Benjamin Franklin Plumbing - Charlotte

Gina C.

Going online to write a review for Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, I was surprised to see how awful they are. I wish I had checked before I called them, because calling them was a big mistake. I had an outdoor water spout that wouldn't shut off. The water was leaking and flooding the area. The technician Benjamin Franklin sent out was a total amateur with a bad attitude, nor did it appear that he wanted to get his clothes dirty. Heaven forbid he would have to go under the house. On top of this, he didn't want to go around the corner to turn off the water main (I guess it was too far away). I told him it was just around the corner and that I'd go with him. When he saw the cover, he indicated that he couldn't do it because the cover was too heavy and he would have to jump into the area to turn the water main off. He finally acquiesced, but he dropped the cover into the hole and couldn't get it out. Bottom line, he left without doing one thing and charged me $61 for the service call. I had to call another plumber, who came out and capped the spout to stop the leak. He said the service call fee would go toward the actual repair. Bad enough that I had to call another plumber, but I had to call someone else to come and get the cover out of the water main. If I could give Benjamin Franklin zero stars, that is what they would get from me. They are AWFUL!!!

Yvonne O.

So, the company sends out an UNVACCINATED plumber on an elective appointment for a hot water heater. The plumber tells me he is waiting to see what happens!!!!! So I guess this is the companies attitude towards dealing with the public. A pandemic which has killed millions and they let their staff come into peoples homes still UNVACCINATED.
Outside of the fact that they wanted over $4000.00 to install a gas hot water heater in the attic. Ridiculous!

Ms B.

DO NOT CALL THEM

WHAT A BAD DAY with Benjamin Franklin plumbing, toilet flush is making little noise, wanted to replace the valve pipe, but shocked with the price he quoted almost $350 ( $265+57(trip)), valve kit price is less $20, I decided not to go with the service, still he charged trip price $62 for not doing anything....WORST COMPANY, PLEASE DO NOT CALL THEM FOR ANY SERVICE

Rich L.

Wish I could give them less than zero (negative) stars. Absolute grifters. My hot water heater ruptured and it was an emergency. They came out, said they could come back the next day (despite their 24 hour guaranty). OK, come back. The guy comes back, by himself, and asks me to help carry the old heater out and the new one in. He tracks mud through my house in the process. He starts hooking up the new heater and the threads strip. He also insisted I had to buy an extended warranty for 25% of the cost of the heater. I declined and he said it was company policy I had to buy the extended warranty. He got his manager on the phone and after a long discussion agreed I did not have to buy the warranty. The next day the plumber comes back this time with another new hot water heater, which I have to help him carry in. Six months later the water heater stops heating and BF comes back and says we don't do warranty service, only our extended warranty service if you had bought one. But since you didn't, that will be $200. WTAF? Never, ever let these clowns in your house.

Rick G.

Do not hire these guys. They are fast talking and will sell you junk water filter and then not instal the same one they told you that you would get. Kim, very fast talker and liar. He comes across so honest that he makes you a believer. I spent over $10,000 to repair a water leak which was recommended over a whole house repipe. Didn't work and then they wouldn't give me a discount on the repipe. I sued them and lost as the judge didn't give me a chance to rebuttal their claims which were lies. If you don't believe me, at least make sure before they begin work that the detail of everything is documented. Do not trust their word. These are really bad people.

Dave H.

Looked to hire them to do a line replacement on my house, they charged me $399 just to ""find the leak"" and quoted me over $6,000 for the repair!!! Meanwhile, the very next plumber I call offers to do the exact same job for $2500! THIS PLACE IS A SCAM! They try to charge outrageous prices to people who they count on not knowing any better! I will NEVER do business with this company ever again. Please don't waste your time hiring this company for anything, they will overcharge you!

Ronald M.

I would recommend staying away from this company. I had a basic plumbing issue that took all off about 1minute to fix. I was charged $182.
Yes, everyone deserves to make a living. But my problem was the way they went about it. The tech was friendly enough -- no complaints there.
When I first called and made an appointment I asked what the charge might be. He said $57. When the tech arrived I asked the same question. He too said $57. (what they say just casually is that this was the visit service charge). What they really don't tell you is that what they decide to do will cost more -- a lot more. The $57 comment is just a come-on. I was not told before the work was complete what the charge would be.
Making matters worse was the tech went away for about 20 minutes into his truck and came back with a list of special services we might consider the total cost of which was an amazing $6,900. Of course I said no.
I just feel this company could have a better more direct and honest approach.
Maybe they all do it, but I would try others before I would use this company again.

Naseth F.

Had a clogged washing machine pipe. Benjamin F. Rep came over and without looking at anything, started telling me they offer a credit line. Hmm, now remember, just having this guy step in my door, he has already made this company $60+.
He takes a quick look but refuses the crawl space under my home. Sits in his truck for 15 min and gives me 3 choices. Pay $500 to get on my roof and send a snake down my pipes (work not guaranteed), pay $1500-$2500 water purifying equipment, or over $5k for all new pipes under my home due to ""massive corroding"".
I sent him on his way, rented a snake for $45, watched a YouTube video and pulled out 2 Clorox wipes from the pipes. My plumbing is fine.
Still had to pay these clowns their $65.
Every time I see their vehicles going down the road, I tell anyone in the car the story.
Stay away. These people just want that initial fee. Think about it, $65 an hour is quite the racket. Anyone can do it as long as you throw away your conscience everyday on your way to work.
I really hope this helps others save money.

Elisa W.

Called them today to get a quote for a simple, known issue. We have photographs and measurements so we could get a quote/estimate over the phone. They don't do quotes over the phone. They want to come out for $147.

And based on others' reviews, it looks like they're extremely overpriced.....$741 on top of a $140 trip charge for a garbage disposal replacement? Wow. That's crazy. A garbage disposal costs $80-$250 (the average being around $150), depending on how fancy you want to get and takes no time to install....

I should have read the reviews before calling, as I would have saved them and myself time.

I would like to urge this company to reconsider its pricing model. IMHO, these company practices/tactics seem to take advantage of people in emergency situations.

David N.

I am still not able to get a straight answer from anyone at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing about this issue.

I have been renovating houses in the Charlotte area for the past few years. We are not a huge company, but we do a few houses each year and on this particular house, we needed a plumbing company to quote moving bathtub pipping. I spoke to a tech who was going to be the technician coming out to quote this plumbing job. I let him know I wouldn't be able to meet him at the property but I gave him the lockbox code. The tech went to the house, but I didn't receive a quote or call afterwards. I heard nothing back from the tech that came or anyone from the office. Then, I was completely blindsided by a collections agency. They were claiming about $100 more was due than what I agreed to over the initial quote scheduling call. Bonita Mullins was who I first spoke to, she had a aggravated tone it seemed each time. She said I had to talk to a supervisor and I was given Paul Stephano. I was able to speak to Paul, and he last said that he would look into in and give me a call back. However, we are about 3 weeks from that call and I haven't heard back. For me, the dollar amount is not as important as the principal of conducting good business. I feel like I've been treated like small potatoes, and even though I don't rehab or build 100 homes per year I should still get the courtesy of receiving a quote or at least a discussion of what work was needed.

Edit 6/16/20: This was not a one time thing. I spoke to both Paul and Bonita again and Paul made it seem like he never spoke to me. Bonita would say ""are you going to pay"" and soon after hung up on me. I am not aggressive, but will speak on what I believe in. I can definitively say this was the worst customer team I've ever encountered in Charlotte.