We started having issues with various electric devices in our home shortly after closing on it. We contacted Haddox and Sons to take a look at it. The owner-electrician came out and told my wife that the busbars were melted behind the meter and that the whole panel needed to be replaced. He gave her an estimate and explained that he would get a permit from the city, replace the panel, and then have SRP do a utility inspection. He asked us if we had a home warranty (we do) and suggested we ask the home warranty company if they would use him. He charged us 170 USD and gave us a receipt that said ""meter socket melted (panel needs replaced)"".
We called our home warranty company and they sent out another electrician. I told him that the other electrician had said the busbars needed to be replaced because they were melted. He looked a the panel and said the busbars were fine. He then asked what problems we were having. He then looked at the line, and wiggled the meter which turned off and emitted sparking sounds. He said either the line, the legs, or the meter could be bad. He then said we needed to contact the power company (SRP) and have them pull the meter off and check behind it. He said he couldn't check it himself because it is a 5000 USD fine to remove a meter. He was very professional.
SRP came out and checked the meter. They found nothing wrong with the line or the legs (they certainly weren't melted). The meter seemed fine, but he said he couldn't do a full test on it there. Instead he replaced the meter. That looks like it fixed our issues.
So, $230 USD later (the extra $60 to our home warranty electrician), we found out that had we called SRP first we wouldn't have spent a dime.
We called the first electrician back to ask him why he hadn't suggested we call SRP. He said ""I just thought you should contact your home warranty company"". We demanded our money back and he refused. He also claimed he would have contacted SRP before he started work. But we could have done that ourselves. Which we did. At least the second electrician had the decency to tell us he couldn't do any further diagnosis without SRP checking things out.
I believe the Haddox and Sons owner was trying to make work for himself. He claimed the panel needed replacing without seeing it. Had our home warranty company worked with him, I think they would have been out a lot of money that didn't need to be spent. Of course, he might have just ""accidentally"" forgotten to tell us to call SRP, but I don't think so.
The verdict? Dishonest and Incompetent.
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