Triangle Electric Corporation

Review: I hired Triangle Electric to assess and repair a problem with lights flickering and going out in one end of my mobile home. This is a reasonably small area (less than 300 sq. ft.). The technicians took excessive breaks, did not replace one outside outlet that I had requested, and waited until near the end of their workday to finally investigate underneath the mobile home, where the problem wire was quickly found and repaired. I was charged $837.54 for their services. Upon speaking personally with the owner of Triangle Electric, my bill was reduced by $98.28 (which she explained was what her company's profit would have been.) I was still charged for 16 crew hours, and 3.5 OT crew hours for the time that the technicians were at my home (whether they were honestly doing their jobs with integrity or not). My adjusted bill came to $739.26, which I paid in full with a credit card. Although I have no electrical background, I am not without common sense. I strongly feel that this particular job that I hired the company for should have never taken this long to complete and resulted in such extreme charges. I very much feel that I have been taken advantage of.Desired Settlement: I would like to be reimbursed for 8 crew hours at their regular rate.

Business

Response:

On Saturday, June 20th Ms. [redacted] called my emergency number to report she had an electrical problem in her mobile home, the lights were flickering and going out in one end of the structure. We have a policy not to work on trailers but it was a weekend, this was a very dangerous situation and against my better judgment, I sent [redacted] to [redacted] in [redacted] to see if he could correct the problem. I suspected a broken neutral wire which will cause a fire almost instantly and depending on which phase it is on, will burn up all the electronic appliances as well as well as anything plugged into a 120 volt circuit. Upon assessing the problem, he realized that he would need a helper to assist him and finding one of a hot; Saturday afternoon was going to be impossible. He ascertained that the problem was going to be difficult to find because the receptacles on one side of the room were not working and one on the other side was. Also the light which should not have been tied in with the receptacles was not working. [redacted] disconnected the circuit and told Ms. [redacted] that he would be back on Monday with another electrician and he was not sure how long it would take. Ms [redacted] said to please fix the problem.On Monday Morning, [redacted] and [redacted] went to the residence to ohm out the circuits to find and repair the problem. Ms [redacted] was not there nor did she come back while the men were there. A man came 30 minutes after they arrived to let them in the trailer. They found the area under the section where they needed to work had rotted out and the insulation was hanging down on the ground, the trailer in that area is only 12” off the ground and did not have a vapor barrier put down on the ground when the trailer was set. It still has a tin underpinning around the trailer. In order not to do any structural damage, every receptacle was taken loose and an ohm meter used to ring out each circuit. They found that part of the circuits were fed from a circuit feeding other receptacles on the far end of the trailer instead of the switchbox. They found 2 GFCI receptacle installed in the kitchen that Ms. [redacted]’s brother had installed (he is not a licensed electrician.) The appliances were pulled out and the wiring checked. They found the wiring is not up to code, the trailer is not wired in a specific pattern as it should be. The trailer was purchased, second handed, and put on this site; it is approximately 25 years old. A second woman helped them take the tin underpinning off; [redacted] reached up under the trailer from the ground outside, pulled a new circuit and tied it to the receptacle that was working.After giving this situation much thought and knowing how fast a trailer will burn, I feel it is my obligation to go to the electrical inspector and have the trailer condemned as being unsafe to be inhabited.This company has been in business 50 years and this is the only complaint we have ever had. We will always work 24/7 but this is the last trailer we will service. We have experienced that people who live in trailers will not pay their bills nor appreciate the fact that you probably saved their life.Sincerely,Nancy K. Bradshaw, OwnerTriangle Electric Corp.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

I am very disappointed and upset by the response from Ms.Bradshaw (owner of Triangle Electric) for the following reasons:1. If it is her company's policy not to service mobile homes, she should have abided by that policy and referred me elsewhere.2. Additional electrical and/or structural problems (not related to the initial service call) were found by her technicians, but NOT reported to me. Her response indicates that her technicians discovered improper wiring that is not up to code, and that my home should be deemed unsafe and uninhabitable. To find such issues, and fail to report them to the home owner is not professional by any standard, and I feel this negligence has placed me and my family in danger.3. I consider a portion of of Ms. Bradshaw's last sentence ("...people who live in trailers will not pay their bills...") to be stereotyping and/or discrimination. I am deeply and personally offended by this comment.

Regards,