a 25% RESTOCKING FEE, as well as shipping, which is approximately $15 from Seattle. So after the exchange, I would only get $60 of store credit. Quite a racket they've got going. They should add this to their return policy: "This item loses 40% of its value after purchase." That way, I wouldn't have bothered.

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customerserviceshouldbe#1
Ithaca, US
Jun 20, 2011 11:02 pm EDT

Lies all lies, they change their return policy and clean house every two years, they need to go out of business, and their products are crappy chinese made stuff, with huge markups

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siliconsolar
Ithaca, US
May 25, 2011 7:25 pm EDT

We are sorry that you have not been happy with our service, in an effort to reconcile any outstanding complaints against us, we wish for you to supply us with an invoice number and/or any other information for which we can formally identify you in our database. This is an attempt to authenticate you as an actual customer. If you can provide your invoice number or other identification that we could use to find you in our system to the following e-mail address reviews@siliconsolar.com, we will do our best to investigate and possibly compensate you for your negative experience. This will be on a per case basis of which compensation, if any, will be determined based on the history of the account. This is just one of the steps in which we are taking to reconcile complaints. We have taken many other steps such as instituting a new Return Policy that protects both the consumer and us to make the purchasing experience better. We have also created our own complaint/review site which is located at http://www.siliconsolar.com/silicon-solar-customer-satisfaction-guaranteed.php for customers to post negative or positive reviews of which we will constantly respond to. You will also be able to review our complaint vs customer history and see that we actually have a 99.8% customer satisfaction rate.

Sincerely,
Joshua Kenyon
Managing Director

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maggie
,
Jul 18, 2008 11:16 am EDT

i have had a similar experience with this company. i was ordering a replacement pump for a garden pond and ordered the wrong one. when i inquired about a return it was going to cost more to return it than the pump cost once shipping and %25 restock fee was applied. so i decided to keep the pump to gift to a friend. i called to find out about buying the panel that runs the thing and found out it cost more to buy the panel than the kit!
i am looking elsewhere for solar supplies!

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Joe
,
May 30, 2008 11:29 am EDT

I've had to replace two of their 6V pumps in two seasons of use (they are only used in summer). When you call customer service, they remind you that the pumps only carry a 60 day warranty. I do not recommend buying from this company.

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