I am not usually one to put a company on blast using social media, but I feel that others need to be warned about using Carmean Electric of Springfield so they are not taken advantage of the way we were. To be clear, this is the Carmean Electric in Springfield and Taylorville, not the one operating out of southern Illinois. We recently had an issue with the electrical in our home (lights flickering on and off like we were in Stranger Things ) and hired Carmean to diagnose and fix the issue. They came out promptly and on a Saturday, which we were thankful for, but that is where the thankfulness ends. They spent 8 hours attempting to diagnose the problem, of course charging us by the hour. At hour 8 when I pushed them asking why they still didn't know what was wrong, the diagnosis was immediately complete (first of many red flags in hindsight). They determined that the underground electrical line that ran from the transformer to our house was bad and they would have to replace everything that ran to the house. They showed up early the following Monday and completed the work. This is where the problems really start. After the work was done and paid for, we uncovered some problems. Problem 1, we found out that Carmean is not licensed to do work in the city of Springfield. Since they are not licensed, they did not obtain the required permits. Since the work was not licensed or permitted, the city cannot certify the work was done up to code. I verified all of this with the city's electrical inspector and licensor. Problem 2, we learned that what they charged us was roughly 3 times what the going rate for the work they did would be. This was confirmed by other contractors, after the fact. This is the first electrical issue we have ever had so we were unaware what electrical repairs cost. Problem 3, the fact that they spent 8 hours diagnosing the problem is also out of line. I am no electrician but was easily able to learn that to find a break in an underground wire an underground fault detector is used to pinpoint the break that needs repaired. This obviously takes much less time. Also properly diagnosing the issue would have meant they could have repaired just the break in the line, instead of digging up our entire yard and running all new wire (at much greater cost). When the work was done and paid for, we asked for an invoice showing the work was paid for in full. We got a very generic word document that stated the job was paid for but lacking any detail. When I followed up asking for a detailed invoice, they were unable to provide a breakdown of materials cost, equipment cost and labor cost, which was also fishy. When confronted with all of this information Curtis Ryen, the owner of Carmean was indifferent. He first claimed that they are licensed, then that they didn't need to be licensed, finally saying he was confused about the licensing requirements. This is not believable as the city confirmed it has sent Carmean Electric orders to cease work in Springfield, because they are not licensed. Today we also received a copy of the numerous violations they have incurred. We are going to continue pursuing rectification to the furthest extent possible. Please don't make the same mistake we did by hiring such dishonest people. read more
