Universal Home Experts

They are always great, on time, efficient, and just wonderful.

That was good. They came out and did their work and I remember they did a very good job of communicating with us without talking down, without being condescending, and looking for what they found. For anything that they discussed or recommended they gave us quotes, but the charge was what the charge was. Everything was an A. The quotes that they gave us were pretty expensive, so we would use them for inspection stuff again, but maybe not for the work.

They charged me $60 for the estimate and to fix the problem it would cost $1300. I ended up calling another company to do the work for $1000 dollars cheaper.

Sam S and Rick were very professional. Cleaned up well.

Efficient and friendly, Gave tips on how to keep clear.

Great job by Jesse and Justin - they were very helpful and communicative of what needed to be done ..and very respectful of my house!

They were really good. They did a phenomenal job. I would highly recommend them. They did a good job. There was one guy that came. He was nice and knowledgeable, professional, and cordial.

Sam did a fine job of explaining and conducting repairs. Cleaned up too. And came on time. What more to ask for?

Sold me a very expensive replacement line and phone that did not fix the problem. Turned out the problem was at the ATT box. They should have checked that FIRST

Did complete check of circuit box and lighting fixtures and outlets

My dryer quit on me. Purchased a new dryer. Lowe's delivered and was going to install. For some reason the outlet and the cord on my old dryer was a range style outlet/configuration. Lowe's couldn't install my new dryer until I had an electrician change out the outlet to match either the 3 prong or 4 prong dryer cords approved by the dryer manufacturer. I had purchased both cord types from Lowe's so I would have the correct cord for install because I wasn't sure which one was needed. After talking with the install crew, they said an electrician would likely install the 3 prong outlet, since my home was older (1962), the 4 prong cord was typically used in newer homes. Universal experts was accommodating and agreed to come out quickly and the technician was prompt. I explained that the installation instructions indicated I could install either outlet type, the older 3 prong style or the newer 4 prong outlet type with my dryer, I showed him both cords and the dryer installation booklet. After looking at the outlet box, the tech said I would have to install the 4 prong for current code requirements. He looked at the electrical box said the grounding wire inside had been cut, only small part in box, and therefore he would have to run a new grounding wire from my electric panel and drop down to the outlet box to install the 4 prong outlet. I had read the installation instruction booklet and it said the the 3 prong plug could be used and I knew that plug didn't require a grounding wire in the wall. I tried to ask questions and discuss this with him, but he just kept insisting that he couldn't install a 3 prong dryer outlet because it wasn't code. He did look at my panel on the outside of the house (same exterior wall as my laundry room and no more than 10' away from the dryer's location). My panel feeds wiring up into attic above the panel and that attic space is also above the laundry. He did not take a look in the attic space. He then asked me what I would expect the cost for that to be, to run the ground to the outlet box? I said, I have no idea, I wouldn't think it wouldn't be that expensive to run a ground in the attic and over to laundry wall and drop it down, but that's for you to tell me. He chuckled and said, about $1800.00. I was stunned. $1800 to install a $500.00 dryer? Well, I began to ask questions about the so called code requirements at that point and I really doubted what he was telling me and that he knew what he was talking about. I could not believe that Houston code would not allow me to use the three prong cord approved by the manufacturer, and would require me to run new wiring to install a new dryer. When I asked why so high a cost to basically run a ground from the panel into the attic and over to the laundry and drop it down, or couldn't he splice onto the grounding wire in the attic thereby extending it and drop it down, he then said to do it he would have to remove the entire electric panel. It was at that point I just stopped listening. I was really suspicious at this point that I was being had. I thanked him for his time, paid the service call and said I would be getting a second opinion from another electrician. Then after he handed me the estimate, which had now increased to over $2000.00 after he spoke with his office, he said, "I'm not saying you won't find another electrician that won't do it, (install the 3 prong plug outlet), electrician's can interpret the code differently, different companies have different standards, universal's standards are high. What????? I did a little research online on Houston's electrical code myself - found that around 2000 I think it was, the electrical code was changed to require the 4 prong grounding outlet type for dryers in all homes built after that date, however, an exception is made for homes built prior to this. Basically, you are not required to upgrade the wiring to install a dryer for homes built before the date of the change. That's why manufacturers have two types of cords you can use. I called another electrician with good ratings on Angie's and Yelp, he came out, said the 3 prong cord cord and outlet was fine, up to code, and would be adequately grounded. He changed out my outlet. He charged me a $100.00. So Beware of this Company! Their "high standards" may cost you hefty "unnecessary" dollars. Funny they had good reviews which is why I called them. They will never hear from me again, that's for sure. I had my electric inspected a few years back and there were no major issues noted.

It went well. The crew was polite, punctual, prepared and very efficient.

It didn't. I have purchased services from other companies thru Angie's List several times. Usually a company person contacts the person/people who have paid for services. After not hearing from them nor receiving an e-mail acknowledging they received my information and money, I contacted them and was told the date has expired. So, I would advice anyone who attempts to use this company to beware. So no services were performed and they kept my money. So again, beware!!!

Went great. Gave us several options and explained each one. Work was performed quick and well.

I needed some electrical work on the outside of house. The technician seemed to be more on a exploratory service. He did fixed the main things I wanted done (security light, entry light and loose plug). They other things I had wanted they were pricey and I felt like it was not something the technician wanted to do.

The tech produced a quote that was way over priced, so I ended up not using him.

Terrible - never showed up and when I called, customer server hung-up on me

The plumber came to our house with strong smell of alcohol twice

First off, I'll say the they were professional over the phone and I have no qualms about how they handled the situation. The reason for the review and the grade is that they require a visit out to the home at a cost of $59 before they will quote you a price. At that point you have the option to perform the work and deduct the $59 from the final price or you have the option to thank you for the quote but I think you are too high. Then they leave and you are out $59. They would not accept a copy of the inspection report that has pictures of exactly what needs to be fixed. So they require a visit to see what the pictures in the report will show them so they can charge you for the service fee. The second reason for the rating is that when I mentioned I was going to have my realtor let them in to perform the work, they said they would not work with my realtor and required me to be there. I don't understand the logic. They are still working with me, but because I'm not there personally they can't work with me. I'm still available over the phone to make any decisions I would make if I were there. Again, I have no issues with the people and how they handled it. My issue is with their policies.

Instantly knew what the problem was, Prompt, thorough and professional.

The technicians are friendly and knowledgeable. Unfortunately it took four visits to get the work done. They believe in sending one person to tell you how much it's going to cost, and then require you to take off another day from work so they can perform services. Once inside they were efficient, but kept recommending things that should be done for more money - like rotating my furnace around to make it easier to work on. Additionally the technicians knocked something loose in my attic and refused to repair the damage. I have a 100 year old house with a mish-mash of wiring. Lights that have worked with no incident now will not come on. Universal offered repeated excuses for why they couldn't fix the problem, culminating in a $13,000 bill to re-wire my house. It was all just too much. Buyer beware with these guys. They will get their $$$ from you.

I sent many emails directly to them when I first purchased the deal, and never heard back from them. When I finally called to schedule the work, I was told they would not honor the deal because they were no longer running it through Angie's List, even though the expiration date for the deal was in August.

I would tell others that they seem to genuinely work for the company. There were three workers. It took a couple of hours to complete the work. The main thing was the professionalism.

Great. Did not over sell us on services.

Bait and switch. How do you make money selling $249 of services for $59? By shafting the customer. I needed a generic LED light. Their guy pointed to one on the Home Depot website and said buy that one. I did, but it wouldn't work - it wasn't flush mount. This is where Universal tried to make their money. I could keep buying fixtures myself, and if they weren't right that was on me and I could keep rescheduling service, or Universal would charge me $300 (yes, three hundred, their guy said basically they could charge whatever they wanted to for that) to pick up a $20 part. Their excuse was that the additional $280 was warantee for the $20 part. I'm contacting Angie's list for a refund. Universal expects me to pay $60 for literally nothing, because once they had the money they had no incentive to work with me to get the job done. Don't ever hire them. I never will again.