Five or Free Electrical Solutions

Bonnie K.

Before you decide to go with this company, check the other one star reviews. You'll get all the information that you need. Bottom line - work quality is poor, electricians are inexperienced, management is horrible, and the Five promises are a LIE. They will not reimburse or credit you with anything that goes wrong with the job. Satisfaction is not in fact, guaranteed. If it was, they wouldn't have to respond like they did and I'd have my money back! Clearly I'm not satisfied.

A two week job to upgrade our main panel, ground some outlets and install an EV plug turned into a 7-month ordeal that involved unnecessary holes in the walls of my home and foundation, incorrect wiring that burned out my bathroom fans, uncertified approval to our attic insulation contractor that led to violations, breaker trips for use of appliances that did not happen prior to the upgrade, and job abandonment after failing to arrange for a final inspection with the city. I had to constantly chase them down for answers. I have lengthy email chains that have been shared with the CA State License Board regarding their failures. Management also went back on their word about a refund and were insulting and belittling throughout the project. They know that unless you spend ample time and money to take them to court, there's nothing you can do to get your money back. Do not spend your hard earned savings on these guys. I wish we hadn't.

Response to reply: You guys will lie and spin things as you see fit as others have mentioned. Thanks for copying your last email response and just pasting it here. For the record both the CSLB Board and your bond company believed what we told them based on the email threads and facts we supplied them with. Their determinations were based on other factors and they advised us to pursue legal action. The attic company we worked with were recommended by YOU. The violation from the city was a direct result of negligence by your workers and false approvals. Our bathroom fans stopped working after your workers wrongly wired our new panel and burned out circuits from switching the entire system on off multiple times. You guys didn't schedule a final inspection so we did it after not hearing from you for 3 months. We gave our work proposal to the inspector and did not misrepresent anything. Your offer to remedy and communicate is basically to continue to tell your customers that you are not at fault for any issues and there is nothing more you can do. I'm just here to tell people what working with you all is really like. The fake way you guys try to pretend you care and respond back to customers is insulting. The lying is unconscionable.

??

They don't even deserve the 1 star which is the lowest I can choose. A few weeks ago they lured me into a package and inspection and fix for the outlets of my entire house when all I wanted was to fix the lighting problem in the kitchen. They asked me to write a deposit check of $975 for the appointment on Wed 9/11. They told me that I had two business days to cancel the appointment but cashed my check immediately. I changed my mind on Sunday and called their office to cancel the Wed appointment. I also called them on the following Monday (1 business day after I signed the deal and 2 business days before the appointment). The guy answering the phone told me that the appt had been canceled and I will get my money back. But they never gave me my money back although I called them repeatedly before giving up. I have filed a claim against at BBB. Let's see what happens.

Eli S.

Five or Free did not complete the work to code and FAILED INSPECTION TWICE.

They demanded thousands of dollars more to complete the project, and refused to honor our contract.

I asked for a refund and they did not honor their guarantees.

1. They guaranteed that the quote stays as agreed upon.
2. They also refused to refund me or honor their guarantee that ""if at the end of your electrical project you're not satisfied with your experience, then you don't pay a dime for the work.""
3. They refused to complete the project up to code, as agreed upon and required by their license. They were too lazy to even install breakers in the subpanel before inspection.

When I asked for a refund, they responded in a condescending tone. I intend to pursue legal action against them and will post updates here.

These guys are total crooks.

James C.

Great service and helpful consultant. I ended up getting a quote for Ring floodlights and realized after I installed other Ring lights around the house that it didn't have the features I wanted on the ring app (no automatic siren on detected motion, can you believe that?!)

So I had to cancel the floodlight project and they refunded me. Thank you for a great consultation and kind customer service anyways.

Bimo B.

Good service. Responsive. Rescued me from my own unhelpful HOA who did not know where the master breakers were for our apartment building. Lol. A rate of $350/hr is through the roof though. Bay Area, baby. All I can say is that after paying several hundred dollars to get a switch properly installed that I already knew how to install, I might just switch careers from ""synthetic biology"" to baller electrician. Plus the electrician seemed like he would be a cool co-worker, super goofy.

Eunice K.

Five stars for Five or Free! Rae and Damell helped me replace a circuit breaker and swap out an outlet. They were professional, on time, quick, friendly, and not pushy. They knew I had a short timeline for this fix and were able to come back in a few hours to do the work. They also stuck around to answer electrical questions I had unrelated to the project. I'd highly recommend them and will be a repeat customer. Thanks, Rae and Damell!

Susan G.

I had a fantastic experience with Five or Free installing and 50 amp EV charger as requested. Damell was awesome not only in his knowledge and ability to explain what he was doing and why (I asked cause I'm curious) but he generally is just a really nice, well meaning person. My scheduled appointment was at the end of a long day for him and I never once felt he was rushing or cutting corners to get done sooner. I trust it was installed right. Hire these guys and gals - it's not the usual contractor run a round.

L W.

First the good things:
-very responsive to Yelp messages
-quickly set me up for a free consultation
-excellent communication about where the electrician was and ETA on the day of the consultation

Now the not so good things:
I had wanted to put in a 50amp EV charger, but the software allows me to limit the charger amperage to whatever I want. I have a 125amp panel (my house is 115 years old or so and 1900sf), which hasn't really tripped with normal use because the majority of my appliances are gas (stove, furnace, water heater, etc, and I have no AC). The only time it tripped was when my neighbor asked to plug into our socket for a power tool to reach a shared property line.

When the electrician came, he took one look at the 125amp panel and told me that I absolutely needed to upgrade to 200amps to get an EV charger to work, plus I needed to add a pylon to protect the panel, and my panel was set up such that the breakers wouldn't trip, plus even more upcharges for other services. All totaling roughly $12,000 with the ""discount"" he so graciously offered me. I told the electrician I'd have to speak with my husband before committing to that amount of money, so he said he'd call back later to follow up.

I shopped around and spoke to multiple other local electricians about my situation, and they all agreed that Five or Free was trying to fleece me. I wound up going with another company and had my EV charger installed for $650. The plug in hybrid only charges overnight when all my other appliances are off... haven't had any issues at all.

To top it all off, the electrician never called back to follow up. I wonder if he was trying to take advantage of the ""woman alone at home without counsel of her husband"" when he came by. Too bad he didn't know that I'm the handy one around the house...

Two stars for the upfront communications. Zero stars for the electrician they sent to my house. Maybe I would have had a better experience with a different one (sounds like other people had markedly better experiences).

Sophia N.

I cannot say enough good things about the team from Five or Free! We bought an old home last year with knob and tube wiring and as a safety precaution and for home
Insurance purposes, we had to replace all of the wiring. We hired Five of Free because one of my clients had a great experience with their work. While we interviewed many electricians, we ultimately decided on Five or Free because they have the experience and size of team that could tackle this large project.

Through out the project the communication with the team is top notch. Scheduling was super clear and efficient. I received a text and email when appointments were set and then another message when the electricians were on their way.

I want to acknowledge and appreciate Alex Gonzalez and Chris Aguilar in particular. Alex managed/scheduled and Chris executed seamlessly. Whenever I had a question, issue or concern I felt comfortable sharing it with them. They were quick to response and solve whatever issue we had. They had to work in tandem with Designers and others trades. They did it all with a can-do attitude and smile.

The work they've done has been impeccable. Extra bonus: the team takes up to an hour to clean their area at the end of each day! The other day Chris and his associates swept and mopped at the end of their workday. It ended being the cleanest room in the house!

We have peace of mind that our updated electrical is safer and more efficient for our family. I can also call on them in the event I do need help in the future because they offer a warranty on their work. Thanks
you Five or Free!

Jen M.

I am an interior designer. My clients hired Five or Free to replace three floors' worth of knob and tube electrical in their 1910 Historic home, as part of a whole-home remodel. It was a massive job where they had to work alongside other trades and implement a completely new lighting plan. They were flexible, respectful, knowledgeable, and solution-oriented. They installed many high end light fixtures for me with great care, taking the time to make sure I could be on site to approve drop heights for pendants and chandeliers in person. There were many good team members on site during the course of the job, but our lead installer Chris was a standout. His positive attitude, excellent work ethic, and great communication skills were a welcome addition to the job site, and we always felt confident the job would be done well if he was there.