Benjamin Franklin Plumbing - Novato

Anne Z.

This company charges for you to reserve a time for their plumber to come to your home. This charge does not cover any work. I was asked if I wanted a 2 hour window for $89 or a 3 hour window for $79. I chose the former but assumed this would cover part of the work being done. I was a new customer and was not advised that this was simply to reserve a time. The charge to clear a drain was about $250 (about 40 minutes of time) plus the $89. Really outrageous! I called back and got nowhere. Needless to say I will not be using them again.

Jerry L.

Had Benjamin Franklin out to quote me on fixing a leaking drain pipe in my basement below the kitchen. The old galvanized had rotted through. He explained that he would replace the pipe from the kitchen down to the basement and connect it to the main drain pipe just as the existing pipe had been.

When he came upstairs to quote me he pulled out his rate book and showed me that this type of repair would be just over $2000. Unbelieveable! I asked how long it would take to repair. He estimated about 5 hours. So I pointed out that he was charging me over $400 an hour. He said they didn't look at it that way and that they have a lot of overhead. I told him I did look at it that way and paid him the $79 service fee they charge just to show up.

Hired DripTech to do the same job (the plumber used to work for Benjamin Franklin) and they did the entire job for $600 and were done in 3 hours. Benjamin Franklin is a ripoff.

George D.

Ben Franklin Plumbing earns their one star because of misinformation that cost me $1500. A water heater broke in a house I rent out, and I could have replaced it with a cheap heater. Instead, the Ben Franklin plumber said, I could install a tankless heater (more than $4000), but that it would save energy and I'd get a $1500 tax credit back. I agreed to buy the tankless, only to find out that if you rent the house out, you don't qualify for the credit! That cost me $1500, and I'm plenty mad. I'm sure the plumber wasn't trying to con me, but he know I was renting the place, and I trusted him because Ben Frankliin's a big operation. The most ironic thing is that I actually think Ben Franklin has prompt and professional, if relatively expensive service. But this, and their lack of response to my repeated phone calls has soured me on them.

Stuart S.

I had a dishwasher that wasnt draining properly so I responded to a postcard mailer from Benjamin Franklin. Big mistake. This guy comes over and you can tell from his questions he is trying to make a big deal out of this situation. Hey I said all this is a backed up hose, so lets fix that. He doesnt even test the dishwasher and pronounces that I need a new pipe and air cap. Well I could also buy a whole new dishwasher with hookup service for the $509 he wanted to charge me! Are you kidding? I had a $20 problem and he wants to start replacing parts. Run, down walk away from these guys!

Terri M.

We had been a long time customer. (from the previous owners) Sad to say that the company does not treat loyal customers well. Had been harassed, overcharged, yelled at and lied to. We own a large property management company and are fed up with them. Customers beware!

Marie R.

I like to research EVERYTHING before I have to do it. Especially when it comes to home repairs. As a new homeowner, and a single female I'm paranoid of being taken advantage of. There's definitely things I can fix on my own, but plumbing is new to me. So, I thought I'd go with a national brand that's been known to have a good reputation....I mean, geez, they were on The Apprentice with Donald Trump, so they must be good right...uh no. Here's what happened...

My guest bathroom toilet was loose and the guest bathtub was a little leaky. After speaking with several people, they told me this shouldn't cost more than $150 max. to fix. Interestingly enough, the repairman at Benjamin Franklin (I really wish I could provide his name, but his signature is like chicken scratch...lucky bastard). Anyway, after spending about 10 min. explaining the ""science of plumbing"" to me, he produced a quote of the following (actual quotes below):
""$295 to pull toilet and reset toilet""
""$359 to rebuild faucet in shower""

I calmly and politely asked, ""how did you come up with those prices?"" His answer, albeit defensively, was that it came from a rate card (which he proudly showed me). Unfortuately for him, that did not answer my question. I responded with, ""This service should not cost more than $150. Why are you charging me $700 for this?"" He reiterated his earlier comment about the rate card and then said that since I wasn't a Benjamin Franklin member, my rates were higher. So, I thanked him for coming out, told him I wouldn't be moving forward with him, and asked him to leave. He looked at me in shock and somewhat dumbfounded, then shrugged his shoulders and said ""fine"" (albeit defensively, again). Packed up his stuff, and I showed him out...thanking him again, of course.

About a week later, one of my best friends came out to check out my toilet. She's been a homeowner for about 10 years now, so she's got all kinds of tools. She pulls out her little toolkit, removes the toilet bolt covers, refastens the bolts underneath, and low & behold the toilet is fixed! (And to think I came close to paying $300 for that!)

Now, the shower faucet is another story...however, after reading a few home repair books, this should be fairly easy to fix. That said, I think I'll use that $359 for something else, thank you very much!

Don W.

I've had Dominic respond to two after hours service calls. He does very good work (trouble shooting a very old tub faucet that leaked and clearing a sewer line), but the company rate structure is very high. In an emergency it is work it.

lis p.

the best service ever!!! i am recovering from eye surgery from a bicycle accident...can't leave the house...stopped toilet...called benjamin franklin and dominic--a star plumber, got to my house in under an hour, fixed the toilet in five minutes! highly recommend these folks!

Mario G.

I know these negative reviews seem whiney, and I've never written one before, but I'm move to do so now. Ben Franklin Plumbing presents themselves as a caring local plumber, and they are very nice on the phone, but they are actually a big chain, and have a very devious charging system. You will pay a lot for them to show up and this will be added, not credited, to the work you do. Then they don't actually account for the time and material they use. Instead, they create these very expensive categories that are impossible to understand but end up costing you a lot. After my wife got overcharged I called them to discuss and they bounced me around and never resolved the issue. You might as well pick the company with the biggest ad in the Yellow Pages.

Lani W.

I had given a referral to a friend of mine for Benjamin Franklin Plumbing Services.Dominic arrived at her house punctually and did a very,honest and professional job on a tankless water heater.She called me back and was very grateful for the referral.She will definately be calling them again for any future plumbing problems.Not to mention she added he was extremely handsome.It made me proud.