Chamberlin Electric

Over two years ago my wife and I decided to get an emergency generator. We thought a Generac 7.5 kW would be sufficient. We went to our local Home Depot and as a result we got in touch with Chamberlin Electric. We scheduled an appointment and Chamberlin Electric’s representative arrived as scheduled. The representative conducted a thorough inspection, including the circuit breaker box, and then convinced us to step up to a 10 kW generator. We agreed. We also pointed out that in about 3 and a half months we will be leaving for about two months and therefore, it would be great to have the installation completed before we leave. We were assured that this would be no problem. We paid $3000 initial deposit, as agreed, and then a long silence followed. I contacted Chamberlin Electric and within few days an appointment was scheduled by Chamberlin Electric. The company’s owner, Rick, arrived to conduct additional inspection on-site. He asked us to identify the circuits we wanted to place on the backup power and then he pointed out that we wanted to move a bunch of GFCI circuit breakers that cannot be used in the box that came with the generator. He counted how many new breakers we need by turning them off. We were lucky there was nothing critical running on electricity in the house. Since some of our breakers were in the off position, his count came out incorrectly. I tried to point it out but Rick knew better. Soon after I received information that the additional GFCI breakers would cost $1200.00. These breakers cost approximately $50.00 each at Home Depot and we needed seven. I asked to terminate/void the agreement with a refund of my initial $3000.00 deposit as in my view it was a classical “bait and switch” case. I still regret that I did not stick to my request. Lots of back and forth conversations followed and once the number of breakers became correct and the price quoted for the additional breakers came down to what they actually cost, I relented and agreed. After another reminder about our upcoming 2 months absence sent to Chamberlin Electric two young men unexpectedly showed up to prepare the base/pad for the generator. They also brought the generator and additional parts. They did need access to our property so they were lucky that we were at home. Soon after another appointment was scheduled, the installation crew showed up as scheduled and the installation was completed. In my view the installation was completed very well. Only the hole/trench dug out for electrical and gas connections that was supposed to be filled after the Town’s inspection was never filled. After this we were billed for the completed work. I asked for clarification for one of the “mystery” charges and was told it was for a maintenance agreement that I purchased. I did not. Eventually this charge was refunded. One year after the installation while we were again in Europe I got a voice mail from Chamberlin Electric’s technician stating that he would be coming to perform preventive maintenance on our generator. Despite calling back and leaving a message explaining that we do not have a maintenance agreement the technician showed up the next day - as we could see on our security cameras - at our place. However, since there was nobody at home, he did not do any work. I sent email to Rick who took care of this issue. Soon after I received a bill to extend the remote monitoring service. The first year was included free of charge. This time it was as simple as not paying for the service renewal. To be clear, I am not trying to discourage anyone from getting maintenance agreements and/or remote monitoring agreements. For many people this may be a good idea. However, I did not like the way it was handled in my case. So would I recommend Chamberlin Electric? No. The work was completed very nicely but my overall experience was quite disappointing.