Waldron Electric, Heating & Cooling
Reviews and Complaints

a tech came out today advised him that ac not working to please check furnace 1st because blower not working & its all inner connected. , he said he could most likely fix but had to sign his contract...in the end he was not able to fix and charged me $1795.00 to tell me I probably need a new motor...

he charged me 1795.00 to tell me thinking he was going to repair...He did clean the ac unit outside which i will pay for even though I told him to start with the furnace that needed checked 1st.

Then he told me the filter was dirty too and didn't even replace...$1795.00 to come out and stay 1 hour and not fix?

I tried to reason with him he said since I signed, he would fight me tooth and nail at magistrate.. he said the discount is he is not charging me an emergency service and I told him from the beginning this is NOT an emergency.

DO NOT under any circumstance use this company. Their behavior and unprofessional demeanor should be reported to the Better Business Bureau.

2 representatives came in my home unannounced and upon taking them to the basement, the first immediate claim was to pay them $125.00 in cash which was for them to come to the home?

I was gracious to give them $140.00 and told them to keep the change! At which the lead informed the junior that it was not a tip?

More importantly, there was an additional $575.00 charge if they were to find a switch? I inquired as to have them provide an explanation for what the $575 would be for and all I was looking for was for them to install a new GFI box in the basement.

In addition the representative spoke quickly in a very confusing manner and started to sound aggressive and somewhat threatening. When I asked him why he was speaking to me in this fashion he assured me that he wasn't being aggressive if he was being aggressive he would be throwing me through the wall?

I asked for the $140 back and his response was you have a better chance of seeing God and getting your $140 back and they were not in my house for more than 10 minutes.

This is beyond good business as I was not only offended but I have felt that in all of my years of paying service contractors far and above what they charge this may be the worst experience that I've ever had with anyone.

It is my belief that the junior representative who is clearly brand new on the job was equally as startled by the senior persons behavior.

We had service on July 12, 2021. When the electrician arrived I immediately paid the $125 fee that, on the phone, was explained to me to be the diagnostic fee. I soon found out that it was the fee just to have the technician walk in my door. This was a little frustrating but, since it was an emergency call, I proceeded. I did not have exact change and gave him $140. I began to explain the situation to him and, before I finished, he asked where the furnace/ air conditioner was and immediately went down to look. He then told me that, in order for him to do anything or go any further it was going to cost nearly $1, 000. I told him to wait and that I need to talk it over with my husband. I immediately called my husband and we both decided that, since we were pretty sure we knew what the problem was, that the price was outrageous.
I explained to the technician that we were pretty sure that the issue was a blown fuse from an attempt to put on a new thermostat and that we would not pay that amount for a simple job. The technician then made it sound as if he was going to do me a huge favor and just consider the $15 overage I paid on the initial $125 as an amount for him to check the fuse. It did need changed. The technician went to the store to purchase a new one since he did not have one with him and then changed it and charged me an additional $525 to change the fuse.
This was all presented to me as if I was getting a really great deal and saving money. As if the technician was doing me a favor and giving me a better price. Since electrical and hvac are not my area of expertise and they were his, I thought it was safe to believe him. I have since found out that I have been extremely over charged for the services I received. The company has taken advantage of me and our need of air conditioning at the time for a house with children with asthma.
Including the time it took the technician to go to a store to buy a fuse, he was with us for less than an hour. I understand an increase in charges for immediate/emergency service, but this is extreme and absurd. The company price gouges and takes advantage of its customers.

On June 9, 2021, a circuit breaker connected to my air conditioner tripped, and cut off all power to my house. I called Waldron Electric for service, explained the issue, and Mr. Waldron arrived at my house a few hours later. Upon arriving, Mr. Waldron explained that I would need to pay an $1, 800.00 "diagnostic fee" (I had already paid a $175.00 call fee) in order for him to begin work. Although this seemed excessive, I agreed to pay as I needed my power restored. Mr. Waldron spent a few minutes looking at the breaker box inside my home, and then looked at the main breaker located on the outside of the building. Mr. Waldron diagnosed the problem as being caused by a bad compressor in my air conditioning unit (I had mentioned to him that I was having a new AC unit installed on June 11, two days later) that caused the main breaker to blow out. He said that he could replace the main breaker, at a cost of $4, 800.00. Again, this seemed excessive but I am not familiar with electrical work or pricing, and needed my power restored, so I agreed. I work from home and felt I could not take the chance of not being able to get another electrician on short notice before my scheduled AC install in two days. Mr. Waldron went to the side of the building to replace the main breaker, and asked me to stand on my deck with visibility into the inside of my home, so that I could tell him when the power came back on. Because of this, I didn't witness what Mr. Waldron actually did to the breaker. The power to my home was restored within several minutes of Mr. Waldron beginning his service on the main breaker. Before he left my home, I asked Mr. Waldron to assure me that the breaker failure was caused by my old air conditioning unit, and as long as I didn't turn the unit back on, I wouldn't have any problems, and he said that this was the case.

On June 11, 2021, an air conditioning installer arrived at my home to install a new air conditioning unit. Once the new unit was installed, we turned it on to test it. When the new unit came on, the same thing that occurred on June 9 happened again - the air conditioner and main breakers tripped, causing total power loss to my home. Again, Mr. Waldron had told me that the problem was my old air conditioner, so a brand new unit should not have caused the same issue. The air conditioning installer diagnosed the true issue as an electrical short in a transfer box, and he fixed the short and wiring, reset the main breaker, and everything worked fine. Mr. Waldron stated that he had replaced the main breaker on June 9, and the installer stated that the main breaker did not appear to be new.

To summarize, I paid an $1, 800.00 "diagnostic fee" which did not correctly diagnose the problem (the problem was an electrical short in a transfer box), and paid $4, 800.00 to service a part that had nothing to do with the actual problem. In addition, it would not seem that Mr. Waldron actually replaced my old main breaker with a new one, as he stated that he was doing.

I have pictures and receipts documenting all of this - wasn't able to upload to the site due to file size but these can be sent if needed.

Do not use this company for emergency work. My wife called them since we had a partial power loss throughout our house. Their emergency fee was $325 which I did not have a problem paying. They collect this payment immediately. Then the whammy comes. Since I have a 200 AMP breaker, the diagnostic fee is $1890.00 up front before they do ANYTHING. They also use scare tactics to create the worst-case scenario. I reluctantly paid the $1890.00., to have them do 10 minutes of work to tell me that it is a Duquesne Light issue.

Duquesne Light came to fix the issue an hour later. They said that any reputable electrical company would never even had to enter the house to diagnose the problem since there was only partial power coming into the house due to a loose connection at the pole where my power comes from.

I understand the upfront diagnostic fee, but I don't know how this company can leave my house having collecting $2300 for 15 minutes of work and be able to sleep at night. You could tell it was a scripted play. There was no, since I was here for only 15 minutes, we'll issue a credit of ___ towards the diagnostic fee. Total crook. I intend to file a complaint with the BBB and Allegheny County.

I was charged 189 dollars for a next day appt. he never took my casing off. He pulled my thermostat out it seems and now my ac is freezing over which it wasn't doing. Then he charges me 725 for a cleaning! Which everyone is 89.00 or around that. He charged my card 910.00! My ac is now totally broken. I want refunded! I called bbb I contacted the news media and I contacted the state general attorney. There's reviews all over the internet on this scam. I need a call back [protected] he was rude to me the day before. He said he wouldn't come because I didn't answer my phone fast enough also.

Waldron Electric took advantage of me. My air conditioner died on a Sunday and they charged $325 as a service call to come out. Since it was nearly 100 degrees, I agreed to pay it. When the technician got there he quickly took my credit card info and charged me. Then he told me that the fee did not include diagnosis of the issue, but rather I would have to pay an additional diagnosis fee of $1875. And that would not cover the repair fee which he could not estimate until he did the diagnosis. I asked why I was never told about the diagnosis fee when I first called...if I knew he would not assess the situation for the $325 I would have never asked them to come. I told him to leave and also told him I will be challenging the $325 with my credit card company because I got no services in return for that fee.

Thomas Waldron is a crook. He charged me $1700 to change a dryer receptacle and plug. It took him about a half hour to do and the parts cost is about $50. Why would I pay this? I had zero idea of the cost of these things. Never had to hire an electrician to do work before and he spent 15-20 minutes babbling to qualify this. I was caught off guard. Don't become a victim. He starts with $110 arrival fee makes you sign. He initially told me it would cost between $500-800 for the whole job. Before he gets started he tells me once he starts work it will be $600. Makes you sign. Once he had me hooked for that amount he tells me it will be another $1000 to complete. I knew I was being hosed but did not know how bad. Every professional I've spoken to about this said the whole job should have been $300 MAX. Then I learn that he has done this many many times to people and he was arrested on 8/12 by McCandless police for deceptive business practice - false/mis stating credentials and criminal attempt theft by deceptive false impression. He is due in court on Nov 13th. Google "Pittsburgh Electrician Arrested" and you will learn all you need to know. He also owns. Also look out for other business names such as Three Rivers Electric, Electric USA inc., 911 Emergency Electric Service, Speedy Electric Heating & Cooling. When I asked him the next day why it ended up being so much more than his original estimate he refused to answer. I was going to dispute with my bank but he would try to sue me whereas he would settle for a fair amount but with a gag order. I would rather let the public know and allow the Attorney General take it from here. He will likely lose another case like the one he lost in 2002 ti AG Jesse Harvey for $41k - 94 victims total. There are SEVERAL complaints they are working with already.

My mom was in a nursing home under hospice care. I was unable to schedule an electrician as I was at the nursing home daily attending to her. She has since passed away. (Jan. 1, 2017) On Dec. 22, 2016 I had only partial power in my home. My electricity provider had been to my home the day before and was able to restore some power, but told me that there was a corroded bolt at the meter which needed to be replaced at the homeowners expense. I called Mr. Waldron at 3:00 p.m. after arriving home from the nursing home and explained the problem to him. He told me that it sounded like a pretty big job and would take about a week at a cost of between $6, 000-$8, 000. He arrived shortly after 5:30 and without even looking at the meter asked for my credit card, went to his truck, called his office, and put $8, 000 on my card which still remains today. He went to the meter, began working, left, and returned with the necessary bolt. My power was restored about 9:00. I had gone to bed and the lights and TV woke me up. Mr. Waldron told me the next day he was here until 1:00 a.m., doing what I don't know. I did not sign any contracts as he told me he did not have any paperwork in his truck. I thought I had really dodged a bullet- that really didn't take long at all! Wrong! After checking my credit card the next day I saw the charge still remained. On Dec. 30, I received by certified letter the contracts for me to sign and initial. I was also to note that this was only a temporary fix and for another $5, 000 he could finish the job. Of course I did not sign or return his paperwork. He did return a few days later to connect a wire and replace the meter cover. I had another company to my home. Their estimate to replace the 400amp meter socket including electrical inspection and disconnect and reconnect fees was $1, 600, not $5, 000. Their estimate for the temporary work that Mr. Waldron completed in off hours was $860 which included 5 hours of overtime at $156 per hour and $80 for the corroded bolt-a far cry from $8, 000. Mr. Waldron had been to my home twice before-once to upgrade a box and another to locate a short in an outside plug. I did not use his company either time. (he also own Speedy Electric) My home had a large addition put on 13 years ago and my electrical service was upgraded to commercial at that time. It is state of the art. Waldron Electric is not an accredited member of the Better Business Bureau, has been investigated by the State's Attorney Generals Office, has had local consumer news reporters interview others who have complained, and does not meet requirements to be on Angie's List. He has threatened to put a lien on my home, pursue me like a wolf, and file a lawsuit against me. Good luck with that Mr. Tom! I am currently letting my credit card company deal with the situation, and if they are unable to resolve it, I will be filing my own lawsuit!
I feel Mr. Waldron deserves at best $860.

Tom Waldron and Waldron Electric Co. was sued By the State Attorney General's Office in PA for violating consumer protection laws. The suit filed by the PA State Attorney General against Tom Waldron and his companies stated that the "defendants failed to disclose fees, misrepresented that Waldron Electric and Electric USA are operated independently, performed services in an unworkmanlike manor, failed to provide the proper right of cancellation and failed to register a fictitious name." The defendants were ordered to pay $45, 000 to the Commonwealth of PA which includes consumers who were wronged. More info at the Western PA BBB.

A couple of years ago I had a company named "Brite House" add an electric outlet to the wall in a room upstairs in my home. They did a good job and charged a reasonable & fair price.

I noticed recently that there was no power (electric current) in this outlet. We had been having a problem with red squirrels in our attic and walls, so I thought that the squirrels may have chewed through wires and shorted out the power to this outlet.

I wanted to call Brite House for this job but couldn't find their number, and they were no longer listed in the yellow pages. So I called Waldron because their West Mifflin office is not far from my home.

I was told that there would be a $65 trip fee. That sounded reasonable because I figured it compensated them for fuel and time. I was also told that they do not accept checks. I later realized that were it not for their "no checks" policy, Waldron would surely have numerous stop-payment orders from unhappy customers.

When the repairman arrived the very first thing he needed to do was to get me to sign off on the $65 trip fee. Then before he could tell me how much this repair would cost, he needed to do a "diagnostic." He had to look up the cost of this particular "diagnostic" for how much it would cost. The "diagnostic" fee was to be $380. Needless to say I was taken aback by having to pay $380 for what amounts to a fee for an estimate.

I told him I would have to discuss it with my husband who was downstairs. We decided that $380 was too much to pay for an estimate, so I returned upstairs & told the repairman we were not going to use his services. I would have been out only the $65 trip fee had he not then said "well, show me where your breaker box is. It might be just a tripped breaker."

I didn't realize that when Brite House installed this outlet they had put it on its own circuit breaker in the breaker box (in other words, they had done the job right.) It never occurred to me that the problem wasn't in the wiring but was a simple tripped breaker, easily solved by flipping a switch. Since we had recently been dealing with squirrels in the attic & walls, I automatically assumed that they had caused the electrical problem.

Waldron's repairman flipped the breaker switch and we went back upstairs to test the outlet for current (using MY tester, by the way, for which I received no discount.) Then he charged me $140 "reset fee" for flipping that breaker switch!

I know that had I been able to contact Brite House and describe the problem to them, their first question would have been "did you check the circuit breakers?" And they would have charged me NOTHING, because that is how honest, reputable companies operate. Judging from the other complaints I've read, ripping people off by overcharging for services ($140 for flipping a switch! $380 to give an estimate) is Waldron's M.O., just the way they make their money.

Needless to say, next time I will shop around and start with a company that gives free estimates and is not afraid to accept checks. Customers who have been stung by Waldron may have little legal recourse, but we can warn friends & family, we can report them to the Better Business Bureau, we can post complaints such as these, and we can be smarter the next time we need the services of an electric repair company. There are plenty of companies that don't need to overcharge their

customers in order to be successful.

This posting is a description of the facts, and is not about any subjective judgments.

On Oct. 30 2007, my mother called Waldron Electric in McMurray, PA. in search of electrical service for 3 outlets that were not working in her kitchen. The service man arrived and spent 2 hours in my mothers home. When she asked what he had done, he said he had looked at her fuse box, said there was dust in the fuse sockets, and the fuses were not making connection, said she had a severed electrical line outside , and it was an emergency situation and the house could catch on fire at any time (). he also stated that he had checked the three outlets with a meter. He charged her 689.00 for no repairs made. the outlets still did not work. A check of the outside was made after he left and revealed no severed wires. He asked her for her credit card immediately. He took an impression and put the charge through right away. He then convinced her that she needed to replace her fuse box with a breaker box to avoid her house catching on fire. My mother is a 82 year old widow living alone. She was very frightened, he then drew up another contract to replace her fuse box at a cost of $6,622.00. He then took an imprint of her credit card and left the house without doing any electrical repairs. For the two hours he was there, he charged her $433.00 for "diagnosing". He also charged her $191.00 for "Repair" when nothing was repaired. I was able to stop the $6,622.00 transaction that was attempting to go through before the work was done. I was not able to stop the $689.00. I received two other quotes for the same work to upgrade a 100 AMP fuse box to circuit breakers, one was $600.00 and the other was $800.00. I called Waldron to cancel this contract and order them not to appear at my mothers house in the morning. I cancelled my credit card so no additional payments would be made, and have filed a claim with the credit card company for what I feel was unethical business practices. When I called the company and informed them that they will not be doing the work, and I will complain to the BBB and place a complaint on Angie's List, he became hostile and threatening my mother with a lawsuit, stating: "If you put me on Angie's list, I will take you to court, I will sue you for everything you have, you'll have nothing when I am done with you, and you will not win". He was bullying my mother so she would not stop the contract, because she would be so afraid. This company was cited by the PA Attorney General for its business practices and was forced to pay $40,000 in refunds to 94 customers. My mother has since contracted to have the work done for $700.00.