Powell Electric

Do not use them! I asked them to install a thermostat which should take 30 minutes. They wanted $ 599. I had to pay $ 76 just for the estimate. I will never call them again.

We recently decided to replace the light switches, smoke detectors, and carbon monoxide filter in our home. A friend had recommended Powell Electric and said they provided excellent service when they had some similar work done by Powell.
The electrician, Mariano was great. He showed up on time, was thorough in explaining what he was going to do, and provided an eta on when he would be done with the work.
Also, he was very professional and was very patient with answering our questions.
Keep up the great work Powell!

I called in to get a rough estimate on replacing some power outlets. The person on the line was rude and slammed the phone without saying bye. Not a good first impression. I won’t be using this company.

I was scammed! They did not provide a written estimate prior to the installation of a basic circuit breaker. They charged $ 449 plus the service call for a $ 35 part. I was not told the price until the power was restored. What am I supposed to do? Not have electricity? I can’t believe how many other people here got scammed as well. These guys should be put out of business.

Where do I start…
We were scammed.
One canned light was out at our house. After waving a wand around the can, the technician had us convinced that voltage was inappropriately leaking. After crawling into the attic, he came back down to tell us that the quick connector had failed and the can would have to be removed and replaced. He said the price would be «four ninety-​nine.» I thought, OK, they have already charged us $ 72.00 for 10 minutes of work and we were told that the $ 72.00 would be applied to any work that was done, I assumed we were in for an additional $ 4.99. When I confirmed the price, the technician laughed and said that the price was $ 499.00 to replace ONE can!
Stunned, my wife and I said we would have to think about it. We did some internet research and found that worst case scenario, NOBODY was charging more that $ 100-​$ 200 for that work.
I looked on Unilocal for a second opinion, called South Bay Electric Co. based on reviews. Ian came out. He determined there was NOTHING wrong with the can. There was no inappropriately leaking voltage. There was nothing wrong with the connection, at all. The can DIDN’T need to be replaced. He simply bent the metal tab to ensure a connection with the bulb and, voila, the can works like a charm. He was apologetic that he had to charge us anything, at all, for such an easy to diagnose problem.
The lesson… avoid Powell like the plague! I don’t know what their business model is. They have our $ 72.00, but we will never call them, again. I will tell everyone I know about their dishonest tactics and I will spread the word through Unilocal that this company should be avoided at all costs!

They installed a new electrical panel for the house recently. Job was done on time and the breakers were correctly labeled. They handled the permit and inspection and the house down time without power was very limited. They were very informative overall, came when scheduled and completed the job on schedule.
The only complaint was that the person who came to finish the job brought his kid with him who was asking pointed questions about my classic car and the contents of my garage. This made me feel very uncomfortable, and I told him that it was not appropriate to do so. Very unprofessional to bring your kid and let him run loose like that.

The very first time my wife and I, decided on having Powell Electric go through our home to check, redo old wiring, add GFI’S and more circuit breakers was because… They did a TV commercial using their own employees and the «Powell Jingle», stayed in our heads. We called the office and we’re impressed with their calm polite with a «down home» aditude. Bill Rose, came out to our Downey home did a thorough inspection. It was very clear we had major electrical problems. Bills proof: he took instant foto’s. After that, we scheduled the work. The best guys you could ever meet and they worked hard during that very hot summer for one week, this all turned out very impressive at the end.

I wanted a dimmer switch put in and a new (cheap) fixture to be installed. They wanted to charge me over $ 500. I know from using other companies that is is highway robbery. I have used them before and this was just ridiculous. I will not use them again, they just lost a loyal customer.

This company responded to a service call through another company. The service technician was rude and disrespectful. He insisted that prior work was illegally completed without city permits and not to code. Upon correcting him, his comments were further rude and insulting. He stated, it didn’t matter to him if I said all prior work was up to code and permitted”. His opinion, of prior work at my home was illegal and incorrect. This was five minutes into him arriving to the appointment. A person of sound mind would think, if your trying to get a customers business, you shouldn’t enter their home and insult a potential customer. I will never use this company or refer to anyone. I gave a one star rating to enter comments. Poor service.

Bill was the worst. Extremely rude and tried to overcharge me. Initially said $ 70 for him to come out and then changed the price $ 100. He was dishonest and arrogant. When I called the corporate office to complain, Sam, the manger was rude as well. If you are looking for a dishonest company then Powell Electric is for you. Stay clear of this business, they have bad business practices.
This company deserves zero (0) stars!!!

Bad service. They don’t respect the customer. Dishonest and unethical. Initially told us $ 70 to come out for an estimate then changed it to $ 100 when we didn’t want to do the work at such a high price. He said, «yes we’re expensive.» Gave us an estimate of $ 500 which is way over priced, then we called his boss to see if we could get a discount and he said since you called my boss it’s now $ 550. Haa! What a joke of a company.

Beware: I made a grievous error when I had them come out. They charged me $ 840 to install three $ 40 fire alarms installed in less than 40 minutes! They wanted to charge me $ 1500 for six new fire alarms. I had been told the job would take 3 hours by another electrician so I naively agreed – they knew I was under the gun and had to have them installed before the appraiser came the next day.
I mixed them up with another company with great reviews when I called. Boy, do I feel like an idiot now. When I called to speak with the field supervisor, he gave me some sincere sounding story about how they guarantee their work, one year warranty, bla bla bla. He could have offered me a partial refund considering how simple the job was, but no. The next day one of the «guaranteed» alarms started beeping. Really a terrible decision on my part and I got completely fleeced. I mean, completely fleeced. Thinking about calling the Better Business Bureau and making a complaint too with the California Licensing Board.

Shockingly horrible experience. STAY AWAY!
1. Scheduled appointment between a 3-​hour time frame. I waited at home for the technician. He never showed between the time frame given and finally they called and said they got «held up». They said to give them a time on another day and they’d show up at that exact time. I gave them a time and sure enough, they were almost an hour late.
2. INSANELY OVERPRICED! They wanted to charge nearly 1000.00 to install four light fixtures.
What a garbage company.

I was surprised to see a Powell Electric van driving around the other day, but that’s a less frequent occurrence these days. Bad reviews must be catching up to them. I had them come over when I was slightly less educated about these things to see why my undercounted lights in my kitchen were not working. after relieving me of the fee for coming out (which would be applicable against any bill I might rack up), they told me it would be close to $ 1000 for parts and labor. Even I knew then this was highway robbery.
After getting some recommendations from neighbors (always the best way IMO), I found a friendly and knowledgable electrician to do everything for just over $ 300. Too bad I lost the $ 70 «diagnosis» fee to Powell.

What a group of scam artist. They told me I needed a smoke detector after hearing a chirping noise for $ 450. After they installed it because we trusted these a holes, we found out that wasn’t even the problem. They wanted to do all the smoke detectors even they they are working fine. They would not bring back our working smoke detector and we got screwed.
Any way they can get into your bank account they will. Avoid this company at all cost. It would have been worth calling anyone but them. They were rude and so unprofessional.
AVOID!!!

I happened to melt a house original circuit wire that ran the lights in my small home. I called Powell Electric prior to my Unilocal review which was a $ 100 mistake right off the bat. Powell Electric came out but only after I agreed to a $ 100 service call fee for a quote to fix the issue. They were at the house for about 30 minutes then advised it would cost at least $ 2500 to fix the issue and could not start for three days. I could not afford that cost or wait that long and decided to get a second quote. The next certified and insured electrician I called came out same day and quoted me $ 700 to fix the wires and fixed the issue that day. My total cost with another provider was $ 700 compared to Powell’s quote of $ 2500 for the repair… Oh + Powells $ 100 charge.
Its obvious these guys get paid either way with their service charges and always up-​sale the customer with high prices and concerned body language to get the customer worried enough to pay their astronomical charges they advised.
I have a 1 year old daughter and wife who the rep used to try and get me to pay their high charges, saying I need to keep my family safe from fires and other things that could happen if I didn’t fix the issues with Powell, who also said they couldn’t fix anything for 3 days… how am I suppose to believe a rep who says I need to fix it now to keep my family safe but cant do anything for 3 days???
Fix it in a flash somewhere else Powell Electric you scamming bastards,

Hide your wallets… these guys are Scammers! I Called to get a Quote on a simple electrical box with crossed wires that needed to be un-​crossed so I would no longer have to turn my bathroom fan on to get my rear yard flood light to come on.
When I called I got a Call Center operator who took info, then Transferred me to their «appointment setter» who proceeded to tell me it would cost 70 Bucks Just to Come Out and Diagnose The Problem and could Not give me any idea on a quote because he was just an «appointment setter»?
When I told him Again that I just wanted to get an idea on an estimate for this simple job he then proceeded to tell me that they’re «probably not the right company for my needs»???
The automatic $ 70 fee they charge is just for knocking on your door but often makes busy people feel like — okay well I’ve already invested 70 bucks, so what’s another $ 100 at this point?
That’s how scammers work people — don’t fall for it! Say no thanks and hang up! Keep calling around till u find a real contractor who’s honest and gives a traditional free quote without having to pay $ 70 just for the privilege?
These shysters won’t even come out unless it’s got a $ 70 charge attached… And that’s just for starters!
The BBB as well as the consumer protection agencies should be aware of this type of business practice still going on with way too many so-​called licensed contractors!

If I could give them 0 stars, I would. I fell for their $ 50 off ad and called them to see if they can replace my smoke alarms. Long story short, my smoke alarms were beeping and the batteries needed to be changed. The two men I talked to on the phone were nice but what was alarming was that they could not provide a rough estimate for replacing smoke alarm batteries over the phone. They said they won’t know until they come on-​site to check it out. I also had to pay a $ 99 service fee and that the $ 50 off promo would be applied for my total bill. So, I agreed and asked them to come out. Biggest mistake.
They checked out the smoke alarms and told me that to replace all three smoke alarms, it will cost a whopping $ 850! I literally couldn’t believe my ears and had to ask them to repeat the quote. Yup, still the same damn price. I asked them why it was so expensive to just replace smoke alarms. After all, they were only replacing them and not installing them. I also knew for a fact that smoke alarms cost about $ 30 each. I even asked them if they thought I was stupid to fall for their scam. He then asked if they can charge my credit card for the $ 99 service fee. I said that it should be $ 49 with the $ 50 off promo. They then said that the promo only applies if they do actual work.
I then found another electrician who quoted me for much less — $ 250 to replace three smoke alarms and install a new carbon monoxide detector. This was for parts/​labor. He even started/​finished on the same day I called him. And another plus — He provided an estimate over the phone. If you need his contact info, please let me know. I would gladly recommend him over Powell Electric.
Stay away, far far away from Powell Electric. Do not ever contact this company. And don’t let Chris or Howard’s nice and polite personality fool you either.
Never again.

Being a repeat customer of Powell Electric, the «business» I got today was surprising — and I do NOT mean that in a good way.
Our electrical problem had begun 2 days prior, on Saturday afternoon.
One of our bathroom faucet handles had come off, and water shot up – getting into the light-​bar fixture above — and popping the electrical circuit.
We had no lights or working outlets in two of our three bathrooms; and light, but no working electrical outlets in the third.
My husband called on Sunday, to see if someone could come out that same day — but since it was both ‘about to rain’ and they were «short handed», we had to wait an additional day. He set up the appointment for Monday morning. (This was no problem.) We went out Sunday afternoon, and bought a new lighting fixture to replace the old one that had been sprayed with water.
The initial Service Call estimate amount was supposed to be $ 65, but upon his arrival, the Technician had already written $ 95 on the invoice.
(I asked him to correct it. He did — but acted as though he was doing me a favor.)
My Technician seemed nice enough, AT FIRST; but he quickly realized that I was not knowledgeable about the specific electrical issue that we were having (by that I mean that I didn’t recognize what the term «GFI outlet» meant, until he told me).
I truly believe that if my husband had remained home on Monday, and spoken to the Technician himself, that what happened next, would NOT have happened.
He (the Technician) saw an $$$ opportunity, and he capitalized on it!
The original estimate that was given: $ 350.
For this price, he would get everything working properly, and replace the «fried» GFI outlet in the downstairs bathroom, (the ONLY bathroom that currently had a GFI outlet installed). He ALSO offered to install the new lighting fixture we had purchased on Sunday — the Technician said: «The $ 350 includes the installation of your new light bar.» (To ME, this indicates that there is a charge included, for that service.)
My biggest mistake was not taking this original offer…
After hearing that I didn’t know what the term «GFI outlet» meant, the new estimate shot up to $ 850. 0_​o
.. . This $ 850 would put new GFI outlets in ALL THREE bathrooms, which, according to the Technician, is: «The way it should have been, from the beginning». He claimed that: «Contractors cut corners all the time to save money, because GFI outlets cost about $ 40 each, whereas standard outlets only cost a couple of bucks each.»
He adds: «Let me count your outlets.» (This was AFTER he’d been in my house for half an hour, and had already «inspected» all 3 bathrooms!)
He comes back to me, and changes the amount of the estimate, RAISING it a SECOND time!
«OK, so you have 6 outlets — 2 in each of your bathrooms. I originally quoted thinking you only had 1 outlet in each of the 3 bathrooms.» … «The new estimate is $ 1,090.»
The man is GRINNING at me, while I’m trying to absorb this new information, which makes NO sense to me, at all. .. .
I’m sure you know what I did next… I did the math in my head… 6 outlets x $ 40 per outlet = $ 240.. .. Original estimate $ 350 + $ 240 extra for switching all the regular outlets to GFI outlets = $ 590. TOTAL. but he’s quoting $ 1,090.!!
I asked him how much of the bill was «labor», thinking that THAT must be where I’m getting lost… He continues to grin, and starts SMIRKING at me, too!
Because my grandchildren (2 years & 4 years old) were beginning to ask me about lunch — and my dogs (who were pinned up in one room, to give the Technician the run of the house) were beginning to bark & want out — I authorized the work.
The Technician didn’t even have enough of the GFI outlets on his truck!
He asked about coming back on TUESDAY to do the job.
I SHOULD HAVE ASKED HIM TO LEAVE. RIGHT. THEN.
But, anxious to have my electricity back to normal, and NOT have to remain hostage another day, waiting for repair, I ignored all the RED FLAGS.
The final cost was $ 940.
($ 100 discount for being a repeat customer, and $ 50 off because of an «online coupon».)
He did NOT install my new bathroom light-​bar.
Nothing was deducted from the bill, because that work was not performed — He claimed that he «would have been doing that as a favor».
He was at my house for a TOTAL of LESS THAN TWO HOURS.
11:35 to 1:22
The bill SHOULD have been $ 590.
After the Technician, AND the second Technician, (who brought over additional GFI outlets) had both gone, I calculated the difference between the $ 850 quote, and the $ 1090 quote.
It’s $ 240., the cost of 6 GFI outlets, multiplied by $ 40 (the estimated amount each GFI outlet costs).
But remember — The jump from $ 350 to $ 850 ALREADY included 1 GFI outlet per bathroom!
(For that ^ $ 500 difference, from $ 350 to $ 850, we’d essentially paid for 12; so we basically paid for 18 GFI outlets, in total. WE GOT SIX.)
POWELL ELECTRIC will get NO MORE BUSINESS from us. EVER!

Same as the other review… Bathroom lights flickering, said they will have to test and or fix entire circut from beginning to end, even if they find the problem at the beginning of the search… Bid $ 2850…WOW Such BS!!!
NEVER have them come out!
Just had a great guy come out, very thorough, 3 hours fixed it, charged $ 155, I tipped him $ 100

I fell for the cute commercials and called Powell when I needed my kitchen fluorescents repaired or replaced. I have four two pack fixtures of 4′ T-​8 bulbs. That’s eight bulbs in total. I agreed to the $ 69 estimate fee (RED FLAG!!) and Dana came over. While Dana was very nice and professional I kind of wondered why he wanted to see all my smoke detectors and also tested my circuit breaker box. I told him I wanted two estimates, repair and keep the existing fluorescent type bulbs or convert to LEDs. There are 4′ LED T-​8 bulbs.
After looking at the fixture he wrote up the estimate. To fix and keep the fluorescent bulbs, changing ballasts and all new bulbs to go with the new ballasts, $ 1000. To convert to LED with 8 LED bulbs, $ 2000. Now the $ 69 estimate applies and a coupon of $ 50, I think. Wow! Such a deal. I wrote a check and thanked Dana for his time.
I wondered if I just bought new fixtures with bulbs and hired an installer what it would be. I found a fixture bundled with two LED bulbs on Amazon for $ 90. That got me doing more research. I got a reference to Todd Smith Electric, a licensed electrician who told me it’s easy to just defeat the ballast and redo the wiring and install new LED bulbs. He quoted approximately $ 200 for the job I found great bulbs on Amazon for about $ 20 each (bulk $ 150 for 8) and Todd did the job yesterday and even converted the two bulb fixture in the master bedroom closet all for the $ 200 he quoted. So with a little more research on my part I have amazing new lighting and about $ 1600 still in my pocket.
Please learn from my mistake, find an honest electrician (Todd is on Unilocal,review to follow) and with his advise buy your own parts. Powell is a rip-​off.