Robin Wilson walked into her Emsworth home last July and found the lights flickering.

Mrs. Wilson, 45, a registered nurse and widow with four children, got a flashlight and went to the electric panel box in the basement. Then the lights went out. When she flipped the circuit breaker, the lights came on and then went off again. Then the breaker became hot to the touch.

"I panicked," she told an arbitration panel of three lawyers in the Civil Division of Allegheny County Common Pleas Court. "I was scared to death."

She found a full-page color ad for Speedy Electric in the Yellow Pages. She called and spoke to a guy named Mike. Mrs. Wilson said he arrived shortly before 8 p.m. on July 10. She said he had her sign and initial some paperwork and went down to the panel box.

"When he came back upstairs, he said my main went bad and that my house could burn to the ground in minutes. He put the fear of God in me. He took advantage of me because I'm a woman and I was scared. When he gave me the price, I nearly fell off my chair -- $5,894.

"I said I didn't have that kind of money in the house. I put $3,100 on one credit card and $1,000 on another card and gave him a check for $1,794. He said the company doesn't take checks but that he would hold it overnight and be back in the morning for $1,794 in cash. He was waiting for me when I came back from the bank the next day."

Mrs. Wilson testified that it wasn't until the following day, "when people told me I had been ripped off real bad, that I discovered his prices were way out of line. He charged me $426 for an Emsworth inspector to inspect the work, but the inspector said the charge was only $60.

"And Mike didn't do the repair correctly. I had to call another electrician to do it properly and he only charged me $90."

Mrs. Wilson sued Speedy Electric. The case was heard by District Judge Tara Smith. That's when Mrs. Wilson learned the company was owned by Thomas J. Waldron.

In 2002, the state attorney general's office sued Mr. Waldron for violating the Consumer Protection Law by failing to disclose trip and diagnostic fees, requiring consumers to sign a waiver of their right to cancel even when an emergency didn't exist and performing services in an unworkmanlike manner.

The case was settled last April when Mr. Waldron and three of his electric companies -- Waldron Electric Co., WEC Electric Co. and Electric USA Inc. -- agreed to pay $41,376 in restitution to 94 consumers, $2,500 in civil penalties and $1,124 in costs.

Judge Smith ruled in Mrs. Wilson's favor and ordered Mr. Waldron to pay her $4,618. He appealed.

When the arbitration panel heard the appeal on Feb. 25, Chris Arndt, an electrician from Ellwood City, testified on behalf of Mrs. Wilson. He said she was overcharged, adding that she could have had "a whole new service upgrade for about $2,000."

Attorney Gregory A. Castelli of Carrick, who represented Mr. Waldron, reviewed the contract Mrs. Wilson signed. She said she had signed or initialed it in various places for such things as a $466 diagnostic fee, a $215 repair fee and $4,913 to rebuild the panel box.

He told her -- and reminded the panel -- that "there are no pricing laws in Pennsylvania." He said companies can charge what they want to, and consumers can shop around for the best price.

The panel ruled in Mrs. Wilson's favor. It said Speedy Electric Heating and Cooling owed her $4,778. Attorney David Humphreys, who chaired the panel, said it was a compromise verdict.

"That was the worst case I've ever heard," he said. "They used terroristic threats and an unfair contract to take advantage of this woman."

The Better Business Bureau said consumers have filed 55 complaints about Mr. Waldron's companies since 2005, most of which deal with over-pricing. Neither Mr. Waldron nor his companies are members. The bureau can be contacted at www.pittsburgh.bbb.org or 412-456-2700.

Senior Deputy Attorney General Jesse Harvey, who prosecuted the case against Mr. Waldron that was settled last year, said the office "continues to receive complaints about him, especially the ridiculous prices he charges." He encouraged consumers to contact the office at www.attorneygeneral.gov or call 1-800-441-2555.

Mr. Waldron has appealed the arbitration panel's decision. His appeal may be heard later this year.

I'll be there so I can keep you posted.