Benjamin Franklin Plumbing
Telephone Bait and Switch Quote for Services ripoff

This is a formal complaint about Benjamin Franklin Plumbing regarding their visit on March 1. The basis of complaint is misleading and unethical business practices. My wife contacted this company on February 24. She talked to Jackie, the Benjamin Franklin Plumbing receptionist who quoted a $59 service for this company's plumber to come out and detect a leak on our property. Despite my wife questioning Jackie several times, Jackie continued to respond that the only the fee would be $59 and that additional fees would arise only if a leak needed repair. She was repeatedly assured the $59 was all that she needed to pay at the visit.

On March 1 two plumbers from Benjamin Franklin Plumbing showed up, did some digging, but did not use any specialized leak-detection equipment. They spent little time on leak detection and spent a lot more time obsessed with air in our water system which may or may not have anything to do with the leak. They also spent a great deal of time criticizing the work of the home builder's plumbing company which we feel is unprofessional. Eventually one plumber indicated his training alone allowed him to guess the leak was underneath the garage pad and no specialized equipment was required. He then thrust a blank work order form on my wife repeatedly badgering her to sign the form. After frequent efforts on his part to coerce her, she reluctantly signed the blank work order form. This form had no numbers or quotes on it at all. The plumber also indicated that the fee was not $59, but something closer to $500 for the services he rendered on that date. This was the first she was ever informed company of additional fees this was a shock to her as realized she was mislead by Benjamin Franklin Plumbing.

After the plumber left, my wife called Benjamin Franklin to report this unusual behavior, and was reassured that the plumber would return with the work order form. She was also assured by the company owner that nothing was owed unless she was 100% satisfied with the work. We expressed concerns about coercion and that a blank work order was signed under duress. The plumber returned at about 5 o'clock with the work order form that he completely filled out. He then indicated to us that the numbers were on the form when my wife signed it a few hours prior, which is completely untrue.

1. This is sort of business practices known as bait and switch and should be condemned. Other consumers wishing to use the services of Benjamin Franklin Plumbing should be warned that the $59 fee quoted is incorrect and that additional fees are added when the workers arrive. The receptionist at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing was in error in quoting this $59 fee. However that error is the problem of that company and should not be the problem of the customer. My wife should have been told about all additional service fees but despite questioning the receptionist she was misinformed on February 24. Fortunately the detailed notes my wife took down form the basis of this complaint. We agree with fair compensation for services rendered, but these fees should have been clarified on the original phone call before workers arrive.

The owner informed us there was no way two plumbers could spend two hours on a job for only $59. That may be so but we did not ask two plumbers to do the job and the company needs to stand by their original promised quote of $59 made by their receptionist on February 24.

2. We are not 100% satisfied with the services and we are not very happy with paying this bill. On March 2 Dan the owner of this company essential nullified his 100% satisfaction guarantee by threatening to send us to collections if we did not pay his entire inflated bill immediately. Again if this company guarantees 100% satisfaction in their advertising, the owner is not standing by that promise.

3. Customers should never be forced to sign blank requisition forms. If this sort of practice is allowed, a company can put any kind dollar quote down after the fact and this is exactly what happened in this case.

Company: Benjamin Franklin Plumbing
Country: USA
State: California
City: San Rafael
Address: 517 Jacoby St - Suite C
Phone: 4154549500

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