Benjamin Franklin

These people are total rip offs do not use… I wish I would have looked here before calling.

UPDATE: Still gets an AVOID! AVOID! AVOID! these professional ripoff artists. A representative of Blue Ox /​Ben Franklin contacted me and went through the motions of trying to find a «resolution» but only added insult to injury.
«If you’re old and gray,
It’s on you we prey.»
Save yourself money and consternation and call someone else.
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You know how TV shows do those exposés of shady auto repair shops who will claim they fixed something when they didn’t or overcharge for simple work? Benjamin Franklin plumbing is the shady auto repair shop of the plumbing world.
OK, maybe I can’t speak for all of them but the northern Twin Cities franchise that ripped me off is undescribably sleazy. Charged me $ 406 for 15 minutes work, after giving me this big song-​and-​dance about how he needed to upcharge me for a simple alteration from their already outrageous pricing schedule. Wanted to sell me a new faucet for $ 500. Seriously? Hey, it was «better made.» Wanted to charge me $ 300 to simply install a faucet! (UPDATE: Did it myself in 15 minutes. Loosen a few nuts to take old one off; tighten a few to install new one.) Wants to charge $ 509 to install a Pressure Reduction Valve. Are you frickin’ kidding me?
Guy was all sincere and concerned and polite in his manner. I explained why I wanted the repair done, based on my limited knowledge. He KNEW it wasn’t the answer, but went ahead anyway and charged me outrageously for it. Never fixed the damn problem! Wolf in sheep’s clothing preying on the gullibility of the consumer. You want to believe that a guy in your own house is there to help you.
Never, never, NEVER again! It’s not like I’m made of money. So pissed! Avoid these scammers!
P. S. Grrrr! WHY didn’t I read these reviews BEFORE I hired these. .. guys. Trying to control my language! To be lied to, right to your face, all with a friendly smile??? I consider myself a savvy consumer so maybe I’m also just mad at myself for getting ripped off like an idiot in the pressure of the moment!

A+ work. A great job installing a laundry sink, faucet and water shut offs for us. He left our house so much nicer then he found it. It’s hard to find service providers who actually care about their quality of work. Thanks for being an A+ operation.

They were prompt when I called for a water heater repair and were at my house within an hour. I appreciate that … but that is the only positive thing that I can say. They gave me an estimate for $ 299 to clean the filter in the water heater (do water heaters have filters?) but would not guarantee that this would fix the problem of the pilot light not staying lit and then gave me an estimate of $ 2000 to replace the water heater. All the while, I just wasted $ 88 on a service call because they wanted to take advantage of a single woman who had seemingly little knowledge of home repairs. Granted, I have little knowledge of how to fix this myself since I called a plumber, but I know that a new water heater does not cost $ 2000. I went to Sears and got a 50 gallon, installed, for less than $ 1000. DO NOT CALL BENJAMIN FRANKLIN!!! They will try to rip you off with their outrageous prices and you will waste at least $ 88 on their service call.

Do not hire benjamin Franklin!!! They did a job for me under my sink and it still leeks!!! I called for them to come back and they did not return my call. I called the main number and they could not send somebody until afternoon.
Do not hire Bejamin Franklin, they charge too much and they do not do a good job! The job cost me over $ 500 even with a coupon and they said they may charge me more to come out and fix the leeks they did not fix and they caused the first time they came out!
Everyone who rated them with a 1 star should contact the Department of Commerce!

I wish there was a rip off –star here because I would hit it until the button is broken. This is one of the sorriest excuses for customer service I’ve experienced and that list is unfortunately extensive. As a Realtor I referred them to a client for a simple little job, replacing a fitting on a water heater. Because of my recommendation the client called them and asked for it to be replaced. Knowing nothing about plumbing, or the complexities of plumbing, my client assumed it was a big project so when they were given as estimate of $ 463.00, they didn’t know that was grossly out of line. Then when the plumber left the house in less than an hour after arriving at the door, I got a call. $ 463 for less than an hours work!!!
I am the one that referred them so I called them assuming there was some mistake. If you can believe this, they have a customer service division with a resolutions department? WTH, do they have that many problems that they need a resolutions department? Just do the job correctly, for a fair price and save the money on the resolutions department folks! After several calls from and to several folks in multiple departments, this is the answer I get. «we gave an estimate and he agreed to it so it’s a done deal.» That in my opinion is a sorry excuse for charging someone $ 463.00 for less than one hour work. Will I ever call them again… NO! Will I tell everyone I know about them,…YES! Am I going to Angie’s List next… yes! This is highway robbery! Tell me what job can a plumber do in less than one hour from the time he walks in the door to assess the situation, give a written estimate and finish the job is worth $ 463.00??? NONE!

L.J.
Will never use this company again! They are outrageously expensive knowing when you call a plumber, you usually need service NOW. I ended up with a bill of $ 540 to clean a tub backup. It took almost 4 hrs because the plumber didn’t know what he was doing but I was told they billed by the job not the time. He also pulled my sink away from the wall. I had to file w/​Better Business Bureau to get my $ back. I told them I could advertise their co. for them and that’s what I”m doing. Save $ and stress and use a different company.

NEVER use this Plumber. We had them come out to replace a shower head at a house in Plymouth that was closing the next day. He looked at it, said it would be $ 450. I said you are out of your mind. He said no problem, that will be $ 150 for the trip charge. So I called the owner and they decided to do it because having another plumber out would probably be $ 2 – 300 anyway and we were pressed for time. I decided to pay half of it for being the one that called them out. NEVER AGAIN. Con Artists.

The worst repair company I’ve ever called. I was the contractor that built my own house 14 years ago and I knew the plumbing was all up to code and approved of by the city. This did not stop B. F.‘s plumbers from trying to convince me that I needed to completely re-​do the venting on my hot water heater before it could be replaced (by one that they would sell me, of coarse). I was told this would cost thousands and thousands of dollars. Thankfully I didn’t fall for their $ 79 cost for an estimate. I had the hot water heater, that I bought at Menards, installed by an honest plumber for $ 400. Do not call this company.

Good luck if you use them. There were leaks in the drains in basement and was quoted $ 15,000 because the all the pipes and drains needed replacement due to corrosion. Found a high rated plumber from Angie’s List come and take a look, and repair the holes for a total of $ 800. The corrosion story appears to be fabricated. We almost believed their story. ALWAYS get a second opinion. My father is a senior, and I wonder if they were trying to take advantage of him.

RIP OFF…
I needed to replace the hardware inside two of my toilets. Didn’t want to have to figure out how to do it myself. Called these guys. I asked for a quote over the phone as it was a very clearly defined job. They cant give a quote over the phone and its $ 59 charge to send a plumber. I said I’m not committing to $ 59 service charge and the guy hasn’t given me an estimate. They said they had someone in the area and would wave the service fee.
I asked my dad to come by and let him in, he arrived a couple hours later. $ 266 for each toilet. He was serious. My dad knew this wasn’t that hard a job. He said No.
I went to Home Depot and bought 2 sets of replacement hardware. For $ 17.99 each. The first one took me about an forty minutes to install (i had to read the instructions and figure it out) once I knew how to do it took me 10 minutes to do the second toilet.
This was a 20 minute job (or less) for a skilled plumber with $ 35 worth of materials (at Retail) and he quoted $ 532. He saw an old man, and figured he would take advantage. What an absolute rip off. Terrible Terrible. Exploitative Even.

Great service, very responsive but WAY too expensive! We just had the guy out quoted $ 800 so we assumed it was a really big deal. 2 hours later he’s done and the only thing he needed was 12″ of PVC, you’ve got to be kidding that is outrageous!!!

My fault for not reading the reviews before calling. 60 minutes in the basement, no parts required, $ 270 bill. Will not be using this company again. Outrageous!

I have used this company in the past so I set up a service call for them to come out. They were supposed to be at my house on June 24, 2013 from 12 – 4. They no showed. No call or anything. When I called them to ask where they were, they responded, sorry we do not service your area. No, I’m sorry or a thing. I am going to pursue there offer of a $ 300 fee if they are late. Bad operation, do not use them.

Very professional. Very prompt. Very nice. VERY EXPENSIVE.
Checked out slow-​draining toilet. Snaked toilet, removed toilet, put camera in drain pipe, cleared drain pipe, replaced toilet. Excellent! $ 785. NOT excellent. I would have expected to pay $ 400 or $ 500 (this was not an emergency call by the way) but nearly $ 800 left me feeling gouged and ripped-​off. I will look elsewhere if I need further plumbing services. There is a limit to what’s fair, and this was not.

If I could give Benjamin Franklin Plumbing no stars or negative stars I would! This is a total rip-​off. They charge customers just for an estimate and their prices are insanely high. They gave me an estimate of $ 400.00 to install one of their cheap quality garbage disposals. When I said no, they charged me a $ 60.00 «service call.» How is that a service call when I didn’t hire them? Don’t fall for their gimmick of «we pay you if we are late» commercials… What they don’t tell you is; you pay them when they show up. They are sleazy operators.

Did a great job! Everyone was very friendly and fixed my plumbing issue within hours of the problems beginning. While I hope never to need a plumber, I am confident I will use Ben Franklin again.
The price did seem a little high BUT the plumber did come the same day and finished the job in the quoted time. Since I know nothing about plumbing, I would have cost myself more if I would have tried to fix this through Home Depot or another store. In the long run, it was more beneficial to use Ben Franklin.

The owner, Paul, is a jerk! You’ll see what I mean if you use this place!

Prices are insane. After only one hour of cleaning the main line $ 274, w/​o any warranty they charge $ 69 per 20 min. Its a whopping 486 to snake with a camera !!

Have used them several times. On the positive side, they arrive on time, are clean, courteous, and the work has always been high quality.
On the down side, their prices are high. But they work weekends and arrive on time.