Benedict & Benedict

Charles H.

Total rip off. They installed a clean out on my sewer at $4,200 that does not meet code, and shall have to be replaced, at a cost of $1,500. The sewer reline Benedict did failed because they charged me for a full reline ($9,270), but only did a fifth of it. Had sewer relined completely last week for $10,950. Benedict pulled no permits when they did their work. Shoddy, inept, crooked. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

karen m h.

B&B used to be one company, then they split, and now once again they have combined companies I have had experience with the two companies until this last merger. Steve, one of the original owners was a fabulous plumber and person. He did a lot of plumbing for me after I bought my home in the mid 80's. Then he retired and his partner's son took over. After Steve's retirement, I had nothing but bad experiences with the company. They were not customer-oriented, were arrogant, and incompetent.

Then I had also used B&B A/C to install my heating A/C system a number of years ago. They did a great job and continued to service me every 6 months. Then that company sold to a person named Greg, who denied my contract. We were able to come to some agreement, and B&B continued to service my system for several more years.

Then it all stopped. Today after having been calling them all day with an A/C that went out completely and having called them number of times earlier to ask them about when they were going to service me. Nobody called back. Today a young lady (very polite but clueless) told me that I was not in their computer. The ""manager"" was supposed to call me back but never did.

I am now out the $169 annual fee and without recourse. Plus my house has been at 86 or so degrees for several days.

Today I finally went to another company that was rated very highly on Yelp. They will be solving my A/C problem this coming Wednesday. But alas -- another sleepless night in this heat!

MY FINAL CONCLUSION AFTER ALL THESE YEARS OF USING THEM AND HAVING THESE RECENT EXPERIENCES WITH THEM IS THAT BENEDICT & BENEDICT IS DEFINITELY NO LONGER THAT ONCE OUTSTANDING COMPANY WITH THE EXCELLENT REPUTATION. IN MY OPINION, THEY ARE NOW TO BE AVOIDED AT ALL COST!

Richard V.

I had been a very satisfied customer of Benedict & Benedict for 30 years. Then recently it was evidently bought out by Ritz Plumbing. My interaction with Ritz has been very poor, during two visits. I will here describe only the second visit. At a time I was too busy to service my own plumbing, I hired them to service the two shower faucets and decalcify the shower head in our bathroom. In brief, the two plumbers that showed up seriously screwed up all three jobs. They literally did not get anything right.

First, I later found out that they installed a cheap and inappropriate washer in the hot water faucet (thereby saving their company perhaps 30 cents), which explained why I could not regulate hot water flow properly beyond literally the first day. I called them back to fix it under the 30-day warranty they announced to me verbally (which differs from the 1-year warranty that appears in their paperwork). They immediately turned on the hot water full blast, observed that hot water did indeed emerge from the shower head, and declared hot faucet function to be perfectly normal. The head guy then proceeded to give me a lesson on how to turn on a faucet. (He could tell from my age that I had been turning on and regulating faucets for a number of years well in excess of twice his age.) I asked him to check the washer anyway, and he replied that this was a new problem and he would have to charge me for additional work. After considerable discussion that went nowhere, I was forced to announce that I was done with their company for good and threw them out of my house.

Second, they replaced the original Price-Pfister cold water faucet (which is readily available and inexpensive) with a cheaper knock-off which I found out much later I cannot even get into for normal servicing without calling a plumber with special equipment.

Third, their decalcifying of the shower head was very poor. Indeed, a year later, the flow was so restricted that I was forced to replace it. I also discovered then that its poor function arose in large part because the washer in the hot water faucet had by then fragmented, and most of it collected in the shower head, restricting water flow to well under half the normal rate.

The bottom line is that I vigorously recommend that all potential customers boycott Ritz Plumbing completely. It is possible, of course, that the gross incompetence of the two plumbers who worked for me does not extend to the rest of the company. But because it might (due to poor management from the top), I am strongly moved to call somebody else the next time I need a plumber.

Barbara A.

In 2010 Benedict & Benedict installed our water heater with an AABCO gas valve box (a controller with an igniter that relights the pilot). At that time, we had to have the controller replaced five times in a two month period because each unit was faulty.
Last week our pilot light went out and the igniter would not restart. We called Benedict since they had installed the water heater. Russell came, and declared that the hot water heater was dead and needed to be replaced. When questioned, he insisted that the gas valve box could not be replaced and the whole water heater was done....after only six years. He admitted that six years falls short of the usual 12 to 15 years life expectancy but ""sometimes this happens"". He gave us two options: a replacement water heater for $1300 OR an on-demand tankless system for $4800. He pushed the tankless heater as a great option. We sent him away and said we woud think about it.
We called our back up plumber who came and within 15 minutes fixed the broken igniter for $96.
I will never again use Benedict. If you use them, get a second estimate if they are suggesting major replacement costs.

Robert S.

Benedict and Benedict did a superb job repairing our plumbing at our business. They were punctual, well staffed and completed the job in a timely manner at a fair price. I would highly recommend this company for future plumbing work.

Jayashree P.

I used this company on the recommendation from other company.
The girl ""Ruby"" was very rude when I made an appointment.
The company charged me $6000 for changing leaking pipe from heater and supposedly sanitizing! The work took about 5 hrs.
Not only my CC was charged for extra $4300 I am still trying to get my money back.BE WARNED DO NOT CALL THIS COMPANY.

Ellen L.

I have used this company for years, but was not aware they recently sold out to Ritz plumbing, a big company with poor ratings on Yelp (read the horror stories and shudder) and an ""F"" from the Better Business Bureau. I called for a toilet backed up. They came out that day (although an hour later than I was told to expect) and the technician was very pleasant and seemed very efficient. They used the video camera, and told me my main sewer line was broken due to roots.

They replaced that part of the line, looked at the rest, and said I had two more bad areas and recommended replacement out to the city sewer. He gave me the option of simply clearing out the roots, but said it would only give me a few years before I needed replacement of those areas. I told him to go ahead and replace. Next he said the saddle connection to the city sewer was old, and ""a weak point."" I agreed to let him replace that as well.

Timing was an issue. Initially he said work would be completed that day, but by the end of the day had extended it to next day (Friday), and finally that they would return on Saturday or Sunday to ""finish up."" Although I could now use my facilities, they left the cap off the cleanout, so water from the kitchen sink went into and pooled in an outdoor area. Over my confusion as to which cleanout was correct, they had disconnected my gray water cleanout, which they didn't reconnect, so shower water poured out right next to the house.

In any case they didn't come over the weekend, despite me calling, and a supervisor promising someone would be there on Sunday. I called again Monday and a tech came out. This tech also seemed efficient. He found that the line ""missed a spot,"" and they had to dig again to fix that area and redo the last bit of piping near the street. I was once again promised it would be done that day, but after 8 hours (with several hours after during which I could not allow anything down the drain) it once again got too dark to work and finishing was put off to the next day. He promised to be there early to finish before I would need full service in the afternoon -- needless to say he did not show up. More phone calls, and an agreement to come the next day.

They did come the next day and finish, and when I got home from work, I saw they had placed a clean out in the middle of the lawn. This had not been discussed with me, and while a clean out is good to have, in the middle of the lawn is not a good place. Another phone call and another scheduled visit to move the clean out.

I certainly understand if it takes more than one day to replace the line, but I don't understand why I was then constantly promised, ""it will be done today"" several days in a row.

After reading some of the horror stories about RItz, I now wonder if any of what they told me I needed was true; and if some of what they told me was true, how much.

Joel L.

This was the worst experience, way way over charged, althoug Iam partly to blame they are not Benedict and Benedict but rather Ritz plumbing,on the phone they identify themselves as B and B....no truck or stationary with that logo..they have numerous citations from the California consumers board of contractors
Again my own fault for not researching properly,these people do business in a very shady manner,my opinion stay away from this business

Nancy G.

Benedict & Benedict has been my plumbing service since the 1970's - fair prices, reliable and courteous plumbers. Apparently they no longer have their own staff and are acting as a referral service. Two courteous young men showed up from Ritz Plumbing, which, one explained, was an ""associate"" of Benedict & Benedict. He offered to supply and install a garbage disposal for $975. I expressed disbelief. He said had seen his boss go as low as $675 but couldn't go lower due to overhead costs. I said I would get another estimate. After he wrote up his estimate, he said he would have to charege for a written copy, but could e-mail me one for free. (There were at least 2 carbons under the form. As of 1 week later, no e-mail.) A Sears disposal cost $100 + $150 for installation. They sent a plumber from A-1. With an electrical cord, the total was $275 plus tax. Sears gave me the installation charge when I bought the disposal. I will not use Benedict or Ritz again.

A B.

They've changed ownership within the last year and didn't disclose this to old-time customers. Same day service and the work is still good. They arrived on time and were very nice. John and Luis did a great job. Just be advised!