Benfield Electric of Virginia Inc.

BEWARE: This is NOT GOOD business to deal with. This company PREYS on WOMEN customers who have electrical issues. The company states they can fix an electrical problem but they charge a HIGH fee for coming out. I was game and didn’t see at the time that I was being hoaxed. My issue: electrical circuit breaker that turned off due to too much power going through electric outlet at one time. After the circuit breaker went off, I went downstairs to turned it back to the ‘on’ position. But no electric power could be gained. I tried to troubleshoot through google (to no avail). At this point I called this electrical business. The representative asked me for my address and year my home was built. I told him my address and that my home is less than 2 years old. He then stated that oftentimes builders of new homes may use electrical outlets for construction purposes, which may LESSEN the life of circuit breakers. Long story short, I had the company come out to take a look at electrical outlet and (bad) circuit breaker. The Technician solved the problem in two seconds and I was charged the HIGH FEE ($175) for an APPOINTMENT that lasted @ 5 minutes (tech writing receipt / me talking to management about charge)

The Generator installation was prompt and completed quickly. However, after couple of years, we noticed water leaking in the basement near the Generator Transfer switch. I initially called Benfield but they ignored the request, so I started calling some of the basement waterproofing people. Long and short is that we diagnosed that water was actually coming from the generator transfer switch (see enclosed picture. I also have video but angie list doesn have feature to upload video). The Benfield installers did a poor job and dig a hole in the foundation of the house under the ground level for electric pipe which connects to the transfer switch, a big No No. Then Benefield used some kind of poor quality caulk to close the hole around power cable. However, it could only stay good for a while and now whenever there is rain the water flows from outside the house into transfer switch and drops in our basement. My carpet is messed up and we are living in a very dangerous situation of water and electricity interacting together. Finally after my repeated calls and requests, I was able to get attention of Benfield to come and atleast look at this issue. When Benfield supervisor saw the issue they agreed that it was done wrong, however, their local GM refuses to take ownership of the issue. In addition, because of water flowing through the switch, there is oxidation and rust getting formed inside the switch. Benfield has now given me a quote (enclosed) for $2000 to fix their problem and move the switch so the electric wire goes into the house above the ground level. I have called few other Generac authorized distributors and have them come and look at the installation. They all have also informed me that it was poor quality of installation, it was done wrong and it will cost me $3-$5K because they also recommend replacing the transfer switch. Water, oxidation and rust mix with water and electricity is a very dangerous mix. I am now working through fairfax county (permit office), small claims court and Generac to see if I could get this fixed. I will keep you posted. My recommendation is, don't ever use these guys. See the enclosed video and pictures. If you want additional details please reach out to me directly at [email protected] Angie List - Please let me know how I could upload video of leaking generator switch box

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This was a professional job from site survey to system orientation. Benfield was recommended by our power supplier NOVEC. They were right! We are completely satisfied that we got a great product installed professionally and competently. Cost elements included purchase of a 500 Gal. propane tank and the backhoe to move it to the site.

Went very well.  New generator installed and tested -- powers the whole house.  Provided detailed orientation of installed system.  Also signed a contract for semi-annual maintenance although we have not yet experienced that part of the contract.  Some employees could have been a bit better at communicating (some delays in responding to emails).

 Every time I need a repair, I have to wait for parts and keep bugging them to get the repair scheduled.  They have no sense of customer service; they apparently have no purchasing power with their supplier of Generac parts, as they never have the part I need in stock and can't get it sent express shipping (even though I have offered to pay for express freight).   They are horrible.  I don't recommend them to anyone.

Instead of saying, why yes, you need us to do this asap, they were going to send out an electrician to take a look at it. I suggested instead of wasting a trip, told them what was going on and how long the light was off. It was then suggested I take a picture and send it to them. I love people who do not waste time or money! Thank you for your honesty!

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After more than 90 minutes, technician informed me that the generator's carburetor has to be replaced.

He told me that the company can order the carburetor and after its arrival, a technician can come back and install the new part.

Technician told me once the part has arrived, the company will call to set up a follow-up appointment to install the new part.

I gave the technician the approval to order the part and it was annotated on the receipt I received that day.

Four Weeks later (March 7, 2016) I contacted Benfield Electric to acquire on the status of the carburetor.

I was then informed by the company that there is no such part exist anywhere in the country and the best they can do would be to attempt to rebuild the carburetor for a minimum of $200 charge..

They also told me that there would not be any guarantee that the rebuilding will in fact fix the generator.  At that point, I told them no thank you.

They never made any reference to why they did not call me prior to me contacting them (four weeks after the initial service).

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I hired Benfield on 8/12/15 and paid $760 for semi-annual maintenance for 2 generators ($380 each).
One of our generator is fine.  The other one needed repair. Their technician performed maintenance for the bad generator and sent out another technician to fix it.  The new guy wrote up a $986 quote and said that he can fix the generator for $250, but what he recommended is essential.  We agreed to the maintenance for BOTH generators ($1972 in total) with the hope that our non-function generator will be fixed after that.
That technician came back and charged us another $456 to do some testing.  After that, he said that it'll cost us additional $2400 to get our generator repaired.  With $3188 already paid and one generator still not fixed, we were wondering how much more they will charge us.  I contacted their manager and she sent out yet another technician free of charge. This technician said that what the previous technician suggested only cost $702 - if we also want them to pull the gas and electric permits, then the total would be $1344.  None of it matches the outrageous $2400 quote.  
We then decided not to used them any more.  I requested the refund of $110 for the part of the service they have not preformed sometime in October.  They initially agreed that they would refund it to us, but I haven't received it yet.  I also filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.  No one responded yet.  
I would never had thought that getting a generator repaired would cost us so much money and, not to mention, the aggravation.  It also puzzles me that they kept on recommending pricey "maintenance" on a non-functioning generator instead of fixing it first.  

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I was very pleased with Benfield.  I contacted them through Angie's list on a Tuesday and received an immediate response back with a price quote and a scheduling appointment for that Thursday.  I needed to have wiring put in place for two ceiling fans as well as have the ceiling fans themselves put up.  The two men arrived on time and after discussing placement, went to work right away.  They made sure to inform me of any issues, such as needing to cut through drywall in order to complete the wiring.  They were very helpful in suggesting ways to repair the drywall.  Once done, they showed me the new light switches that were wired to both the fan and the lighting and briefly went through how I would need to install my ceiling fan light kit.  Overall, they did a fantastic job and left very little for me to have to clean up/repair (just the drywall, which even then was a very small patch).  I would definitely call these guys again for future electrical work.

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On Monday afternoon, June 1, our power went out in a thunderstorm and our generator
did not come on for the first time in 8 years.  I called the company which installed it and
was told they no longer serviced generators.  A call to a second company was also
a rejection, but I was given the name of Benfield Electric Company.
We got help immediately, with Deanne Kirkpatrick taking down our information and
assuring us someone was on the way, and Mario Walter helping us diagnose the problem as we 
emailed photos of the generator that he passed on to his technician. 
Lloyd Ferguson came all the way from Middleburg to Vienna, and in no time at
all had replaced the battery, spark plugs, air filter, and oil, and got us
going again.  It is extremely rare to find a group of people so kind and friendly,
prompt and experienced.  We wholeheartedly recommend the good folks at Benfield for 
anyone living in Northern Virginia, DC, and Maryland.
Jim and Jan Eldridge
Vienna, VA

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The process went well from start to finish.  Tony Testa came to our home to perform a thorough analysis to determine our needs not only for the generator, but for changes needed to our gas meter to ensure we had enough throughput for all gas appliances including the generator.  I had the work done on time, an the finished installation is clean na thoroughly professional.  I believe the man leading the installation was Keith, and he did a terrific job to make sure the generator and the associated lines for the gas and electric outside the house were clean, neat, and actually looked good.  Per Tony's recommendation, we had the generator installed on a dry concrete slab, filled with stone.  The finished result is excellent.  We had our first quarterly maintenance visit from one of their technicians (Bob, I think his name was), and he too was professional and took time to explain the maintenance procedure to me and answer questions about the general upkeep and care of the generator.  
Completely pleased overall and happy to provide a review that reflects my satisfaction.

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I spoke to John when I first called he was friendly and knowledgeable. The techs were on time and understanding as we had movers there at the same time. They finished efficiently and correctly the first time.