The BBB kind of has a list like that.
The BBB depends on unresolved complaints, they do not check anything about their members beyond the check clearing.
I second drachillix. BBB doesn’t mean squat. Another place you could go to find info is any kind of professional trade association, or an electrical supply house. Look up electrical contractor trade associations, or something like that. CA should also have a data base of licensed, insured electricians that meet their minimal requirements. Look in the county that their office is based out of for any lawsuits.
I still don’t think these suggestions are good enough. Lots of rip-off artists join associations, get licenses one way or another and had insurance at one point. That’s the big problem with associations and licensing boards. Nothing is even remotely up to date. Big deal if one guy in the company has a license. Is he the guy doing your job?
I don’t see why inspectors can’t just publish the results of their inspections as soon as the inspection is done, including the name of the person who did or supervised the job. Totally up-to-date and very, very useful. Consumers would begin avoiding like the plague any contractor whose name wasn’t on the list often. To get work, contractors would have to wise up, get permits, and beg for inspection.
I get your point Lunar, I’m a contractor. And I’ve had to go after other contractors that were licensed, insured, and part of professional organizations, but couldn’t find their ass with two hands and a flashlight, let alone build a house. You’ll note that my first post was in agreement with Chronos to talk to an inspector.
However.
Do not think that city and state inspectors are the last bastions of righteousness, truth and the American way. Many are ignorant political fools that couldn’t find their ass with two hands, a flashlight and a blueprint. That’s why they can’t be held liable if what they inspect isn’t up to code, or collapses, or starts on fire with cute widdle puppies and kitties inside. I certainly doubt they want to be sued for causing a contractor to lose business because of negative public inspections. And they would be sued. Because there is a lot of politics in the trades, and I would not put it past an inspector to blackball a contractor.
So, to sum up the best way to find an electrician, IMHO.
Ask an inspector
Ask a reputable general contractor
Ask a professional org
Ask a supply house.
Ask a friend.
After that, find out if they are licensed, insured, and have they been sued.
Google them.
Maybe a service similar to Angie’s List might help, too.
And even after all that, you still might get screwed.
80% of the guys I know are good, reputable professionals who care about the job and their good name. 10% are money hungry and amoral. 10% are totally, utterly incompetent. Just like every other business.
Wow! Thanks a bunch to all you who answered.
Merijeek - All the outlets are without power. Light use, if any. No kissing, but that’s fine by me. He wasn’t my type. A GFIC is a switch on the fridge or on the outlet for the fridge? I have no switch. No ice maker. My carpel tunel resolved itself and I kicked licorish in high school when other things became available.
There’s a Frisco in Texas, but we don’t have one in California. The Vigilantes here have hanged people for saying we do…good buddy. :dubious:
But I appreciate your responses.
Acid Lamp - I can check the wires in the back, but I don’t want to mess with high voltage. The hourly rate here seems to be $55/hr.
jnglmassiv, Joey P, The Sonoran Lizard King - My first guess an inspector or board wouldn’t give recommendations. Not sure I want them to since they should maintain their nutrality. But it’s worth a try.
Valgard - San Lorenzo is tucked between Hayward and San Leandro. I’d appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!!
Lunar Saltlick - This sounds good to me. Aren’t there organizations that give “seals of approval?” I’ve usually been suspicious of them, including the BBB, which I know only resolves conflicts (wouldn’t they give the benefit of the doubt to their member?), and doesn’t evaluate their members, per se.
dahfisheroo - This sounds like a plan. I’ll stand by for Valgard’s suggestions, and go down the list if necessary.
In the mean time, I’ll check for lose wires behind the outets and try very hard not to fry Myself.
Thanks again to you all!
Some of us electricians are also members of the International Association of Electrical Inspectors. 
It’s great to make assumptions about what constitutes an excessive hourly charge, yet I’d submit that a professional who brings his shop to you, and who maintains his skills via continuing education (the NEC is revised every three years) is worth their charge.
Diagnosing the unknown is trying to find a pig in a poke, and can be quick if you’re lucky enough to find the fault immediately, or can take hours. Crawling around in an attic, opening junction boxes, and checking for opens on the hot and neutral leg is often nasty work.
Work by others and/or work by the well intentioned homeowner needs to be corrected as it is found, because once I’ve seen it, the liability monkey is mine. Who is going to be on the receiving end of the pointing finger should the house suffer a fire deemed electrical in origin?
Rethink the aspesions being cast at professional tradespersons.
@Myself I think you’ll find that the way the scam works is that a company that is essentially a call centre places large advertisements in the Yellow Pages.
They then pass the job on to any old joe in the area which explains the unmarked van.
The guy who turns up does not care about his reputation, and he does not care about the company’s rep either - and all the company is worried about is that he does not do the job for cash on the side.
Best to use a friend, or someone recommended by a friend - failing that a local and very identifiable company. Also get a cap on the bill.
I made a similar mistake with plumbers, fixing my old combi boiler, it has a design fault that causes one small expensive part to fail every two years. Since I knew exactly what was wrong and how long it takes to fix, I made the mistake of using a large ad ‘company’ in the Yellow Pages. I’ll not detail what went on, but in the end I got ripped off and refused to pay them more than half of what they demanded. Since I invited them to sue me, I doubt that they will 
So you end up waiting for the electrician or someone like him?
W.C. Fields Forever!
(Nobody is going to get this anyway, so shoes for industry!)
Shit, for $900 I’d fly out to SF from Milwaukee and do the work. I can guarantee that we’d have the problem fixed in about an hour. Maybe two if we had to run a seperate line to the outlet in question. I’d be back home for dinner.
$900 is crazy for any single electrical job, short of replacing the whole panel or service. If you were in Milwaukee you’d probably be out $75-$100 and it would be fixed if I did the work.
Also, if you ask an inspector for a reference then you might as well expect to have to pull a permit for the work and that will add to the cost. IOW, if an inspector knows you need work done he’ll know you need a permit and will expect to see one pass through his office in the near future.
I think it’s insane to have to pull a permit for replacing a breaker or tightening a loose wire nut, but the city wants their cut too. Therefore, I tend to only get permits for larger jobs.
For those still watching this tread, a happy ending: 
I’ll be dropping the Pope a note tomorrow, the media will get our press release shortly. I’m writing up the story to sell on eBay next week.
The fuse box mysteriously healed itself. 
The miracle was noticed at 6:32 PM Pacific Time.
In honor of the occasion, I baked a potato in the microwave.
A plaque will be errected to commemorate this auspicious occasion.
Thank you, (fill in the god(s) of your choice).
And thanks once again to all those who responded. Valgard, if you’re still able to send me the name of an electrician, I’d still like to get it…for the next episode.
Yikes. I wouldn’t call that a happy ending.
Electrical connections that heal themselves usually means there’s a bad or loose connection somewhere. If you didn’t throw a breaker, tighten a wire, or do anything else to fix it then chances are you’ve got a loose or corroded connection somewhere.
When electricity flows through a bad connection you’ve got all that current going through small areas of conductivity, and those areas will heat up. This is what starts house fires.
Find yourself a good electrician (definitely not the guy in the OP) and have them run through the entire circuit that was giving you trouble and see if they can find the fault. Hopefully it’s something simple like the breaker itself is going bad.
Thank you very much, ecg, for the warning and you can be assured I will not take it lightly.
The ‘gent’ who was here did disconnect the switch. Might that have fixed the problem? But I’ll still have it checked.
That still presents me with the problem of finding competant help.
Would it pay to buy one of those circuit testing tools? Do they come with clear instructions?
Should I disconnect the main power, remove each outlet box and check for loose wires?
Thank you.
Geeeez… For $900+ dollars you could take a home study course in electricity for the home. It really is quite simple. Then, fix it yourself and the knowledge is useful in the future.
You might be opening up a can of worms that will require an electrician to fix, not that that’s a bad thing, but be ready to get on the horn with someone when things start to go badly for you.
Usually this sort of stuff will not be covered in a do-it-yourself manual and often times an electrician with experience will have a feeling about what is wrong and will start there. Experience and all that.
It needn’t be something complicated and it may be as simple as a loose wire nut, or a loose neutral wire in the panel. You’d have to shell out a few hundred bucks for the simple items I (or someone in my position) would bring out to the job to troubleshoot something like this - not to mention the years of experience you can’t buy.