Paul The Plumber

John L.

SCUM ALERT!!!
Just had a quote for $2,300 to repair a leaking radiant heat drip.
The wuss didn't want to get insulation on himself so cried to his boss (who in reviews by others as you can see has been called a crook!). Tech was trying to pull spray foam insulation down by punching it and hanging on it (security vid available on YouTube) like a monkey pulling down, no scraper or anything. He even admitted he didn't have the crimping tools and was mostly an hvac guy.
And Paul before you start your bullshit look at the pic. That's all I wanted and needed. $2,300. There should be a law.

Update! Exposed leak myself in 20 minutes and I'm an old man

Chuck D.

I do NOT recommend Paul the Plumber. After using Paul the Plumber (formerly Benjamin Franklin Plumbing) since we moved into our home almost 20 years ago, I can no longer recommend their services.


The AC stopped working during a July 2022 heatwave. We called PTP. Someone came out and assessed that we needed a new board. Ordered the $800+ board. PTP came out another day to install the board, however, the board wasn't the problem. It took hours to diagnose the problem. The technician was stumped ... even asked us if we had ""driven into the unit"" - which we had not - it looks as good as the day it was installed. He was perplexed because 14 lbs of refrigerant were just gone. After checking everything out, the grumpy lead technician (who didn't want to have to do XYZ to find the problem .... he forgot the windows were open because there was no AC - I was in the laundry room right outside where they were working, so I heard him complaining) finally opened the unit to see the Goodman heat pump pipes had rubbed together so much they wore holes in each other. Hence, the refrigerant leaked. The technician agreed that it was a manufacturer defect with the pipes so close together. But, we needed a new heat pump.


Day 3 - PTP had to come out again to install the heat pump. We verified that they put insulation around the pipes this time. BUT - when you come to do an install, you should have all your supplies. The men left at 9:20 and didn't return until 10:00am because didn't have enough propane for his torch. Then, the lead technician didn't realize he was missing the external temp sensor. He would have known this had he noted where the wires were before he disconnected the unit. Then, before lunch they added refrigerant and let it run. But, the machine was not kicking on. They left at 11:50 for lunch and returned at 12:50. They returned from lunch and continued to assess the problem. These two technicians were stumped. They spent a total of three hours after everything was hooked up and refrigerant added trying to see why the unit wasn't working. At around 2:30 the lead technician called for help. Another technician arrived at 3:05pm. He determined that the lead technician never powered off the furnace when disconnecting the wires from the heat pump in the morning, so they blew the fuses.


What should have taken a few hours turned into an all-day event. And we still had to pay $2600, despite PTP technician errors and a lemon of a product. PTP assured me they would work with me on the pricing because it was their supplier's manufacturing problem. I paid the $2600 in good faith PTP would adjust things accordingly. $2600 to install a heat pump (which they claimed was labor only) is exorbitant, especially for something that is warrantied.

I certainly hope I don't get the same canned reply that PTP gives the other negative reviews.

PTP TECHNICIAN ISSUES:
1. Day 1 - 1st technician didn't diagnose properly
2. Day 2 - 2nd technician (leader of 2) very grumpy and vocal about having to dismantle things and look for problem
3. Day 3 - 3rd technician (leader of 2)
a. Had to leave to get propane for his torch
b. Didn't realize he was missing the external temp sensor. He would have known this had he noted where the wires were before disconnecting the unit.
c. Didn't power off the unit when disconnecting everything, to begin with
d. Blew the fuses (because of the previous note) - therefore, the unit wouldn't run
e. Wasted hours trying to diagnose the problem and couldn't figure it out - eventually had to call another technician to the house to help him (technician arrived @ 3:05 pm).

PRICING ISSUES - $2600
1. Not our mistake - it's a lemon of a product by Goodman - the fight is between Goodman and PTP, not me
2. Unit is only 5 years old
3. Goodman is manufacturing a product designed to fail, and PTP is installing them
4. We should not be paying ANYTHING since this is a manufacturer problem - we should have gotten a newer and better unit AT NO COST and NO LABOR
5. New Goodman pumps cost approximately $2000, as seen online - which was likely part of the inflated $2600 they charged, even though they said this $2600 was labor only

ON OUR PART ...
* Many phone calls to discuss the charges
* Two visits to the office to discuss with the manager
* Final calls ignored - and told that PTP can do nothing
* Used chat on website - asked for an upper-level manager to call back - nobody called
* Called to speak with Paul Bears, the owner, directly - he did not answer nor did he return the phone call

PAUL THE PLUMBER RESPONSE
* Refuses to work with us on pricing
* Won't work with customers to resolve anything
* Won't contact Goodman to fight the battle of a lemon of a product
* Won't stand by and support a loyal customer
* Unethical - fleecing long-time customers

This should have been handled gracefully, and PTP would still have our business. Instead, they have lost our business after almost 20 years.

Michael J.

Last week I had a couple of sinks that were backfilling while I was away on business. My wife sent me some pictures and I determined I needed to get someone in to snake the drains ASAP. I called Paul the Plumber and they said they could get over right away and would wave the $99 emergency fee. I thought I was in great hands. They show up about a half hour later and determined that yes the 2 sinks need to be snaked and 1 trap needed replacement. They had my wife sign that she agreed and proceeded with the work. They told her it would be $807 and without knowing what was fair and being in the house with a stranger, she signed. They did the work, which took about an hour, and got everything working properly. I received the invoice for $807 and was taken back. How could 1 hour of work cost $800? A J trap is roughly a $20 part. I called to question this and they were unwilling to work with me on the price and said that ""it is a domestic issue if your wife signed it"". I think it is extremely unethical to charge someone almost a thousand dollars for an hours worth of work. I also think they took advantage of my situation being away and my wife being home alone. Lastly, I do not under any circumstances appreciate having someone tell me that my wife signing a slip for a price she had no idea was outrageous is a domestic issue. I am extremely disappointed and it is disheartening that there is companies out there that take advantage of people being in a jam.

Ronald R.

All the staff were terrific and jobs done well. We were even members for multi services.
Unfortunately, a form of elderly abuse, they took advantage of us 80 yr Olds and charged us 551.00 for 18oz of refrigerant which costs about 45.00. A profit is ok but a 1150 % markup! The visit was free as part of our membership. 6 phone calls, with one call back from them resulted in a 70.00 deduction. We are no longer using Paul Bears plumbing services.

Michele P.

I was charged $1000.00 to replace a few feet of piping from my basement to my outside faucet, which was also replaced. 2 men for a 1 man job, charged $99 for a truck full of supplies yet 1 of the plumbers had to leave to buy a faucet?! All my neighbors told me I had been ripped off. I called the office to ask for a detailed bill with hours and materials delineated. I was told ""we don't do that"", so I asked to speak with a manager and was told they would call me back, which of course never happened. I take responsibility for believing they were being honest and not asking more questions or doing more research but nevertheless...it's wrong to take advantage of customers. Lastly the screw on my outside faucet handle was loose Sloppy and shady plumbing. Sad.

Ray H.

Had them come out for a clog on the main septic line to tank. They told my wife the pipe was cracked and needed replacement. Estimate was 5500. They also tried to up sell her a mixing valve for the water tank in the basement, which isn't something we called for. I just got a 2nd opinion from another plumber that went in with a camera. He looked at it twice and it is only compressed, not cracked as they told my wife. He said the diagnosis was ""egregious"" and also the estimate was out of line. I would hope that this was a mistake on your end and not something you regularly do to customers. I'll be sure to tell people not to use your service

Matthew S.

Been using Paul the Plumber for 6 years...and the first 4 years were good even bordering on great for most situations. The last 2 years have been beyond frustrating. The rotating roster of technicians they send often resulted in them not being able to address whatever our issue was at the time causing us to have to reschedule and have to miss work again (because their hours are ONLY during the normal business days), them not fixing the issue completely causing us to have to reschedule and have to miss work again, or another issue seemingly popping up after they left on something they said was a ""tune up"" or something that was supposed to be easily addressed.

Long story short, after 6-years of business with them...we are finding another company for our plumbing & HVAC because now we are stuck in the middle of an AC nightmare that was supposed to have been addressed in the fall and was supposed to be (according to both technicians who came in the fall) a simple fix. Now we are looking at a $500 diagnostic fee and at least $1600 to refill our refrigerant...and that doesn't even include labor or repairs. That does not seem like a simple fix in our opinion...and how it was missed when we've had technicians looking at it all this time for it to become a $2000+ repair issue is beyond frustrating.

We have lost all faith in them with regard to their repairs and even with regard to their diagnostic capabilities...and after 4-years where we feel like they earned our trust, they have completely lost our trust in their diagnostics, their repairs, and their word...which sucks, because they were a very convenient ""go-to"" for many of our needs at the house.

P.S. Don't sign-up for their monthly ""memberships""...they are NOT worth the money each month because you get nothing other than a free ""tune up each year, which, as I indicated above, is not worth it because more often than not they were not able to do the tune-up for some reason or their tune-up seemed to result in more (and more expensive) problems occurring after they left.

Mark A.

This company is NOT honest when comes to price and also very low knowledge.Before you agree with the service ask for an estimate from another company as well and you will see what I'm talking about.Be aware Paul the Plumber will rip you off.

Paul P.

3 tries awful last try was supervisor he was useless never went threw with what he was going to do , but 3 times never ina millions years will I call these fools. I think their to scared to crawl under a mobile home. Your in the wrong business than stay away from this plumber bad bad news should be no star

Emily B.

As always, the plumbers sent out from this business, this time, Jeremy and an assistant, were awesome. They were on time, courteous, well informed and friendly. They fixed everything I asked them too in a timely manner. They were super good with my dog -- a big one! Can't say enough about the service at Paul the Plumber. They will continue to earn my business and my highest recommendations!