$4000 for a Hot Water heater seems excessive. Nothing fancy about the replacement or level of effort to replace. Service: 5-star (Thank you Sillc) Promptness, cleanliness, professionalism: 5-star Price: 1-star I felt I was over charged for an excess amount today. Had it not been the professionalism of the tech I probably would have turned them away. My basic math: A Gas hot water heater is say $1k (rounding up, a lot). $250/hr x 4 hours: $1000. Based on this am really feeling buyers remorse at double that amount. Great experience overall but still not worth double. Full disclosure, this was a Sunday job and I was told $149 trip fee. If the excess amount charged was due to the day that was not disclosed. I live in a neighborhood of 1200 homes so as my neighbors ask, I will advise them to shop pricing up front. Great job Sillc. I feel bad writing this but others need to be aware. read more

I was initially impressed. The girl answering the phone was efficient and friendly. Set my appointment up for the same day. Got a follow text to confirm. At 2pm that day she calls me back to cancel. On a Friday. Can't come until Monday. They knew it was an untenable situation but waited until it was too late to get someone else, which I could have done earlier in the day. I asked for the manager to call me, but he has not. Very unprofessional and uncaring. But they are having a party with an ice cream cake. So maybe that's why. Very disappointed and left with a very bad problem. read more

First they were supposed to be out Sunday morning. Got a call they the tech called out. So I had to take yet another day off of work to wait for them on Monday. Had a tankless hot water heater replaced. The invoice has a different hot water heater listed than the one I have on my wall and looking into the pricing of hot water heater it's about 1200 but let's just say 1600 for fun. The bill was $5670. I have asked for an itemized bill 4 times no response. So I am left to believe that they charge $1000.00 an hour for labor?Seems a bit outrageous to me. The technicians were great as far as getting the work done. But I was given incorrect information on the hot water heater and its capacity. So unless you have a boat load of money to spend plenty of PTO and don't like to be given correct information I wouldn't really recommend this place. I gave them ample opportunity to contact me with the itemized bill before giving this review. Make it make sense! read more

300 just to tell me I had a leak in a pipe, wanted 900 to fix it, they are a scam company

Buyer beware. They are a broker at best and their sub-contractors leave much to be desired. Once they complete the "high margin" work you can no longer get them to even return calls although the phone operator promises a manager will call. Promises, promises. Don't depend on them. read more

Called to schedule an appoinment.they advised me they had an opening between 8 to 12. I requested if they could make it between 8 to10. The lady agreed to do so. On the day of appoiment I waited until 9:30 then called the company to confirm the appointment. I was informed that they had me scheduled between 10 and 2pm. I argued about the initial agreement but was told that they only do four hour windows. Not only did they change the times on me without telling me but they denied I had made the agreement with the lady I spoke with initially wasting my time by their ineptness. read more

Customer Service Stinks, technician never shows up on time or calls to cancel. No call no show. second appointment tec came gave quote said Manager Matt. of Orlando would be calling same day by 1pm. Again NEVER CALLED!! This was for another thousands of dollars of work to be done. Guess they don't need the money or account. read more

I prepaid for their annual membership and used the service one time and was initially happy. I guess the first time they were trying to impress me. This time they asked me to confirm my appointment 6 different times. Because I missed ONE of those because I was on a work meeting they cancelled the service after already rescheduling on me. I have been sitting here ALL DAY LONG waiting for my appointment 8-12 then they rescheduled for 2-4 which I ALREADY CONFIRMED but needed ONE MORE confirmation. Too much freaking work just to get a plumber here. Don't waste your time with this company, find someone who will show up when they say they will instead of sitting around confirming appointments all day long. read more

Never showed up. Wasted 4 hours of my time. They didn't offer any concession even though they advertise that they pay 5 dollars for every minute late. read more

Late Friday evening the 19th of July, I accidentally broke our irrigation PVC pipe in our backyard - this is the main unit for our sprinkler system and it sits up out of the yard and has two shut off valves/yellow levers attached to it. Of course I did not know this then but I do now. I looked on Angi's list and put in a request for help. Benjamin Franklin was the first to respond and they were very nice. They were able to send out the plumber the next morning between 8am-12pm. The plumber arrived the next morning around 10am and he was very nice. However, he never examined or even touched the pipe at all. I showed him where it was broke. However, he quoted me $1,100 to repair the PVC pipe. It was like $600 to dig and $500 to replace the piece of PVC pipe . I told him that you could feel the pipe just below the ground. He told me that if I wanted to dig the hole he would see if they could reduce the price but he was not allowed to dig. Of course, I dug the hole while he stood there to prove that it was one shovel below the dirt. He called his supervisor who then offered to fix it around $550 since I had already removed the dirt. I still said no. He knew that I did not have water to my house since my neighbors had to shut off the main valve and that my husband was out of town. On the PVC pipe that was broke, there were two shut off levers that I did not know what they were since I am not a plumber - I'm sure with his experience, he could have easily turned them off. I told him that I would try and fix it myself or call my handyman. He told me that it was harder than it looked and I would need a shop vac, etc. and then I would still be without water for some time. My husband was out of town and I was without water so I almost caved in from pure panic. My handyman came out within the hour with his plumber friend and they charged me $20 for the piece of PVC pipe and glue to fix it and showed me the turn off valve. No shop vac was needed and he took him about 30 minutes. The plumber who was fixing it for me said that the plumber who was there should have seen the levers and could have turned it off and at least restored water to my house since it was just the irrigation. He was shocked and angry at the quoted price from you. He even offered to give a testimonial. I was so disappointed in this plumbing company! Of course, I had to pay the $89 service call charge and it was a complete waste of time but lesson learned! Where is the honesty anymore with businesses! read more

My water heater stopped working and the heater code indicated the problem was a gas sensor. I told them the part was under warrantee and asked if they could work with Rheem and they said yes. When the plumber came he had no idea what he was doing. He kept saying it was the burner and was on google looking up the heater control. I suggested he call Rheem and ask but he said that it would be $370 more to call them. I told him to just stop and leave since it was clear he didn't know what to do. I called Rheem directly and they sent me the part which took 5 min to replace and talked me through resetting the system. All told 15 min. I hired them through Angi and they refused to respond when I complained through them. Stay away from this company. read more

Big Rip off 500 max job quoted 2300 offered to do for 2000 The tennant was whining when I said i would not go with him 4 hours later done My local plumber offered to fly out and do job for 500 plus 400 flight Not bad rate @ $500 per hour Guess the rent going up more going up but still how do Ben Franklin people sleep at night Not sure if the Attorney General can look into them for price gouging but they should read more

I hired Benjamin Franklin for a water heater replacement. Upon arriving, the plumber surveyed the job and quoted me for about $2,000. I asked the plumber "does this price include the electric work that needs to be done?" He responded with yes and called for an electrician from his company to come out - all of this is stated in my invoice from them. Once the electrician shows up, he said the additional labor will be $900+! I quickly called the company and was told by customer service that I already paid and they will contact the tech to clear up any confusion. After some back and forth, the manager decieded to retract the tech and quoted me an additional $900 to get the job, that I already paid for, completed. Now I have to waste my time filing a court case AND hiring someone else to complete their work. I will never use Benjamin Franklin again, and I will certainly not recommend them to anyone. read more

Had everything clogged. Plumber came out and did a great job but it was nearly $500 even though I pay monthly to get "discounts". Called to stop the $8.09 a month to be part of that program and was told a manager had to sign off on it and would call me back. Really???? No call. Called again this morning. Furious. Interestingly immediately after I posted this, I got the call from a manager. Short and sweet. Cancelled. But, crazy expensive. read more

David , best ever. He fixed our problem and was on his way And we no longer have that smell. Great guy!

We had a stopped up drain and requested Ben Franklin to come out. They were prompt enough and responding but that's where it ended. The plumber immediately started trying to upsell us would not even discuss the job we had them there for. Quoted us over 2,000 as her starting point which was obviously going to run very much more. Without even starting the job she was already saying that we needed to tear out the bar that the sink was on and jackhammer the floor through our room and she couldn't even say how much all of that was going to be. She did however give us an estimate for the $2,400 job which included two $240 sink strainers which cost $14 at home Depot. We paid her the $89 appearance fee and we're happy to see her leave. They then began emailing us requesting a review which I thinks takes a lack a self-awareness. Her behavior bordered on fraud. read more

The work done on my bathtub was horrible. I called ben franklin plumbing to replace a bathtub spigot. It cost $410 to replace a spigot that I supplied The technician accidentally broke off too much tile then proceeded to use a LARGE amount of caulk. It looks absolutely hideous. He did a poor job caulking and left large holes. I woke up to a bathtub filled with ants. Contacting customer service did no good, they made no effort to fix the issues, leaving me to have to call another plumber and pay to fix their terrible work Do not use this company, they are horrible and there are plenty of other competent and honest plumbers. read more

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Technician arrived without a drain snake and without the equipment to clear the clog. Made a quick assessment that was not believable even to a "woman"! Tech then proceeded to wait 45 minutes for another tech to show up with a drain snake. Once the other tech arrived I was promised for $378 they would snake the drain and video the drain and the clog so that I could see "what they see ". He did not guarantee that the clog could be cleared but told me he "felt like it would". The drain was snaked the video was taken and then I was presented with a bill for $18,000 to replumb one bathroom! I was told that the clog could NOT be cleared with the snake. When I asked to see the video I was told that there was a malfunction and the recording did not save. When I said I would not pay the almost $400 for the snaking and the video unless I could see the video for myself and receive what I agreed to. Each time I challenged his review/comments he conveniently went outside and even once closed the master bedroom door to speak privately with the other technician. Why so secretive unless you have something to hide? Lies!! He told me they re-snaked the drain to get a new video. But, I could only view the video from the techs tiny cell phone which showed virtually nothing. I asked to have the video emailed to me, that was an issue as well. The new technology would not allow them to send me the video. Degrading comments were made toward me about how long the call was taking, how they needed to go, that they weren't touching anything else because they "couldn't even get paid for what they did do". I was so disgusted by Franks leering and demeaning behavior that I agreed to pay if they would promise to email me the video once they figured it out. I never expect to see the video so I used my personal cell phone to video the video from the techs phone. It was a horrible experience from beginning to end. I would never recommend this company to anyone and have already lodged a complaint with the BBB. I called a reputable plumber the following day, RotoRooter Melbourne, who cleared the drain with a snake and was completely finished in under 30 minutes for less than half the cost! Women beware these men think we're stupid enough to believe their lies! read more

Called them around 8 am for an emergency call. They told me that it was available today until 5 pm and since it's and emergency the up charge is 139 dollars I gave them my credit card info and there goes the pending payment. It's 4pm and I haven't received an, email text call nothing. I call them and she has no idea when they will be here and there's no way to contact the plumber. Don't really know how their service is work wise but from what I experienced if you have an emergency this is not the company to go to. EMERGENCY?!! FIND A DIFFERENT COMPANY read more

Stay away from this company I beg you to stay away from this company. Their prices are nothing more than gouging you I had to have a small part replaced on my shower faucet that cost $3 and they charged me $509 for 35 minutes of work. I understand businesses need to make money but I'm telling you now stay away from this company look for a plumber who charges by the hour. There are several out there who charge by the hour and not by the job. There is no way I should have paid this amount of money for 35 minutes of work. Again I am telling you to run far from this company and from previous reviews I can tell you it looks like I'm another person who's been taking advantage of read more

Lisa Diamond and her trainee Alan replaced our old water heater and removed our ancient water softener. They were on time, worked fast and cleaned the area when they were done. Both were very friendly and answered all the questions we had. Thank you Ben Franklin for having such great employees. Sonja and Steve read more

I don't know how this place stays open. Talked into replacing my water lines due to an under slab leak 3 days late for job, workers were ill-informed on the job, and brought inferior tubing to site. Both of their workers, Ulie and Mike were wonderful and should find jobs for a more reputable company. This is a bait and switch operation, stay away. read more

Wish there were an option for no stars!!! Pretty upset with my self first and second with this very deceitful company. By the way I believe 1 hour air conditioning and ben Franklin are partners if I'm not mistaken. I'm upset with myself for not seeing the clear signs of a hustle when it was presented earlier. I own a home in Tampa that was built four years ago (second owners), meaning most of the things in it are nearly new. This company's stickers and magnets were left behind by the original owners. We assumed that this company was legit and had installed all the new features. We had no reason to research other companies, boy we should of. Since owning we have called them out a few times for seemly small things such as running toilets and leaky sinks. Prices for these repairs were average from my experience. The first tech that came to my home said they offered a veterans service program to maintain plumbing in the home. They said that all the services were discounted and we would benefit from having scheduled visits. We bit and signed up. A few months ago we had situation with our water heater. The situation was upon leaving to work and walking thru the garage I notice a good amount of water on the floor surrounding the tank, appropriately a gallon. I called this company they came out that day and quoted $800 for a brand new water heater. We paid, they installed and we were satisfied. Tuesday of this week Benny Franklin came to my home for their scheduled service. The technician (Cory) did a water test and said our 4 year old water softener was not working, it could not be repaired and quoted us 6k for a replacement unit. Funny because I hadn't noticed anything wrong with the water. Being that I don't have a money tree, we did what most people would and called someone else for a visit/quote. Had advanced water treatment specialists come out to take a look. The company came to my home today. First thing they said when they entered my garage was your system does not need replacement. He tested the water and said that it is softening and filtering water just fine. He cycled the system and explained to me in great detail how the system actually worked. Bottom line this company tried to swindle me (a veteran) out of money that I fed my family with. You can kiss my ass, and I'll be canceling your veterans package bullshit tomorrow. read more

Would not recommend. Charged me $400 to basically tell me I had a leak. Found a reputable leak specialist and repairs cost $700 total to repair. This company quoted me thousands. read more

Our sink fell out of its hole from the countertop, so I Googled what trade I would need to fix it. It said a plumber. I called BF Plumbing and specifically told them the problem and that it was an undermount sink to make sure they actually did this type of repair. The person who answered the phone said she needed to check with the dispatcher to make sure. She did and assured us they could do the job. I give them a one star because someone did show up but were told, no, they didn't do that. Turns out it's really a countertop person who does that. It delayed our repair by five days since it happened on a Friday and needs two days to dry after the sink is put back in before you can do the plumbing. I called to say how displeased I was, and she said she sent an internal email to the manager and he would get back with me. To date, no return call from him/her. read more

Higher priced but they do beautiful work. Changed out 3 toilets in 3 hours.

I can only give a 2. I cannot recommend to any one at Esplande Tampa . Put good parts on, did a good job doing this. Nice guy. But kind of flim flamy on charges and service charges. Office says one thing etc. They look to much at a few quick bucks than all the new business a 3 or 4 can bring. In my humble opinions . I guess that's why they only have a 2 star. read more

Service is spotty at best. While they do respond promptly, the knowledge/experience level of the "techs" varies greatly. Not even sure if some of them are plumbers! Required many follow-ups and discussions with management. Never did fix the issue. read more

In response to the manager and the inflated quote. I did not need a new garbage disposal as the one I had was less than a year old. I do have the sink I installed now and the cost was far less than what you wanted and it all works perfectly. read more

These are salesmen, not repair men. I spent $69 on a service call and he didn't even try to fix the problem, but he had several solutions ranging from $5,000-$10,000. What a business model. Get PAID for the opportunity to come to your home and SELL, SELL, SELL. IF you want to give away your money, just to hear the pitch, call these guys. They've got a good pitch, but I'd rather give to charity that does work, than keep these guys in business selling product, rather that doing repair. read more

I'm writing to comment on my previous post as I wasn't able to delete or change it. My job has been finished and the job went ok I can't give them 5 stars but I'm giving them 3 stars. They had a problem with a employee in my first review and since then they have corrected that issue. With that being said the next crew that came did a great job and gave it a 100% to get the job done. They have corrected the billing issue and adjusted my bill to not reflect work that wasn't performed not being billed. I would now recommend them for your job. read more

I called this company to fix washer drain as water backs up causing water leak, technician who showed up first time failed to identify the problem so he ran a 10 min pressure test and billed me $260. When I called back few weeks after, they send their senior technician, aside from being arrogant and hard to communicate with he offered me no reasonable estimate for the work. They billed me another $29 . $289 paid with no work done to fix fairly small job!!! read more

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing's work is fine. However, their prices are way, way too high. I found out, after getting a second quote on an estimate they gave, why their prices are so high: their plumbers work on commission. As a result, they have a strong incentive to screw customers. To give an illustration, they came out to fix a problem and gave me a quote that it would cost $9,000 to replace some pipes. They started lowering that price when I said it sounded too high and that I wanted a second estimate. They dropped the price by almost $2,000 just because I wanted a second estimate. I'm not surprised that they did drop the price because the second estimate to do the same job was $3,800, or less than half their original quote. Their work may be okay quality, but you are paying at least double what you should if you go with them. I'd stay away. read more

Consistently great service from Nestor, Dan, Clay & others. The contract has worked out well in terms of the fee and services provided. Would highly recommend them read more

Tech came out and told the single lady that she needed two connections and a pipe. 2,000 dollars!!!!!!! He worked 2 hours and did not fix the problem! Called to complain and was told that it wasn't there problem. Finally they sent a guy out and he said he wasn't going to do anything because water was getting into the light fixtures and he wasn't an electrician.I guess he didn't know how to turn off the power! I called the owner and he hasn't bother to call back. I got another plumber to come out and fixed the leak for 175.00. The women now has the ceiling in the dinning room ruined and because Ben did not know how to fix a leak but knew how to to stick it to a single women, the ceiling in the kitchen is now also ruined. She has contacted a lawyer and will take Ben to court. Mr Fowler,the owner should be ashamed! DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. I HAVE BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR 40 YEARS AND NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS! read more

Do not recommend. Called for an issue, sold us on other products that would solve problem but it didn't and still having the same issue. Was told by many after the fact they are masters at selling services not needed. I would be ok with my add ons if they actually fixed the problem I called about. read more

Customer service is excellent. They did exactly what was needed to be done. They are a bit pricey; but, you get what you pay for. I did not wait for them to come out and 15 minutes before they came out, they called. read more

Has anyone else made the mistake of getting an estimate from Benjamin Franklin Plumbing? I got totally ripped off. They gave me a hugely over priced estimate for their "lowest" priced hot water heater and installation, that came to $1,280. When I declined for them to do the work, they charged me $49.95 for the estimate. Huge mistake. Please learn from me and never contact Benjamin Franklin Plumbing. I was told the prices are uniform for every dealer in the franchise. read more

HORRIBLE!!!!! I highly recommend not using this company! I called them out for a leaky shower pan. They visually inspected it and replaced an outdoor spickit and $455.00 later, they referred me to someone else for my leaky shower. I'm still mad at myself for even paying this outrageous fee. Another plumber finally came to fix my shower and said this is a common story they hear about Benjamin Franklin Plumbing and said they are the most expensive out there. read more

Looks like Jean M. Is a flat out liar too. All you calls are up on my site. So cut the BS. You have answered none of my questions. So here it is again. Why did you take my toilet out to clear a clog in the main? I showed you the cleanout. You opened the cleanout and then removed my toilet. Why did you say you put in a new flange when you didn't. Why did you take my working toilet to the dump? Why do you charge $514 for a $10 flange? Why charge $600 for a $235 toilet? Why didn't you clean up after yourselves. Why charge $515 to clear a main when last time it cost $335? Post your answers here for all to see. The answer to all these questions is simple. Your a bunch of thieves. Don't call me again. I have no desire to talk with liars. And don't for one minute think I'm gonna let this go. I'm just getting started! read more