Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of North Austin

Lody E.

Very professional plumbers, but you pay for the mailings, the customer service operator, and the trucks. Outrageously expensive. I was taken for 400 for a leaky toilet. My fault, had same problem a few years back and had Craig's List plumber install kit for 50. If you guys were half way honest you would have more repeat customers. It hurts you guys because, now EVERYONE I KNOW has heard how you ripped me off, instead of a recommendation.

Susan S.

Mr Oldenkamp-

As you know from Joyce and Richard that I am concerned with the given prices to "make-over" two toilets with new parts. I have used you to replace the hot water heater sometimes ago.

When Richard mentioned the rough estimates for the two toilets. I told him maybe I should replace these 14 years old with new toilets and Richard explained that new parts will be just fine and it is much lower than buying two new toilets. I went along with Richard's advice. Richard suggested 'tune' up for hot water and other minor jobs done too.

When I got the final bill which was a whooper bit over $1,000+!!! Alone $600.00 was the 'makeover" of my toilets.

I was not happy with these charges and decided to do my homework. My roommate and other friends' thought it was a rip-off and showed me various toilets in Home Depot or Lowes. They are much lower than the repair and labor charges. And some of these toilets have mechanics to reduce water being flushed equipped with two different kinds of flushes. I even checked the parts itself at Home Depot, which the most expensive replacement is less than $30.00.

Richard came again today for the leak I experienced in one of the toilets; I shared my concern with Richard. He showed me purchasing prices of "new toilets" though your company, which were way over $600. I showed him printed documents from the internet of various toilets. Richard explained replacements of the 'Ben Franklin' (printed with the same name on the flush valves) parts are better than Home Depot or Lowes.

After Richard fixed the leak, I informed him that I am not satisfied with the pricing and felt two toilets replacement parts and the labor should be one price of $300.00 that was fair and reasonable. Richard explained the labor fees, which may be the reason for these prices. I mentioned to Richard that he was doing his job but I would discuss this further with the owner (you).

After Richard left, I called Joyce and asked for you. You suggested for me to write an email to you. I had the feeling that you were either avoiding me or not being comfortable using the 3rd party person when using the relay for the deaf video conversation since I am deaf.

I am still angry and upset with being taken advantage of my ignorance when comes to plumbing and pricing.

I plan writing this unfortunate situation on Angie's List, Yelp and Face Book letting other consumers know to check with pricing and compare before signing or paying anything first.


Sincerely,
Susan Sien

Matthew C.

Horribly OVERPRICED!! This company ripped off some friends of mine that are in their 80s!!! Benjamin Franklin plumbing charged them $700 to replace the insides of 2 toilets! You could have bought 2 new toilets and had them installed for that price!! Why don't they tell people that! I don't care if you they have a "pricing" book! They need to revise it and change their pricing! My husband talked to the owner Fred to confront him about ripping off elderly people that all they have is social security, but his excuse was he has to charge that because of all his overhead and advertising costs. My reply to that is STOP advertising and start treating your customers RIGHT!! Then you won't have to advertise because everyone will pass your name along. Word of mouth is the best advertisement! PLEASE save yourself some money and call around and find a better price, because it is out there.

Charles J.

This guys are total crooks, including the owner Fred that later tried to justify the outrageous pricing. They took my 96 year old mother-in-law to the cleaners while my wife and I were out of town for the day. Her shower started leaking and she called them because she had a FREE service call coupon in the mail. They replaced the cartridge in the shower. At most a 30 minute job if you are slow and dumb. At $100 per hour and a $15 part, the bill should have been $65. So did they double it ? No! They presented her with a bill for $305. She talked them down to $280, paid them and told them to leave. Her water pressure hasn't been the same since. DON'T CALL THESE PEOPLE EVEN IF THEY ARE A LAST RESORT. They need to be run out of business.

Ted A.

Benj Franklin Plumbers:

Summary: Exceptionally competent, unconsciously overpriced.
Prices are quoted from a book which gives a worst case price with tons of padding. No reduction when job is easy. If you enjoy a feeling of having been "took", this is the outfit for you. The work gets done but you're left with a bad taste and an empty wallet.

Examples: 1. Repair gas pipe. Price: $223. Job took 15 minutes and required 1 8x1/2" black nipple and cap. 2. Repair faucet: Price: $153. Job took 30 minutes, no parts. 3. Replace hot water tank: Price $1525. for 6 year tank (after $185. "discount"). Competitors prices were from $850. to $1050.

Bill W.

I got a card in the mail for a free service call and had a leaky hose bib in the yard so I decided to schedule an appointment. It was $93.00 to replace the hose bib, at most a $15.00 part at HD and the installation took all of 20 minutes, tops. The technician was very pleasant and professional but the price was ridiculous. What was worse he tried to sell me an annual plumbing contract!! If I hadn't received that card it would have been an additional $59 for the hose bib??? Never again.

Debbie M.

We learned about a plumbing leak in our yard from an unusually high water bill. We called one plumbing service and were surprised to be transferred to Benjamin Franklin's answering service.
Richard from B.F. came out at 7p that Friday night and gave us an idea of what would need to be done to find the leak. My husband and I knew it wouldn't be inexpensive and it wasn't.
Richard worked steadily on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to install a shutoff valve at the house and then to methodically locate the leak in our large yard which spans a creek bed. He was very pleasant and knowledgeable.
We will call Benjamin Franklin next time we need plumbing services.

Lance S.

Complete Rip-Off!!!! I was given an estimate of $800.00 to fix the plumbing underneath my house for busted pipe. I thought that was high but needed running water. Then they told me they would have to dig in front of my house because they couldn't get to the pipe underneath the house. Now they wanted $1,500.00 I had not had water 4 days and was desperate. So they dug a 3-4 feet and told me they couldn't 't fix it. My options were to seal off the faucet or allow them to put another hole in my house. I said just seal it. After sealing it and filling up the whole they presented me with a bill for $2,000.00. They increased the bill because there was clay!! Red clay in Austin Texas! Really!! I refused to pay the clay fee and moved on. Don't make my mistake! Don't call these guys if they were the last plumbers in Austin!!!! I only gave them a star because you have to rate them to get a review published .

John R.

I had a problem with a tankless water heater last week. Having read some tough reviews of B. Franklin plumbing, I was worried about calling them to work on it. But they had a guy (Jarrod) who they said was trained and could do it. And although he was a little late getting here (hence 4 instead of 5 stars), he did the job efficiently, professionally, and for a lot less money than I was quoted at the alleged "go-to" plumbers for this kind of job (texas heaters--they claimed they'd need a day to fix it and north of a 1000 dollars). So I ended up very happy that I called Benjamin Franklin and got this guy, Jarrod, to do the job.

Edward M.

Horribly overpriced. When I called Ben Franklin, I told them "this is the easiest money you'll ever earn". I had a leaking toilet tank, took the tank apart from the bowl, bought the appropriate gasket and just couldn't get the old gasket off. All I needed was someone with the right tools to remove the old gasket, put the the new gasket on, and reattach the tank to the bowl. This is a 15 minute job for a competent person with the right tools.

They came in and did the job while my wife was home alone and charged her $295. She didn't know any better and just paid. This is a ridiculous charge for an easy repair and Ben Franklin has lost a customer for life.