Benjamin Franklin Plumbing

Tom D.

I am not inclined to post negative reviews online, but this company's misconduct against me is so egregious that I cannot remain silent and am compelled to warn others. Moreover, I attempted to contact them by letter to their main corporate office of record, but the postal service returned my correspondence as undeliverable. I contacted them through their LinkedIn page, but I have not received a reply after two months. This past August, my water main between the meter and the house sprung a leak. A plumber from Ben Franklin provided a quote of $5.4K, which I agreed to. This was predicated on their representation that a new PEX line would replace the existing PVC line. This would require them to trench through the yard with extensive roots from a large oak tree and cut through the concrete driveway. I signed the agreement and provided my credit card information. On a subsequent morning, two immigrant workers from Ben Franklin arrived to perform the work. They handed me a tablet and insisted that I sign a statement that the work had been completed to my satisfaction. I initially stated that I would not do so because the work had not started, but they insisted I sign before they could begin working. Believing that I was dealing with a reputable company, thinking that the workers were confused and limited in their understanding of English, and needing to get the problem fixed ASAP, I signed the tablet. One of the workers began digging through the lawn with a round-point shovel. I had expected that they would have had a mechanical trencher. I expressed my concern that it would be very difficult and time-consuming to dig the trench in that manner. The worker advised that he was marking the path of the trench and would switch to using a trenching shovel to do the digging. A short time later, I noticed that the worker was digging the trench with the round-point shovel. He told me that there was no trenching shovel on the truck. I own a trenching shovel, which I allowed him to use. As he struggled to slowly dig through the roots, the other worker was busy uncovering the connections to the meter and house. After about an hour, one of the workers had an epiphany. The PEX line they were installing was ¾ inches, and the existing PVC line was 1 inch, so they could simply snake the PEX through the PVC and avoid digging the trench. I questioned whether that was proper, and I was advised that they checked with the plumber, who said that was the best way to go. I complained that because the scope of the work changed, I should not have to pay $5.4K. They called the office with my complaint, and the response was that I had signed the agreement and that they would not lower the cost. The workers needed a torch to connect the new line to the house's copper tubing. Unbelievably, the truck did not have a working torch. Fortunately, I had a working torch that I allowed them to use. Eliminating the time spent futilely digging and then refilling the trench, I generously estimate that the job required 1.5 manhours and $250 in materials. As the workers were sent out ill-equipped to do the job as initially planned, I concluded that the plumber knew that this was a simple job--I was scammed. I would recommend that you stay away from this company.

Joe T.

STAY AWAY!! We contracted with Benjamin Franklin Plumbing to replumb our residence. After the work was completed, we required them to come back several times to correct and fix some minor issues. We also had one person go underneath the house to ensure there were no leaks or other issues and he said there were none. Several months later we had an issue with the shower door not fitting correctly and we attempted to fix that without success. We also noticed that we needed to re-caulk the shower area in the bathroom. This past fall, the door to that bathroom would not close properly. We also noticed that the caulking in the shower was stretched and that there was a large gap between the molding on the bathroom floor and on the outside wall of the bathroom. We realized at that time we had a serious issue that was worsening. We had to get a foundation company to come out and evaluate our problem. The company came out and assessed that our foundation was sinking due to the cutting that was made to the main structural girder by the Benjamin Franklin plumber in order to easily allow plumbing to be installed. A non-standard and non-code fix of the main support girder was made by the Benjamin Franklin plumber, which led to the eventual failure of the foundation. (We provided Picture Attachments and Email Attachments to Benjamin Franklin). We also attached the Proposal from the Foundation Company and the payment receipts for the total of $4185.00 to put in the foundation supports. There were also pictures of the supports attached to the email sent to Benjamin Franklin Plumbing. We asked to please let us know what are the next steps and how will Benjamin Franklin compensate us for our loss and damage to our home. It is very evident to us that Benjamin Franklin Plumbing does substandard and non-code work. Below is an outline of our communications with Benjamin Franklin Plumbing: - Mr. Mathew Olsen passed our complaint to upper management (Mr. Mario Martinez and Mr. James Mullis) on 8 February 2024. - They held a meeting on 13 February 2024 to discuss our complaint. - Mr. Olsen requested to come by and take pictures in the crawl space on 14 February 2024. Told me to contact them the following week to check on status of our complaint. - Texted Mr. Olsen 21 February 2024 for feedback - never answered. - Called and left a voice mail for feedback - never replied. - Sent emails to Mr. Olsen on 28 February 2024 and 29 February 2024 and have received no response to date. It is very evident to us that Benjamin Franklin Plumbing does substandard and non-code work. There is absolutely no quality control for work performed by their teams. They definitely do not stand by their work or product.

Kaye M.

Quick response and friendly technicians but the pricing and """"upsell"""" from management is terrible. We had them install the pump they recommended, then only two years later they told us we needed to upgrade to a pump twice as big for $5,000. I had a couple questions for the manager but he wanted to argue instead of answering the questions. I will never call them again -- there are plenty of quality competitors to choose from. Avoid!

Gene D.

Never Use unless you want to spend a lot of money. Had them come out to service my rental House. Had a Service Charge of $89.00 not to bad, for two clogged pipes. Then they gave me 3 quotes to fix the clogs starting at $2063 up to $20,842. Had Emerald Bay Plumbing from Niceville come out for a second estiment, they fixed both clogs for $265.00 total. Never call Benjamin Franklin again!

Beth N.

Had a gentlemen come out after hours and quoted me over $2500 for a service and had a second opinion by another plumber and he provided the service and fixed my issue for less that half that price

Sherrie W.

BEWARE!! This company is notorious for scamming the elderly. My dad had early stage dementia and when their sink backed up, this company told him that he needed to have the floor jackhammered in order to replace the pipe - estimate of $15,000. My dad was hesitant so the company said they could install a sewer pump outside the kitchen on the patio for the low cost of $8,000!! I wasn't aware of this until after it was done. I had an honest plumber look at it and he cleared the clog, hooked up the old drain and it works perfectly. If your hair is gray, this company sees dollar signs. I can't believe they are still in business. They'll pay for their deceit and greed in the end. PLEASE get a second opinion before you sign anything with them!!!

Danny R.

on August 27, 2020. I called Benjamin Franklin and asked for a plumber to come unclog the drain. The plumber arrived and did a very good job. Now to my problem. I wrote the check for $277 for approximate hour and 30 minutes work but I understand that's the going rate. It has been 130 days since I wrote that check it was posted on January 14, 2021. They sat on my payment for four months and did not even have the decency to call and say we just found this check you want to write us a new one or should we go ahead and post it. I called to find out what the problem had been and was told all the managers are busy I should call back some other time. Benjamin Franklin will never get any more of my business and I will never recommend them to anyone

Rich W.

I had a Benjamin Franklin come to my home in Miramar Beach to install 2 faucets. That's it - installation of two faucets. I provided the faucets and every part needed. The plumber was on time and provided a a price before starting - 775.00- for EACH FAUCET! 1550.00 for 4 hours, at a leisurely pace, of labor. I've owned many homes, used many plumbers and electricians, and other pro's- but this was a fleecing like I've never seen. Unfortunately I really needed this work done that day. But it didn't end there - after I reviewed my credit card charges online later the same evening - these guys charged me double! A 3000.00 charge to my credit card. Thank god I checked. I called them the next workday and they immediately refunded half, but good companies don't operate like this.

Linda H.

I finally called a plumber to unclog my toilet. He came earlier than scheduled which was good. He said in 35 years this was the hardest toilet to unclog. It took him maybe 20-30 minutes to unclog it. During the process his """"snake"""" popped out resulting in feces to splatter all over toilet, wall above toilet and rugs. I am not pleased he didn't clean up anything. However, since I have never used a plumber before I don't know if they are not required to clean up. Luckily my Senior Care Giver was scheduled to arrive within the next hour so I was able to get it cleaned up, as I am not able to do anything like that.

Amanda J.

Needed to have a toilet looked at because it rocked slightly. They came out the same day (within a few hours of my first call). The dispatcher was very nice and polite. The two guys who came out were extremely professional, wore booties to keep the house clean, had their own shop vac and towels to keep everything clean and dry. They were in and out in under an hour. Replaced a bolt, and the wax ring (because you have to any time you unset a toilet) and I believe they used some shims to keep it from wobbling. Now.... the bill $270.00. That is more than we paid for the brand new toilet from Lowe's. I didn't ask for same day, they said they had techs in the area so they would be here anytime from 10-2. Would I use them again? No. But not because of the service which was great. But there is no way that was worth 270.00. A little surprised they didn't caulk around the bottom of the toilet. Would assume that would of been done. You live and you learn.