The state has asked Commonwealth Court to find electrical contractor Thomas J. Waldron of Clairton in contempt of court for failing to abide by a 2006 consent agreement and:
• Prevent him from owning, operating or managing a heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and electrical services business.
• Direct him to make full restitution to all consumers who have absorbed losses because of his failure to obey the consent agreement.
• Order him to pay $5,000 in civil penalties for each violation of the consent agreement.
• Send him to jail if he fails to clear himself of contempt of court by stopping the activities cited in the petition.
Also named as defendants are Waldron Electric Co., which does business as WEC Electric Co., and Electric USA Inc.
The contempt petition, filed by Senior Deputy Attorney General Jesse F. Harvey, said Mr. Waldron also is the president, manager, owner and/or operator of companies that do business as 911 Emergency Electric Service and 911 Emergency Electric Heating and Cooling.
Although the petition identified Mr. Waldron's wife, Janet Taylor, as president of Speedy Electric Heating & Cooling and Three Rivers Electric Services, it said he controls the companies "in whole or in part."
The petition said the state Bureau of Consumer Protection had received numerous complaints about Mr. Waldron since he signed the consent agreement Nov. 22, 2006. Although the bureau forwarded the complaints to Mr. Waldron for mediation, they weren't resolved. The petition said meetings between the bureau and Mr. Waldron and his attorney in 2007, 2008 and twice last year failed to settle matters.
According to the petition, Mr. Waldron and his employees have told consumers that the work they need to have done constitutes an emergency that must be rectified as soon as possible to prevent harm to them and others in their home.
Mr. Waldron and his employees have then told consumers that, for repairs to begin immediately, they must sign an Emergency Work Authorization form to waive the three full business days they have to cancel the contract. If consumers don't sign the form and want their money back, which the law requires Mr. Waldron to provide within 10 business days, he has refused to do so.
Mr. Harvey said the bureau has determined that Mr. Waldron and his employees have declared emergencies where none has existed.
Jim Adams of Monroeville said that's what happened to him when he woke up Feb. 13 and discovered his furnace wasn't working. He called Mr. Waldron. A repairman came out, had him sign and initial some paperwork and added up the charges -- $95 for a service call, a $380 diagnostic fee and $2,300 for an igniter that Mr. Adams later learned sells for $60.
"He already had torn my furnace apart; what was I supposed to do?" said Mr. Adams, 62, a retired electronics instructor at Community College of Allegheny County. "I'm just sick about this. I learned a valuable lesson. Do your homework."
Mr. Adams said insult was added to injury when the furnace quit five days later because the repairman apparently had loosened a wire. Another company came out and fixed it for $80.
Mr. Waldron's attorney, Gregory A. Castelli, said he and his client are "looking forward to challenging all these allegations in court. The [contempt] petition is nothing but a bunch of generalities. The prices my client charges is what this is all about, but there are no pricing laws in Pennsylvania. It boils down to what a consumer is willing to pay.
"Although the [consumer protection law] talks about bona fide emergencies, who is to determine that -- the consumer or a trained and experienced professional? We consider [the question of what constitutes an emergency] to be a valid issue and we hope to get some assistance from the court in how to determine that."
Mr. Harvey said he and Mr. Castelli will discuss the case with a yet-to-be-assigned Commonwealth Court judge on June 14.
I'll keep you posted.
First Published: May 27, 2010, 9:45 a.m.