Daymion Bxn
map-marker Pensacola, Florida

Overpricing techniques non payment and racizm

I worked ten hr days for a week and a half and not only had to wait on my check 4 days after payday but was shorted around 800 dollars. I ran the sewerline to his house and passed inspection then he told me 3 days later that i made several mistakes to where he had to cut the pipes out and redo them. When I asked if he took pics. Of the mistake he had no proof and said that he already fix the problem and covered it up don't worry about it. When we had our weekly meeting one of the employees many races comment and he left along with it to everyone else was laughing I ignored it because I realized that he really was racist with the comments that he made to me later.
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Loss:
$800
Anonymous
map-marker Denver, Colorado

Letter to Ben Franklin Plumbing

Our water heater broke Feb 14, 2013. Since Ben Franklin had installed the last one we called them again. Marvin arrived quickly, installed the water and did a very good job. Since it was a bit of an emergency we had agreed to the parice of $1829. The next day we began to think it was extraordinarily expensive. At that time we called Home Depot and were told that a new water heater, installed with an 8-9 yr warranty would be $600-700. We then asked for a detailed invoice from Ben Franklin. It listed several items which we did not get nor want but were included in the "bargain price." One of the items was an emergency shut off valve. We had paid Complete Plumbing for a new one about 2 years and did not need another one. We have spoken to Chris at the office and complained about the misrepresentation. He said he wants us to be happy so he took $200 off the total. We are not happy. We would suggest that anyone reading this evaluation think twice about hiring this company. At least ask them for a detailed list of what is included in the asking price.
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Loss:
$900
Anonymous
map-marker Doylestown, Pennsylvania

Bait and overcharge

I needed a hose fitting cut and brazed. It should be a 15 minute job. I called Benjamin Franklin Plumbing and told them exactly what needed to be done. They said it was a $59 service charge, plus the cost of doing the job. I asked for an estimate, but the lady on the phone said she couldn't give it to me. (This is total BS, because they could get someone who know and I could get a reasonable estimate.) Regardless, I figured it couldn't cost all that much, being such a short and simple job. The guy got to my house and, first of all, said he didn't know if he had the parts. This was my first hint at their incompetence, since I had exactly described what needed to be done. Then, he gave me the estimate: $189, PLUS the $59 service charge. SERIOUSLY?!? $248 for a 15 minute (max) job? Even the guy who showed up agreed that it is a quick and easy job.
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2 comments
Guest

Worst run company in north America I worked for them it's complete garbage they higher techs with zero plumbing experience and teach them "sales" and pay commission so if the customer doesn't" buy what your selling" you make 5 dollars that's to drive to your house find the problem and give you your options . That's why they are so bad

Guest

Same situation here. I know how long it takes to cut a copper pipe and solder it.

That's all the salesman... i mean plumber, would have to do. He then questions me relentlessly wanting to know how I know. Pretending like YouTube doesn't exist.

Bad situation all around. I gave him the 49 dollar service fee (not sure why yours was 59) and told him to hit the road.

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Anonymous
map-marker Greeley, Colorado

$520 to replace a leaking faucet crooks!

I called to have a routine maintenance on my water heater as part the membership I got through albrax with my furnace. He failed my water heater stating that it was too old. "I know I told him." they wanted $1300 to $2000 to put in a new one, I told him no my plumber would do the whole job for way less. Then he complained about my washer and dryer hoses they are less than two years old but he wanted to charge me $120 to put in new ones I said there new and no. Then he said my faucet was leaking. I said I know it just needs the little rubber piece replaced. He quoted me $520 for a new faucet, my dad and I fixed it for .54 (less than a one dollar) like I said little rubber o ring. These people are crooks beware of Benjamin Franklin plumbing. Don't believe a word they say.
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Anonymous
map-marker Mckinney, Texas

Beware of False Estimates!

Plumber showed up and quoted me $230 to replace an outdoor faucet. I asked him about their advertised military discount, he informed me that they didn't have one. I informed him that the website said they did. He gave me a few seconds of "um/uhs" and told me since they waived the travel fee for the plumber since it was my first time having them come out, then he wouldn't be able to do the military discount on top of that. (Their website says no such thing.) After he told me the cost of the work, I politely thanked him for coming out to our house and that I would mull over the estimate, upon which he gave me an awful contemptuous look and left without saying much of anything. Now, since the plumber told me what the problem was, I got with my neighbor (who used to be a plumbing instructor) and found out that my problem was about a $2.00 fix and a trip to the hardware store. Sure enough. I replaced a washer and my faucet is as good as new. I will never call Benjamin Franklin Plumbing for any repairs as long as I live and I will discourage others from using their *** and dishonest service.
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Shawntel Wel
map-marker Mount Laurel, New Jersey

2 Section of PVC for furnace

Furnace PVC exhaust pipe cracked; condensation was entering the house. Called Benjamin Franklin and a plumber was scheduled for the next day and I was told it would cost $59 for the service call and the repair charges. Plumber arrived promptly at 8:37 a.m. He reviewed the problem, checked his notebook for the cost template and the charge was $388! This for changing 2 sections of PVC pipe and 2 PVC elbows; total of about 3 feet of PVC, maybe $10 worth of PVC, primer and cement. Couldn't use furnace, I had already called off two plumbers when BF technician arrived; I was captive. I suppose I could have called another repairman and waited another day, but we already slept one night without a furnace. Less than an hour later I was writing a check for $447!!! At that hourly rate this technician would bring in $900,000+ a year. Ironically, I had a plumber out this week who cleaned all of my drains, spent 2.5 hours, got very dirty and he charged me less than half that amount. I am not interested in beating these people out of their payment, I appreciate that they are professional, but I certainly can't afford to ever call the again; there is no way that this is a fair charge. Given that, I don't know what my loss is; I needed the job done and they did it. What is a fair charge?
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Loss:
$250
2 comments
Guest

Generally a fair price is the hourly rate which varies company to company-$110-$140 plus the price of parts. Also when considering the cost of parts you have to keep in mind that alomost all plumbers will put a mark up on the parts to cover cost's associated with the parts. From what it sounds like you probably should have paid alot closer to $200.

Guest

Yes this sounds very fair. I know it may seem like alot, but it is very expensive to operate a first class business.

Please remember that the average plumber only bills out 4 hours a day while putting in 9 or more. Compare the plumber rates with other rates and I think you will see that it ios not expensive. How much is your cell phone bill and how much is your cable bill and when was the last time you went out to dinner and did not spend less that 100.00. Not to mention groceries...

250.00 is the average weekly bill for most families. It is not uncommon for your doctor to bill the insurance company 500.00 for an office visit and well over 1000.00 for a small in offiv=ce proceedure.

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Anonymous
map-marker Tampa, Florida

They did nothing and charged me $224.00

They arrived early which was not to my or their advantage. They looked at the plumbing problem and did absolutely nothing. They were there for one hour and 15 minutes. They did not have a snake that would fit my drain per the technician. I had a coupon for the service call which they disregarded. The problem was a blockage five feet won the pipe from the bathroom sink. I had Meeks Plumbing come in and fix the plumbing issue and look at it with a scope in less than 15 minutes. You are crazy if you call these people.
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Loss:
$224
2 comments
Guest

AM SUSAN AUDET

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THANKS TO ALL LORD GBUKA, YOU CAN CONTACT HIS EMAIL VIA_______lordgbukasherine34@***.com OR CALL HIS PHONE NUMBER+234705****722...

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-689976

What a crock of shot dum .polock

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Dominyk Vzs
map-marker Grand Junction, Colorado

Ripoff

After having a call to have our sewer line cleared, 3 weeks later had to have it done again. The complaint is that they led us to believe that this was a recall back that would not cost us. He used the camera to push a tp ball through and then charged us $299 to do that. The supposed cost of running the camera was $507. After my wife got pi$$ed, he took that off. Also he did not tell us the cost at either occasion before doing the service. $549 for two trips forthe same thing. Why is it that the cost is so.much?
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Loss:
$249
Anonymous
map-marker Sedona, Arizona

Rip off

They charged 50 to show up because They couldn't quote a hose bib replacement over the phone, so they sent a guy out and he adds an additional 190 for soldering 1 hose bib what he says is a 45 minute job. They don't break down parts and labor he says. It's just a flat fee. If it's a flat fee why don't they tell you on the phone? They collected 50 even though we sent him away, that's why. Nice strategy. 272 for putting a hose bib on 10 minutes from the shop. Call a reasonable plumber and doan't waste your time with them. A straight water hose valve can be installed in half the time by a good plumber.
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Loss:
$50
1 comment
Guest

I bought two of the pocket hoses. Each one started leaking around the metal band where the nozzle goes.

My neighbor had the same problem with one he bought also.

Huge rip-off. DO NOT BUY!!

Anonymous
map-marker Elgin, Illinois

Very positive experience

I noticed several negative comments about Benjamin Franklin Plumbing and have had exactly the opposite experience. I have called them several times and they have responded almost immediately. This morning I had not hot water, I called after 10 and they said they could have someone at my home by 3 but would try to get someone sooner. They called back and had someone here at noon. I called back and said I may have solved the problem as I reset the power to the inline heater, and they said ok, they would talk and see if they should send someone anyway, just to check it out! I called back as the power failed again, they came at noon and fixed it. It was a clogged air filter. Their service out of De Kalb, Illinois has been great. My spouse and I were talking how much we like them, far better than any other plumbing company we have worked with in our 31 years of marriage.
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Anonymous
map-marker Tampa, Florida

Never Showed despite confirms

No show after waiting 4.5 hours.We are a "club customer". Issue has been planned for weeks as we are fixing an underground leak and must coordinate with other contractors.Confirmed appointment with one central dispatch, after waiting first two hours... technician not assigned... I just have to wait.Called after 4.5 hours... glitch in systems, request never entered. No urgency to respond to me now... how about tomorrow. How about I find another company.Also the plumber the sent before (good guys) was fired... probably for trying to do the right thing somewhere.Miserable attitude. Mario (boss), Brian (rep)
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Loss:
$1000
Anonymous

Rip off

The employee was friendly and competent. If it weren't for a coupon, just the visit out to tell us we had a leak would have been $100. Then maybe a 2 hour job turned into a 5 hour job with a $100 part and $800 labor. no lie! They are complete price gougers. When it takes nearly an hour to come up with all the pricing options, there is trouble. Sadly, it was an emergency and I needed it done. I wish I would have seen this site first. I would steer any one clear of this company, even if they needed a plumber badly.
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Loss:
$800
Anonymous
map-marker Niceville, Florida

Plumber came 12/5/12 to replace two washer hoses and brought only one.

I called Ben Franklin Plumbing on 12/5/12 and asked for a plumber to come replace two washing machine hoses (one of which had broken and flooded the house). He brought only one hose. He said he would have another hose put in his truck and deliver it. Two days went by - no hose. I called on Thursday, 12/6 and asked Adam where the hose was. He said he would contact Wayne (the plumber) and be sure he got it to me. One week went by and I visited Ben Franklin in Niceville and asked where the second hose was and was assured that they would have Wayne bring it. Tuesday at noon I visited Ben Franklin again and was told by Danielle (the manager) that they did not have it in stock, that it would be on the truck. At that point my husband forbid Ben Franklin Co. to enter our property. Kenny Sirmans (One Hour AC) called about 1 pm or so and asked if he could deliver the hose. Finally!!!!
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1 comment
Guest

Mr. and Mrs. Evans,

We deeply regret the miss communication on our part regarding the delivery of your washer hose. I am glad the problem has been corrected and assure you we will learn and train on this so future customers will not be inconvienced as you were. As I stated in our office, we have a 100% satisfacton guarantee and we will gladly refund your repair charges.

Yours in Service,

Daniela Engeldinger

Administrative Manager

Anonymous
map-marker Plano, Texas

Ben Franklin Plumbing (704 South Old US Highway 23 Brighton, MI 48114, 810-6**-**

My experience with Ben Franklin Plumbing (704 South Old US Highway 23 Brighton, MI 48114, 810-632-****) was as follows; I called them on Tuesday and set up an appointment for Thursday to have a Moen shower/bath cartridge replaced in my rental apartment. Due to my work schedule I couldn’t be there when the repair person arrived but I had asked my tenant to have the repair person call me before any work was performed.

The repair person who called told me that what I had was considered a “vintage repair”: I asked what that meant; he told me it was because of the age (Installed about 25 years ago.) of my equipment and it was considered a level 5 repair which consequently would cost $500.00 to replace the cartridge. Needless to say I thought this quote was outrageous and ask cost of the cartridge. The repairman told me it was $65; I said you are telling me it cost over $400 in labor to replace a cartridge, a job that takes around 30 minutes? (By the way if you want to see how simple this job is you can Google Moen shower cartridge replacement and watch a video clip) His reply was that he doesn’t set the prices management does and mentioned that he might have problems with a seal.

I told him that I could understand if he ran into problems additional expenses but $400 dollars an hour in labor. I was up against the wall, my tenant had been unable to use the shower/bath for two days so I told him to go ahead and do it but I would never call them again. At this point in time he said just to keep the peace he would drop it down to $295. Total cost of the job ended up at $317; so doing a little rough math subtracting taxes and parts the cost of labor was a bit over $200 an hour.

Had I been some with no familiarity with the job or a senior citizen easily duped I feel confident in saying the repair cost would have remained $500. I guess I should interject the reasons I didn’t do this repair is that I commute a long distance and work long hours so rather than trying to round up the part and tool needed to make the repair in my limited spare time, along with disturbing my tenant in the late evening the only time I had the time to do the repair I decided to call in the pro for expediency sake, big mistake. I’m a former contractor (electrical) and I find the cost of labor on this job completely outrageous, sure if you got me out of bed in the middle of the night it was going to cost you little extra but this wasn’t even an emergency, it was a scheduled repair. For those of you who might read this review and aren’t familiar with the world of contractors I’ll just add that at my current place of employment we use numerous contractors daily whose employees (plumbers, electricians, carpenters) are paid union scale and their cost per hour is less than half of what I was charged.

In my opinion Ben Franklin Plumbing in Brighton is the type of outfit that gives contractors a bad reputation.

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Loss:
$100
2 comments
Guest

200-300 per hour is becoming the norm fro profeessional plumbing contractors. This is probably why you no longer have your own contracting company. You did not charge properly

Guest

I don't think u could have done it your self and I bet they left you your choices before doing any work I have used them for years and will always use them

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Floretta Vrj
map-marker Littleton, Colorado

Overpriced Crooks

Had some minor plumbing word done at my home. In order to do it, they had to add a gang valve at my water main to shut off the main water supply. They said my current valve was not working, and they could not do the job. By adding that job they bumped their pricing to the next highest category (they price by job category, not by job). Now the gang valve is leaking, causing corrosion on my main water line. Called to have it fixed. Sorry cant...out of warranty. Cant provide estimate to replace a gang valve that they put in. So have to get charged a non-refundable service charge to get a 'free' estimate. Wont ever use them again. Would rather find an old-school plumber that does an excellent old-school job.
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Loss:
$700
1 comment
Guest

I am the General Manager for Benjamin Franklin plumbing in Denver Colorado. I appologize for the experience you are having, and would like to resolve this situation. My cell phone number is 303-210-****, please call me, so I may assist in getting this resolved.

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