When I signed up and every time I followed up, they kept assuring me it would **definitely** be installed by the end of the month so I could get the government battery rebate. Today I chased them again and they just shrugged it off with “sorry, no spaces left.”

What a complete joke. I turned down multiple other companies weeks ago that could have done it on time, but I trusted Arise Solar because of their repeated guarantees. Now the rebate is gone, I still have no solar system, and they’ve cost me thousands of dollars.

This company is completely unethical and screws over customers without any shame. Total liars. Do not go near them.

I originally spoke with a representative named Roger, who explicitly assured me over the phone that my battery installation would be completed before May. Based on this professional assurance, I moved forward with the deposit.

The Issues:

Broken Timeline: I called today only to be told the installation cannot happen until May.

Financial Loss: Because I relied on Roger’s specific timeline, I have now lost my $0.44 solar feed-in tariff. This is a significant ongoing financial hit that I cannot get back.

Dodging Calls: Since the delay was revealed, Roger has stopped answering my calls entirely.

Unprofessional Support: When I explained to another staff member that I am losing money because of the misinformation provided by their team, I was told I “just need to live with it.”

While they offered to refund my deposit, a refund doesn’t cover the long-term loss of the tariff that I was promised I could keep. Offering a refund is the bare minimum—taking responsibility for misleading a customer is where they have failed.

While I was initially satisfied with the product, communication during the process was consistently slow. The timeline from signing the contract on July 11, 2025, to the final installation on October 8, 2025, was significantly longer than promised.

The most concerning issue, however, is that the system has already failed its primary function, i.e., providing backup power during blackouts. I first contacted Solar Chief regarding this formal warranty claim on December 21, 2025. Since then, it has been total “radio silence.” They have ignored every email for over a month and are not answering their phones.

I now have been forced to escalate this matter to NSW Fair Trading, the CEC, etc. to get the service I am legally entitled to.

If you value post-installation reliability and want a company that actually honors its 5-year performance guarantee, I strongly recommend you look elsewhere.

This is not just a scheduling issue. This is a company that disregards its own customers and basic service commitments. If this is how they treat customers before the job is even started, I can only imagine the nightmare if anything ever goes wrong with the install or system.

Do yourself a favour and find another provider that actually values your time, communication, and trust. I wish I had known—don’t make the same mistake I did.

1. Unexplained Delays – After paying my deposit, I waited 10.5 weeks (over 2.5 months) for installation. At no stage was this delay communicated upfront. I later found out the cause was a supply issue on Ryde’s end, but the lack of transparency or proactive communication during that time was unacceptable.

2. Missed Installation Date – After finally being given an installation date, I took a full day off work (and lost a day’s income) to be available, only for Ryde Energy to not show up. When I called, they admitted they had booked the installation for the wrong customer. I requested some form of goodwill gesture or compensation for my lost wages, but this was flatly refused. The Customer Service representative even compared my situation to “taking days off for sick kids,” which was dismissive and completely inappropriate given Ryde’s failure to turn up as contracted.

3. Incorrect Installation – When the battery was eventually installed, it was wired incorrectly. As a result, the battery did not charge for a week until Ryde Energy returned to fix the mistake.

4. Property Damage – During the installation, my home’s brickwork was damaged. I provided photographic evidence and asked Ryde Energy to repair it, but they denied responsibility and dismissed it as “flaking bricks.” I now have to pay for repairs myself.

Overall, this has been a very poor customer experience. I’ve been left out of pocket through lost earnings and property damage, on top of enduring long delays, a missed installation, and incorrect wiring. The lack of accountability and absence of even a basic goodwill gesture only added insult to injury.

Ryde Energy has gone from being a company I once strongly promoted to one I cannot recommend. Overall rating: 1 star.

I paid for GW10K-MS-30 and got installed GW9900-MS-30. I did figure it out eventually, when trying to find out whether my inverter is hybrid or not, as I am planning to install a battery. If I don’t research and look out for this, then I would never known this misplaced model. Since it’s been installed, I am losing 100 watt of solar generation per second. 

Not expected from the installer that got high feedback and also mentioned in the Solarquotes website. That’s why I did contact you guys. 

The one I paid for is latest model compared to the one this guys installed. 

This guys even didn’t said anything to me that inverter was different model. It is not a good business practice.

I have paid the amount they offered without any bargain. I should be getting what I have been promised. But instead, this guys give me older version to get rid of older version without letting me know. That is pure unfair business, which will attract fair trading and other legal ways. People can make mistakes but to acknowledge it and own it and fix it with compensation, they become better and good company. My experience getting bitter now. 

I have all details and documents and vedio from camera that should be enough evidence for me to go through fair trading. 

I did talk and emailed both to Sam, the sales representative who handled my project and the senior manager or owner, Sachin, about my solar inverter model mismatch issue. They refuse to fix the problem and told me that’s how they deal. They show me all the brochures and details for one product and end up giving another product as they think, people will not realise.

Beware of this bad and worst solar company called Solar Chief and stay away from them. They don’t respect and keep their own word.