Credit reports and collections
A SunStrong balance on your credit report that does not match your contract
Owners in the SunStrong groups keep finding solar balances on their credit reports they never agreed to: a lease reported as a $60,000 debt, a new account opened without warning, a late mark while their checks went uncashed. An email to SunStrong rarely fixes it. A written dispute to the credit bureaus usually gets a response, because the bureaus have to investigate.
A loan: the lender reports the loan, not SunStrong. Check whose name is on the entry before you dispute it.
A lease or a PPA: a reported "balance" is often every future payment added up, which is not what you owe today.
The steps that usually work
- Pull all three reports. They're free at annualcreditreport.com. Write down exactly what each one shows: the company, the balance, the date opened and any late marks.
- Dispute it in writing with each bureau that shows it. Say what is wrong and attach the page of your agreement that shows the real figure. The bureau generally has to investigate, usually within about 30 days, and send your dispute to the company to answer.
- Send the same dispute to the company by mail, so there is a record they received it.
- If it's with a collector, ask the collector in writing to validate the debt: the original agreement, how they got the balance, and who owns the account now.
- Keep paying what you don't dispute, and keep proof of every payment and every refused payment.
If your system has been down, that matters here too: months without power on a lease are part of the dispute, not just the missed payments. The free check shows whether your system has been producing what it should.
“He is terrific to work with. Goes above and beyond!!!”
Joan F., New York, a SunStrong lease customer
“After the letter was sent, it was mere days that they got back to me with a much more positive email looking into all our issues causing the total system to be down.”
Tami B., SunStrong customer
Disputing with the credit bureaus is free, and you can do it yourself with the steps above. If the balance comes from billing that does not match your agreement, that part is a billing dispute with the company. The Billing Dispute Kit ($29) lays the letter out for you, or I write it for you from your own contract and payment records. Either way it is a billing dispute, not credit repair, and there is no promise about your credit score.
$99 flat. You read and approve it, then send it yourself from your own email.
Billing Dispute Kit, $29 or have the billing dispute written for you, $99; or start with the free production check, or email jon@solarstillworks.com.
What this page isn't
It isn't legal advice, and agreements differ from one customer to the next, so your own contract wins over anything general here. It's the playbook that has worked for owners in the groups I spend my time in. If you have a lawyer, show them your agreement; if you don't, this is where most people start.