If your father called the electrician, then your father was not scammed. Your father paid a normal rate for a house call.

Yeah that sounds shady. Any decent electrician would check the meter or panel first before starting work. $650 for basically nothing is rough, especially on an elderly parent. Hope you can push back on the charge.

If the electrician did no work other than determining that the power was off that's not worth a $650 charge.

" Hope you can push back on the charge. "

Two years later that is not happening @Alex John

Yes, your dad got scammed. Any decent electrician checks the meter or the main breaker before touching anything, so charging $650 when the power was literally shut off is a joke.

I had the exact same thing happen with me. I called Indiana Michigan Power and had them send me the service disconnect record with the exact date and time the power was cut. I sent that proof to the electrician with a demand for a refund, and he paid it back pretty quick once he saw I had the paper trail.

If he played dumb, you could file a complaint with the state licensing board. That usually gets their attention fast.

" If he played dumb, you could file a complaint with the state licensing board. That usually gets their attention fast. "

@Ajury Munomendy, this all happened two years ago.......................