ComplaintsforBenjamin Franklin Plumbing

• Initial Complaint

  11/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In early October I called Benjamin Franklin plumbing to come give an estimate for a water leak in a vacant house. The water has been off for a year due to the leak. The guy came out said there was a leak but couldnt tell me where it was, only that it was somewhere in between the house and the meter. When I scheduled the appointment I was told there was equipment to find where the leak was exactly. He was unwilling to use the equipment, but told me the only option was to build a whole new line from the meter to the house. I asked for the estimate which was provided totaling around $7,400. I told him the water needed to be shut off when he left. Before he left he asked if I wanted it shut off I said yes and he said he would. A month later I received a bill for $400 which should have been zero! I called and spoke to a manager named *******. He was very rude and dismissive trying to claim I couldnt prove it was their fault . I told him I can because no one lives there. Also the bill should be near zero as it remains off and has done for over a year. He tried to blame the city and literally anyone else but them. I told him that the city is aware of the leak and is fine with the water staying off for the past year. He was full of excuses & never took accountability.He finally agreed to give me a call back which he did. He offered to pay half of the bill which is entirely their fault. $400 for this past billing ********* imagine additional charges for the days of this billing cycle as the bill is what alerted me that they did not turn the water off. I am very disappointed in the end result as well as his customer service. He spoke very condescendingly to me which isnt my main concern, but perhaps worth noting. I dont trust them to fix this leak now and will be using someone else

  

  Business response

  11/08/2023

  We have reached out to the customer and come to the agreement that we will each pay 1/2 of the bill. 

• Initial Complaint

  02/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We purchased a new water heater and had it installed, July 2021. Water heater came with 2-year warranty on parts and labor and 10 year warranty on tank. Pilot light not working, so I called for service on Thursday, 2/9/23. Benjamin Franklin came in and stated that they have had problems with this particular water tank and the pilot light component. I asked them to replace it and the technician said no and to wait until it happened again. Pilot light went out again on Saturday, 2/11/23. I called and a technician came out on 2/12/23 and claimed that I needed to purchase a maintenance contract for $99.00 in order to get the water heater repaired. They also claim that they do not have the part and it will need to be ordered. Benjamin Franklin would not respond to my call to explain. I have no choice but to pay them since we need hot water. They claim it will take several days to get the part and to complete the repair. They would not give me a timeframe on fixing our water heater.I am requesting a speedy resolution and a refund for the water heater and the maintenance contract. I would rate my experience an F.

  

  Business response

  02/15/2023

  Sorry it took a little longer to respond than we normally take. I passed this complaint on to our Service Manager, and he was on assignments, but has become available. He is now, or shortly will be, reaching out to the customer to let them know we will credit them back the *** amount, and will be getting the water heater fixed at no cost. We always try to make sure our customers have an excellent experience, especially our Members, but sometimes we miss the ***** When we do, we always try to make it right, and I hope we can here. In the future please feel free to reach out and ask for the Office Manager (*******), or the Service Manager (Bo) with any concern/issue you may have. 

• Initial Complaint

  01/11/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  06-04-2021 Hired ************************* with Benjamin Franklin Plumbing in **********, ** to find a slab leak in my 90 year old mothers home. After 3 days of jackhammering the foundation, torn up bathroom, and cut out walls they never found the leak. We paid $4,000 with no leak repair and a demolished home that they refused to fix. This is a total disaster we are left with. We were then told the only resolution was to re-plumb the entire house which cost an additional almost $13,000. We are asking to at least refund $4,000 for the work never completed which was inability to find the leak and also for repairs of the damage they caused in the home.

  

  Business response

  01/24/2022

  We were hired to find a slab leak in the home, and determined that due to the difficulty in locating the leak, a charge for the leak search needed to be authorized. The search was approved at the price given. As more was needed, each step in the process was gone over with the customer, and each step was approved by the customer, and this included any additional cost. The leak search clearly says it has no warranty, and the customer signed their approval (this can be seen in their attached document). You can also see in another of the attached documents that they were clearly informed the following: "Benjamin Franklin Plumbing is not responsible for any cosmetic repairs, i.e., flooring, sheetrock repairs, landscaping, tile repair, cabinet repairs, etc. The customer is responsible for obtaining a contractor to make these repairs". The $4,000 dollars was for another job, done earlier, where black mold was discovered. Based on this, and the condition of the lines, it was recommended that the water lines be replaced, and the scope and price to do this were presented to the customer, who then gave approval for the job to be done. At every step along the way we spoke with the customer about what we were doing, kept them informed throughout the process, and presented all pricing for their approval beforehand. The scope of work, and any changes needed to it, including the price, were constantly updated to the customer. We could not continue on the original scope of work because of the black mold, and a new solution, agreed to by the customer, was presented. Because we did our due diligence, because we communicated with the customer throughout the process, and because we always had there approval to work before any work was started (by signature), we do not feel obliged to refund anything at this time. If the customer would like to speak with our Service Manager we can arrange a time for him to come by and speak to them directly.
  

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