I previously had a good experience with Hoffman Plumbing, so when I noticed a small leak from the…read moretemperature and pressure relief valve on my water heater, I called them out again. This time, something had clearly changed. They charged me $99 just to provide a quote and then tried to turn a simple, clearly diagnosed repair into a massive upsell, with multiple wildly inflated proposals that had little to do with the problem I called about.
Before they arrived, I had already done my own troubleshooting and correctly determined that I needed a new T&P valve, a new expansion tank, and a whole‑house pressure‑reducing valve. It was a straightforward, targeted repair. Instead of focusing on that, Hoffman gave me five quotes:
Replace all plumbing (supply and drain) plus the water heater, expansion tank, and pressure regulator: $35,611.00
Replace all supply plumbing plus the water heater, expansion tank, and pressure regulator: $23,874.00
Replace all supply plumbing but not the water heater: $20,365.00
Replace just the water heater, expansion tank, and pressure regulator: $4,800.00
Finally, the work I actually called about (and I had to ask specifically for this quote because it was not given)--replacing the pressure regulator, T&P valve, and expansion tank--dismissively labeled the "bandaid option": $2,180.00
That last number was for the exact repair I had already identified myself. I later bought the parts and did that "bandaid option" on my own for about $150 in materials. Seeing a roughly fifteen‑times markup on such a basic, well‑defined repair, after being talked down to, made it crystal clear they were pushing high‑dollar, out‑of‑scope work rather than providing fair, proportional service.
The attitude matched the pricing. Instead of respecting that I understood my system and wanted a targeted fix, the plumber treated me as if I were clueless. The underlying message was obvious: don't just repair what's wrong--let us replace as much as possible for tens of thousands of dollars.
About a week later, I received a voicemail from Hoffman asking when I wanted to schedule the work. I called back and explained why I would not be moving forward: the extreme quotes, the mismatch between what I requested and what was pushed, and the fact that I had already completed the repair myself. The person on the phone showed no empathy, offered no apology, and simply said she would close out the call.
A couple of days after that, I got a text from the same person, clearly forgetting that we had already spoken:
"We'd love to earn your business. What's holding you back from moving forward? If it's the price, we offer financing and may have discounts available. Text me back or call anytime. I'm here to help!"
After being quoted up to $35,611.00 for work I never asked for and $2,180.00 for a repair I did myself for about $150, receiving a chipper financing pitch was beyond frustrating--it was insulting. It told me they either weren't listening at all or didn't care enough to track a very clear, negative response.
In short, my one‑star review is based on:
Extremely inflated quotes: $35,611.00, $23,874.00, $20,365.00, $4,800.00, and $2,180.00 for a $150 repair.
A condescending attitude toward the appropriate, targeted repair ("bandaid option").
Tone‑deaf, sales‑driven follow‑up that ignored my explicit decision not to proceed.
I did not hire Hoffman Plumbing for this job and have no intention of doing so in the future. If you value honest pricing, appropriate recommendations, and being treated like an informed adult instead of a walking checkbook, I strongly suggest you look elsewhere.
