Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Silver Spring

Flo P.

We hired them based on a recommendation from our realtor agent and will never again. The issue we had was banging pipes and they just recommended interventions to make money vs. fixing our issue (flush water boiler and change the anod rod). I had no experience in plumbers so trusted them and gave them $500!!!! For that. Total rip off even if the rod change was needed. On top they broke one of our fossetts and had to send another guy the next day to fix the damage the first crew had made

Leigh D.

Ben Franklin came to my home twice to assess a 3"" pvc roof vent pipe leaking at the right angle joint in the kitchen ceiling. When it rains, it leaks. We cut a hole so they could see everything. They got it wrong TWICE even given ample opportunity and evidence.

Their first visit notes say the PVC pipe was leaking, and to wait for rain. 5 days later (after rain) they returned and said they thought it was a roofing problem -rain coming down around the outside of the pipe and down through the walls and ""collecting on the lowest spot of the pipe"" (to quote one technician). They cut an extra hole in the kitchen ceiling and another upstairs in the master bath where the pipe butts up directly to the drywall. They charged me $158 (minus $25 discount) and said to wait until it rained again. But there was NEVER evidence of any moisture at all on the walls upstairs, and NO moisture on the plywood butting up against the pipe coming through the kitchen ceiling. The pipe was only wet only at the joint- not above it. (after the fact I learned that the purple primer was visible and the joint was not pushed together enough- hence the leak- WOULDN'T A PLUMBER SUSPECT THAT?) Simple solution was my husband put a $9.00 cap on the vent pipe where rain was coming in. (Like putting and umbrella over your head when it rains.) They recommended a $507 pipe replacement once they were convinced it was not a roofing flashing problem.

I gave them a chance to apologize... But I just talked with the manager who agreed with their hasty and erroneous actions, stating that one of them worked there for 20 years and asked, ""why did you let them cut holes in your wall?"" Lesson learned: years of experience do NOT guarantee that a plumber will always be correct and customer service goes along say to repair broken wallets and lack of trust. But not with Ben Franklin! I'm out $$ and have to pay for repairs.

Betsy G.

It took almost five years for their shoddy work to become apparent and now I'm having another (real, reliable) plumber fix it. Originally I called BF plumbing when the mechanism inside the back of my toilet finally broke and I couldn't fix it myself. The plumber who came said it wasn't easy to repair because it was so old but a new toilet would be not that much more. Great - I got a brand new toilet that wasn't going to break! Fast forward several years and the toilet has just come loose from the floor. I had time to make an appt with an actual local plumber to come see what was up. He showed me how the original installer had literally glued the toilet to the floor and then glued bolt caps onto the toilet so it would look as if he appropriately bolted it down. He also didn't actually seal the toilet down so there was five years of water damage to the subfloor. The new plumber is fixing it and all will be fine but never calling BFPlumbing ever again. They seemed like a good deal because there was a coupon and they could arrive quickly but it's not worth it!

Lisa T.

The work was done well and crew was very good. The office staff, Andi, did not follow up as promised with a refund for an overcharge and my written warranty info. I tried several times over a 3 month period with little or no response. They own me $360 and warranty still. Too bad, because they provided quality service on the project that cost over $12,000

Rohit R.

Called them over for a water heater that had stopped working. They wanted over $800.00 to fix it which is outrageous. The part that was needed to fix the unit cost me less than $150.00, I ended up looking on youtube for installation help, super easy to do. So we ended up replacing the burner assembly on the ao Smith ourselves and saved over $700.00. I wish they would be more honost and understand that if they are fair with the prices they might end up getting better reviews and more business.

Their quote probably included stuff I did not need like an expansion tank and changing put some lines. All I wanted was a cheap way to get my water heater working as it used to.

T T.

Total agree with the review from Jack. H on 11/2/16.
Overprice plumbing job. I got mine water heater replaced from the one located at Mt. Airy. I paid over $1800.00 and when I got home saw the invoice (my husband stayed home with the repair) without itemize, I called them up to request that. Didn't get call back after few weeks. I called again and then I got a call from the business owner. (Mr. Collins). I expressed my concern about the price and told him that I got the rough estimate (about $1000)over the phone when I called their customer service to book the service appointment. This is way overprice! He then offered to look into it. Over the phone, I requested to have the itemize on labor, tank price and warranty per year (cover 5years) I thought that if I got this information, I may consider only want to get one year warranty instead of 5 years. He emailed me back with all the nonsense about how much his company truck cost, how much the material in the truck cost and etc. Didn't even answer my question to provide me with the itemize pricing. I emailed him back with very clear and simpler request that I could possible put down - Please provide me with the itemize price of tank, installation labor and warranty per year.

When I opened his 2nd response email, all I can think of is this guy is something! In his email, he provided me the breakdown with how much the labor cost, tank cost, & the most crazy part is the overhead cost that he put down as over $800.00. (Which I had to pay for) he stated in his breakdown that his company profit is only $101.00....The 2nd most crazy thing I never heard of when I ask him the branch name of the tank. (I was at work when I email him and forgot to check myself the branch of the tank myself) and his response was - ""The brand of water heater we use is proprietary to our Franchise, so I don't think you will be able to look it up on the internet"" REALLY? He also stated in his email that he won't consider to reduce the cost of my invoice unless I pay a visit to his company facility in Mt. Airy during business hours, introduce me to his administrative staffs, and let me examine his company P & L statement. Then this is what he stated in the email. ""After doing this, if you can explain how we have overcharged you, I will negotiate a price reduction with you. As I have already stated, I have utterly nothing to hide, and you won't find any other plumbing/HVAC company willing to open their books for you!"" So Should I pay a visit to his facility in order to get price reduce? Lesson learn and I hope my review will prevent the next person to become the next victim of this overprice plumbing company.

Larissa P.

I called Benjamin Franklin Plumbing out on a leak call. I called several plumbers and had an answer prior to our appointment. I forgot to call and cancel. They were on time and gracious about my absent-mindedness. They offered to do an estimate, but the leak caused major damage which requires a full bathroom replacement. I would call them again.

Erich E.

RIP OFF -- GET A COMPLETE QUOTE IN ADVANCE! Ben Franklin charges $79 to come to and give an estimate -- NONE OF WHICH APPLIES TO THE JOB! They do not tell you this in advance.
I have used multiple plumbing services in the DC area and the estimate/up front fee is always applied to the work.
In terms of the actual job--installing a simple bathroom faucet which I had already purchased--the work was done competently. But it was hardly a job requiring any advanced skills or experience--I have personally replaced many such faucets. So I was astonished to hear that the Ben Franklin system (""we bill by the job, not by the hour"") produced an estimate of $290--PLUS the initial $79. $370 to install a simple Kohler faucet.

It is dishonest not to disclose your billing practices up front.

Paula W.

I had to have a sewer line repaired, the first plumbing company gave me a price $6000 over the estimate of Benjamin Franklin. They wanted to dig a trench from the back of my home, though my finished lower level and outside to the WSSC line. Benjamin Franklin used a trench less system by MidAtlantic Trenchless. They were amazing! The work is done, the results are great. Rafael and Carlos did a fantastic job. I hope I remembered your names correctly, if not, my apologies. Hardest workers I have ever seen. They were able to dig a hole in my laundry room and one hole outside. No torn up lawn, no torn up family room.

Patricia B.

This morning I had water gushing from a broken water pipe (it broke due to very cold weather)--immediately called three plumbers--Benjamin Franklin was the most responsive to my request--two people arrived in very short order--both were professional, knowledgeable and very nice--They stayed for several hours--waiting for some information from the water company (this was completely above and beyond, but greatly appreciated by me). Once they got the information they needed, the technician fixed my problem quickly and at a very reasonable price. They cleaned up all the extra water and left my house in much better shape than when they arrived. I am 100 percent satisfied with the services this company provided.