Thornton and Sons Electric, Inc.

Review: We entered into a contract to build a new home in March 2013. Thornton and Sons Electric, Inc. were the subcontractors of our builder. They sent one electrician to wire our entire home. The initial electrician they sent was very thorough and seemed very knowledgeable. During this process we requested additional work to be performed that was over and above what the builder was going to provide of which Thornton and Sons would bill us for personally.

Near the end of the project, the electrician working on our job was pulled off leaving our house only partially complete. This electrician then quit the company and another electrician was sent to our project. Not knowing what the first electrician did, the new person attempted to finish where they left off but numerous mistakes were made and things were not completed.

One of the items that we had requested be done and paid for by us personally was a sub panel for a future generator. We have since learned that this was unnecessary for a whole house generator. The electrician on the job was asked to price

a transfer switch for this future generator but at no time was ever asked to order the transfer switch.

The owner of Thornton and Sons, [redacted], took it upon himself to order the transfer switch in case we decided to put it in because he did not have one in stock.

When it came time to present us with a bill the transfer switch cost ($1,000) was included on the bill. When my husband questioned this the owner indicated that he could not return it and that we had requested it and put pressure on my husband to pay the bill. My husband indicated to Thornton and Sons that most generators come with a transfer switch at which time they responded that if that were the case they would work with us on the cost. Needless to say we paid our bill in full immediately.

Towards the end of construction when it came time to finish the trim out of the electrical Thornton and Sons did not come back and complete the job and due to their own difficulties with our builder refused to warranty the work they had already performed. They never did install the transfer switch and did not even deliver it to us. We had to make numerous phone calls and make arrangements to pick the transfer switch up. We were caught in the middle of the disagreement between our builder and Thornton and Son Electrical. We paid them over and above to do specific work for us which they did not complete. We have since hired an electrician to come finish the job and have found numerous items that we paid for that they never completed. We have already spent an additional $500 to another electrician simply to fix the items that Thornton and Sons did not do correctly and to complete the job they were hired to do in the beginning.

We reached out to Thornton and Sons at one point to come finish one of the items we recognized as incomplete and the owner was defensive and argumentative and very unprofessional. A service person was sent out and was able to finish one of the items but conveniently did not have all the supplies on his fully equipped electrical van to complete the job. We never received a follow up phone call to say that they would finish the job they were paid for.

I would never recommend this company to complete even the smallest of electrical jobs. We felt they were very unprofessional and unqualified to do the job they were hired to do and even deceptive in that they charged us for items that they did not provide or partially provided.

I can not imagine being a business owner when a customer has paid you for a job and you do not have the courtesy to complete that job to their satisfaction and then over and above refuse to warranty the work they performed.

If you ever come in contact with this Company, RUN, they are unethical and unqualified to perform even the simplest of electrical jobs.Desired Settlement: Would like Thornton and Sons, Inc. to take back the transfer switch they order without our approval and return our check in full payment for this item of $1,087.00. $1000.00 for the switch and $87.00 for the sales tax.

Business

Response:

My name is [redacted] and I am the President of

Thornton and Sons Inc. The attached is

in response to the [redacted]’s complaint made to the Revdex.com on

June 26, 2014.

Thornton and Sons Inc has been a member of the Revdex.com since 2001 and carries an A+ rating. This is our first complaint.

Thornton and Sons Inc. was contracted by a local builder

to provide the electrical on a home to be sold to the [redacted]’s.

In July of 2013 The [redacted]s’ approached my technician on

the job and discussed some additional work that they wanted Thornton and Sons Inc.

to complete (separately from the work Thornton and Sons Inc. was doing with the

builder). The technician relayed the information

to me and I set up a meeting for Mr. [redacted] and [redacted] Thornton to discuss

details. It was during that meeting that

Mr. [redacted] expressed his desire to have a transfer switch for a generator he

might install at a later date. [redacted]

Thornton discussed the option of purchasing the transfer switch up front to

save some cost in the installation later.

It is my belief that Mr. [redacted] did not disagree to ordering the

transfer switch at that time and so we ordered it in order to capture the cost

savings [redacted] Thornton offered. The

transfer switch was stored at Thornton and Sons Inc.’s shop for safety. After the meeting I emailed the [redacted]’s

with a re-cap of the meeting details. Mr.

[redacted] responded that he needed to know how much the (other) extras were going

to cost before he could accept the transfer switch. I returned an email with the cost for all the

extras. In that email I also offered the

[redacted]s’ an option to set up a payment plan for the transfer switch (interest

free) if the transfer switch was going to be a financial burden. The

next email from the [redacted]s’ was that they sent a check for all the extras

including the transfer switch. The attached copy of the email exchange between the [redacted]s and myself supports that no pressure was put on the [redacted]s to pay for the transfer switch.

We continued to work on the house for the next several

weeks. Unfortunately, over that time the

relationship between the builder and Thornton and Sons Inc. deteriorated and

another electrician was brought in to finish the project. It is Thornton and

Sons Inc.’s policy not to warranty any of our work that was altered by

others. Any work completed by Thornton

and Sons Inc., not altered by others, is warrantied as per policy. Thornton and Sons completed all work that we were paid to complete, as well as, a few extras requested by the the [redacted]s on our last trip. The installation of the transfer switch was not charged to the [redacted]s because the install date was to be determined. Thornton and Sons Inc.'s technicians were capable of performing the work we were hired for.

In September 2013, Mrs. [redacted] came to Thornton and Sons

Inc.’s shop and picked up the transfer switch that had been in our possession since

July 2013.

In June 2014, Mr. [redacted] came to Thornton and Sons Inc.’s

shop with the transfer switch and requested a refund from me. Mr. [redacted] said that he had purchased a

generator and it came with a transfer switch.

I asked him why he purchased a generator with a transfer switch when he

already purchased a transfer switch from Thornton and Sons Inc. and he said the

salesman at the store said that it would be better to purchase them together to

make sure they were compatible. It is

Thornton and Sons Inc.’s opinion that the transfer switch purchased from us by

the [redacted]’s is compatible with a majority of generator brands. Mr. [redacted] also expressed that he felt that

[redacted] Thornton had bullied him into purchasing the transfer switch and he felt

he had no choice. I told Mr. [redacted] that

I needed to discuss the return with [redacted] Thornton and check to make sure the

wholesaler I purchased the transfer switch from would let me return it. I also told Mr. [redacted] that, if the

wholesaler would take it back, I would cut him a check and call him when it

was ready. I offered that Mr. [redacted] could

leave the transfer switch with me or take it with him, and he chose to leave

it.

The next day I contacted my wholesaler. They said they would not let me return the

transfer switch because their return policy is 90 days. They also checked with the manufacturer to

see if they would take it back, they would not.

Over the next few days I contacted other wholesalers and consignment

shops to see if I could help Mr. [redacted] get something for the transfer

switch. I contacted Mr. [redacted] within

one week of our meeting and informed him know that I was unable to refund the

money for the transfer switch because my wholesaler (and manufacturer) would

not accept a return. Mr. [redacted]s expressed

his frustration in not being informed of any return policy. I explained to Mr. [redacted] that I was unaware

of my wholesalers return policy because I had never had anyone try and return

something so long after a purchase before.

I apologized to Mr. [redacted] for his inconvenience and we agreed that the

situation was a learning experience for both of us. Mr. [redacted] stated that he felt he should

never have paid for or picked up the transfer switch since he wasn’t sure when

he was going to need it.

At no time was it Thornton and Sons Inc.’s

intention to take advantage of the [redacted]s.

It is the goal of Thornton and Sons Inc. to provide quality work at

affordable prices. I feel Thornton and Sons

Inc. conducted business in a professional and respectable manner. I feel that I personally made every reasonable effort I

could to help the [redacted]s with the return of the transfer switch.

Consumer

Response:

Unfortunately it all comes down to "he said, she said" as we do not have any written proof of the conversations between [redacted] Thornton and myself, [redacted]. I have attached a copy of the e-mail between myself and Thornton and Sons, Inc. but what the e-mails fail to show is the conversation between [redacted] and myself regarding how he pressured us to proceed with the purchase of the unauthorized transfer switch.