In Shannon Morrison’s dream home, solar panels weren’t a part of the initial vision. Wanting to keep with the times, she made the leap, only to be disappointed.
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MCFARLAND, Wis. – In Shannon Morrison’s dream home, solar panels weren’t a part of the initial vision. Wanting to keep with the times, she made the leap, only to be disappointed.
Beginning in May, Morrison started working with Waukesha-based company Sun Badger Solar. After some initial back and forth, she signed up for a $40,000 deal to cover the full cost of the project.
“I was a bit little nervous about it, but I kept on coming back thinking this is a great plan for energy management as a whole,” she recalled. “By the time we chose a company, I was actually really confident.”
She thought come spring, with the sun shining bright, she’d be conserving energy and well on her way to saving money on the utility bill, but she was wrong.
“I feel like I took that step and the bottom was taken out from under me,” she explained. “I’m paying for the large paper weights sitting on top of my house at the moment.”
Solar panels being installed on Shannon Morrison's home. Courtesy: Shannon Morrison.
Solar panels being installed on Shannon Morrison's home. Courtesy: Shannon Morrison.
Sun Badger Solar installed her panels in January but stopped short of connecting them to the grid. When Morrison tried asking when they’d be finishing the job, what she got were undeliverable emails and newly disconnected numbers.
The Dane County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the company for at least five other claims of incomplete work totaling $165,000. The state’s Better Business Bureau also details dozens of complaints from customers claiming to have spent several hundreds of thousands for a bad experience.
The company’s owner, Trevor Sumner, told TMJ4 the delayed work and employees going unpaid was to to an external company Sun Badger contracted with that backed out, leaving Sun Badger in a hole. He also said they were working for a path forward.
“Right now, I think I’m still in shock because I didn’t see this happening,” Morrison said.
She also said her troubles aren’t over yet because getting another company to complete the work means additional cost for at least an electrician and safety inspection. Both of those things were included in her initial loan.
“I’m very trapped because if I stop paying I have no idea how that’s going to impact my credit,” she said.
There are reportedly several lawsuits filed against Sun Badger Solar. Like Morrison, News 3 Now’s attempts to reach the company for comment were unsuccessful.
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COPYRIGHT 2023 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
