Bonfe Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, Electrical, Sewer
reviews and complaints

Four months ago I had problems with my sewer line to the street. The price was $12,000. The technician told me that he could hook me up with a finance company. He said that I would have to pay them $1,000 a month for 12 months. That seemed reasonable, so I agreed to it. He did not tell me that, in addition I would have to pay 25% interest. I made two payments $1,000 before I received the information on the payments. When I found out about the interest rate, I paid them $10,000. Then I got a statement saying that I owed the $693.00 for interest. Bonfe told me it that it was my problem and to talk to the finance company. Since they made the connection to the finance company and got it started, it should be their problem work it out. As part of the agreement they were to put in a new floor drain which was to be flush with cement. It is in fact, six inches up from the floor. I talked to someone Stephanie at Bonfe , but nobody ever called me back.

I had a problem with hot water to my shower. The technician came to my home late in the evening which was good and I thank them for that. He shut the water to the house off and then proceeded to remove a plastic component ( i think it is a flow control, but I am not certain that is what is is called). At this point with no water to the house and the shower valves dismantled he gave me an estimate of about five hundred dollars. (This is for parts that couldn't be more than $20 at Ace Hardware.) I objected that it was too much. He was pleasant enough in suggesting that I find another way to handle it, but I was clearly over a barrel. With little choice I told him to go ahead. He replaced the parts, turned the water back on and billed me for $459.00. The kicker is: The shower still doesn't work properly. I have to turn the hot water on full and the cold water off in order to get a warm enough flow to take shower. I am still going to have to call a plumber. YOU CAN BET IT WON'T BE BONFE!

Our furnace was deemed irreparable, and the weather was turning cold. I called Bonfe's as they did such great work when our sewer main collasped in the middle of winter a few years ago, and because we were friends with Brian B. I talked with Princess and she helped get the process going. Next Bree called and helped schedule an appointment immediately. Trevor showed up shortly after, and after evaluating our needs, explained what he was going to recommend, and why. Provided a quote, and we agreed to terms. Although their installion crews were busy until Monday, Trevor pushed because we did not have heat. Two hours later Nate and Luke showed up, and 5 hours later the installation was complete. We did have an question about the furnance a few days later and Jeff and Jessie came out, and listened as I explained what was going on, and they immediately went to work, and resolved the issue. Very professional, and very polite. We could not be happier with the team from Bonfe's. Thank you! Marty Vievering

During the recent heat wave our central A/C unit quit. It was on the weekend so I called Bonfe and they said they would come out Monday. Technician shows up late and and right away wants to sell us the Bonfe service plan. I tell the tech I know what part quit and it costs $20 and its an easy fix. Tech proceeds to quote a repair cost of $570.00, plus the cost of the service plan for another $100 for a total cost of $670.00 to replace a $20 part. The part is easy to replace and can be done in about 15 minutes. I was able to purchase the part at a local supply company and did the job myself and saved $650.00! We also asked them how much to install a ceiling fan and they quoted $1,900.00, plus the cost of the fan. I paid the HVAC tech a trip charge of $89 for the pleasure of receiving an estimate of $670.00 to replace a $20 part, and told the other tech no that's way too much. I will find a company with reasonable estimates. If you are thinking of using Bonfe be prepared for very high cost estimates.

One star is to much for this company. They charged me $89 to come to my house and then it got worse. They wanted $600 to fix my faust with no guarantees it will be fixed or $1200.00 for a new faust. So, now do I pay the $89 and say good bye or pay the very large fee. I had a very nice, high quality faust that just broke. So, I think for $1200.00 I will get another high quality faust. They installed it and left me with an invoice that does not tell me what I just bought and they take all the faust paperwork with them so I have no records of it. I have called there office no less then 5 times for product infor and explanation of bill and product. In research I got a under $300.00 faust with a $900.00 labor charge for under 2 hours work. I believe that is $450.00 per hour. My information comes from the name on the faust and researching it on line. Don't use a plumber who will charge you a flat fee just to come to your house. Ask them for hourly rates, products they use. Use the local family operated company.

The people at Bonfe are super nice. I was also very impressed that all the service men that we had here, all dressed very nice and clean and not in dirty old work clothes. We had several things replaced by them. AC/ Furance/ Water Heater. Are they expensive? The answer is yes they are. But when you need them they are there, and the service is great and quick. The day we had things changed out I had 5, yes 5 Bonfe trucks outside. They want to make sure all the pieces and parts were right and available to them to do the large job in one day. And they call you to schedule your timely maintenance if you are on there plan. $11 a month, what is that? Low. We had another company that we were paying $45 a month and we never could get service from them. I called them when our AC/ Furance when out and did not reply back. In the meantime I called Bonfe and got service right now. When the other company replied back to me 3 weeks later. I told them that I quit their service plan and they lost alot of money for what we bought from Bonfe. I only starred Bonfe a 4 because of the price, but other wise very good.

Two stars because the work was actually performed. I would have loved to give these leeches one star. Apparently ComplaintsBoard.com accreditation ain't what it used to be. I recently called Bonfe to replace an old, leaky water heater. They wouldn't give me a quote over the phone and told me they had to come out to assess the problem. It did need replacement and I was given a price which seemed high, but at the time I somehow convinced myself that maybe—just maybe it was a bit high but okay. The model number of the heater itself was not on the estimate, and once the work was done, I researched the model number of the heater. I realized I paid nearly 3500 to have a 1000 (max...probably closer to 700.00) water heater installed. When I asked them for an itemized receipt of equipment and services rendered, they would not give it to me...and to add insult to injury, they told me that I approved the cost. Yeah. I am not stupid. I approved it, but now I want to have my mind out at ease that I didn't get severely screwed. The fact they won't reveal a rundown of the costs makes me feel like I did get taken for a ride. I am frankly embarrassed to tell this story. Avoid these people at all costs.

We've had some major plumbing problems that have caused significant damage. The plumbers from the mitigation/rehab company were not able to figure out what the root cause was - - - hence, more plumbing disasters and damage. So I called Bonfe's asking that they send a very experienced, A-team plumber. Ben Smith was that person! Bonfe's has provided services in our home for many years - - - always top-notch performance, so it's a high bar. Ben was very professional but, above all, he brought an incredibly bright, analytical and problem-solving mind to the task. After some analysis, plumbing cameras, and careful assessment, he figured out the source of the problem. As important, he was clear about what needed to be done to resolve the issue. Last, he immediately arranged for the work to be done - - - the next business day. Bonfe's employees have been consistently outstanding - - - and we've worked with many of them over the years. But, what we needed from Ben Smith went over and above the typical plumbing problem. He brought the best of the best to the task - - - professionalism, competence, a good listener, sharp thinker - - - and a delightful person to do business with. 6 stars is what I'd love to give him!

Seth T. just absolutely crushed it. He was friendly, professional, and super knowledgeable. Our house has a multi-head mini-split system that was very poorly installed 3 years ago. The original installer up and disappeared, leaving us with an expensive, non-functional AC. I was really stressed over finding an HVAC technician to even touch the system, let alone one with mini-split expertise and old-school work integrity. But all these worries faded away once Seth arrived. He listened to my whole backstory and description of how the system was behaving, looked the entire system over, and immediately decided it was a straight-forward job. He quoted the work right then and there on a tablet, showed me the price break-down, and I signed-off on it. Then to my surprise, he said he could actually do the work the same day! All the line-set connections had to be re-flared and the system recharged with refrigerant. (I anticipated this since I had found multiple visible refrigerant leaks.) Since the work involved several waiting steps (pressure test, vacuum pull, etc), I was able to converse with Seth throughout the job. He gladly answered any questions I had about the work he was doing, which further re-enforced my trust in his knowledge and workmanship. I was so impressed by this experience that I signed up for Bonfe's monthly basics plan, which includes annual checkups for your heating and cooling systems.

I'm writing to express my concerns of a HVAC inspection. I was told it's $99 for diagnosis. It started when I was instead charged $180 because the technician went over and hour... He was barely there 5 mins over the hour and the only reason he went over the hour was because he took time to explain what a high efficiency furnace was and then told us the house wouldn't be able to even have a high efficiency furnace installed. I would really like to know how this is my fault and if there is a way to refund that additional charge that occurred. I also wanted to let others know we had another furnace company inspect the air conditioning system and fan and was able to fix the AC unit and fan for $350 this afternoon. My AC is running since and has been running great! Please help me understand the disconnect between Bonfe, a very reputable company in my opinion, tells me my AC and Furnace fan is not fixable and I need to replace it with a $16k quote while I have another company fix it same day for $350!? I had Bonfe install my new HVAC on my rental property in 2020 located in St Paul, MN 55118 and I'm wondering if that was a mistake. I'll cut my losses there I guess. I'm writing this in hopes to prevent this from happening to others... I am so disappointed in this and I hope they don't screw pockets of other homeowners like myself. I paid $180 for information that was not valid, how is this a business that runs on customers first? I hope there is a way to recoup some of my funds for misleading information and stress that did was avoidable! I would love to recommend this company to others however this was simple unbelievable and I will never forget it. What a disaster. Word of advice, dont have bonfe inspect your HVAC.

1) I can't remember the first time I'd used Bonfes and I've never filed a complaint after requesting my utility faucet be changed. The service provider replaced the shut off valves for hot and cold on the pipes and that wasn't what I needed. The tech offered no resolution, but to to pay bills again for the faucet. I bought the peace of mind plan, but apparently, that means nothing. 2) summer 2021 service provider cave to clear bathtub drain and blocked me in the bathroom with not much more space from the hand held device he was holding and said, "I'm available, if you want to get busy?!" Feeling extremely uncomfortable. I am 59, divorced, single and alone, with a stranger, a representative in his late to early 30's hitting on me! Feeling anxious and nervous . What was happening here? I laughed and said, "I'm old enough to be your mother!" He replied, "she is just a number" This is a representative of Bonfes, my dog barked and brushed past him and started upstairs till he was done. I met him outside to sign the work order, where I've security cameras and he didn't stop! Leaning up against his van in a provocative stance, running his hand through his hair and continued to attempt to be seductive. I asked, if he liked making videos, as I pointed to my security camera. Then he left, I cashed to register a complaint with a mgr, but none called. I moved my piano exploding the service panel to the plumbing and found my pipes ascued with water draining on my floor, another service person arrived and repaired it with no charge. I told him off my previous experience and he said he'd speak with a mgr, but none called. I called again and refused a call back and finally spoke with a mgr who advised there'd been another complaint and the employee was let go. (Nick) I don't really know and wonder if he's a family member being protected? Shouldn't be be charged with a crime?

Our water heater had a slow leak we noticed it on a Sunday morning. I called several plumbing agencies and agreed for Bonfe to visit on Monday. Bonfe plumber said there is no fix possible recommended replacement. He recommended 40gallon and talked to us about cost. We had 40 gallon previously to this too. As we were new to homeownership and buying appliances of this sort we took it upon trust that most companies would have similar market rates or at least few hundred off. We were so wrong. After talking to friends and other customers of bonfe and reading reviews I realize I made a major mistake of not shopping around for feedback and comparison. I did speak to the supervisor who spoke about bonfe lifetime warranty. Same supervisor was using his dads plumbing business as a one example comparison to that of overheads that bonfe has to pay out reasons for costs overhead etc. And so many other reasons like their plumbers are better than others and warrant such high payment. We paid $5400 for a 40 gallon water heater. And guess this they said to avoid paying 6400 we can sign up for monthly $11 a month 12 month commitment to their repair program. So lifetime warranty reading disclaimer is it even that much worth!? https://bonfe.com/about-bonfe-minneapolis-st-paul/lifetime-warranty/. I think that the ComplaintsBoard.com needs to look at this business pricing etiquette. I am not asking for market pricing to be equal amongst all but some protection of consumers in need. I would like to hear from more homeowners what they have paid for water heater replacement by professional plumbing businesses in Minnesota since May 2022 timeframe and how much average cost was for them vs bonfe price of $6400. And guess this the supervisor also said that the plumber gave us an extra $300 off so the costs may have been like $6700. Lesson learned price shop and read ComplaintsBoard.com reviews ahead. Plenty of comments here should have been a red flag to me.

Caution advised! Read this whole review of interested in what you might get yourself into. I have never written an online review before, but felt the need to warn others of this company. A job with them started with a corroded bathtub drain causing backup into the tub. After the problem was identified, the tub drain was replaced. As per the technicians, several other connections to a bathroom sink were not up to code. After extensive and expensive replacement of all these components (thousands of dollars)----I was told a St. Paul city inspection was NOT needed. Red flags already raised? During this job, a hole was punched into a bedroom closet wall. Immediately after the job, a sewer gas smell emanated from the closet, and the toilet made a gurgling sound when flushed. Turns out a vent connection was all of a sudden loose (likely accidentally caused during repairs). The rest of the closet wall had to be removed and thousands more spent on replacing old venting. Again---I was told a city inspection was not needed. I had to spend $1500 to repair the wall. I had to take it upon myself to call the city. An inspection was ABSOLUTEY necessary. Turns out---Bonfe NEVER EVEN FILED a permit TWICE for these two separate jobs. They were double fined by the city, but can you imagine the problems this could have caused during a future sale of the house? How many other people have not had a proper permit filed or inspection performed? All I got was runaround from this company. They stated their permit coordinator was “too busy." Her only job….messed up twice. It isn't like St. Paul is a smaller municipality infrequently dealt with. Several technicians told me no inspection was necessary. So either they truly did not know (even a dumb homeowner like me knows better), are too lazy to care, or are completely negligent. They did not place nail guards over exposed vent pipes. Again, I had to coordinate them placing these----and they tried to charge me a $89 service fee! No way that was happening. How does a dumb homeowner know these were code and several certified plumbing technicians didn't? They damaged the bathroom ceiling and tile accidently cutting into it from above. NO offer to reduce job cost or repairing this damage was made. Stuff happens---I get that----but at least make an offer to discount what it will cost me to repair. When getting the runaround, I asked several times to speak with the owner and was denied. I was told “he does not speak to customers." That's how a small local business runs? This isn't a Fortune 500 company….. They charge SIGNIFICANTLY more than competitors. I was thinking this came with better workmanship and treatment of customers. All I got was apologies. I am a super reasonable and patient person, but even I could not believe how everything went down. None of this is embellished or exaggerated, just documented as it occurred. So------again-----caution advised.

I have been a "preferred" customer with Bonfe's for many years, I even started when they were charging $60 a month to be a member. I thought the benefits of the "preferred" program were worth it! At first, it seemed pretty good, they would call me twice a year to schedule a tune-up on my furnace or air conditioner. Then when they told me my furnace needed to replace, I trusted them because I had been a preferred member for a few years at this time. After they replaced my furnace I continued having problems with getting heat, they would come out for an additional charge to replace something in the furnace. To which I asked why am I a preferred customer if I have to pay an additional fee for someone to come out and look at the furnace that you replaced that keeps breaking down? They said that the preferred customer gets first priority when things break down but still has to pay an extra fee just to have someone come out, oh and I get a discount on parts if something breaks down. Then the reminder calls got less frequent and I would have to remind myself to have call them and when I did they were always booked out weeks in advance and with my schedule being so alI over the place I wasn't able to schedule that far in advance. Again, I asked them what the benifit of being a preferred member is if I now have to remind myself to call to schedule these tune-ups, which by the way they stressed was important to have every year. Now fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when I called to get an estimate on a new air conditioner, which they did not charge me and also offered to do my furnace tune-up since no one called in the winter to set up. The gentleman that came out was very nice but proceeded to tell me that when they put in my furnace 5+ yrs ago they didn't set up the ducted work correctly which why my furnace does not run properly, which is why we FREEZE all winter long. He said there was some duct that was closed which caused my furnace to overrun which caused it to not work properly, mind you this is a new furnace! He then told me my quote for a new air conditioner is $6100 which would include the correction on the ductwork that was supposed to be added when they replaced my furnace. WTH, so you are charging me for something that should've been done 5+ years ago? To which he said no we will do it for free. How is that free when all the other quotes I got were half the cost of what Bonfe's was quoting me? His only come back as we offer a lifetime guarantee, umm am I not already part of that guarantee? I pay a monthly fee for that benefit. I am so disappointed in this company, I have paid thousands of dollars with them and have been a loyal customer and they are trying to screw me by charging me $3000+ extra to fix a problem that should've been fixed when I purchased the overpriced furnace from them. Oh, and after this tech left I went upstairs and my bedroom now sounds like I am sleeping in a giant wind tunnel. I tried closing some of the vents to get it to not be so loud but whatever he did is not working. I called to cancel my "preferred" membership and the person asked me why and I proceeded to tell him all of this and his only reply was oh ok, we will go ahead and cancel your membership. No apology or any kind of empathy or a suggestion to fix the problem. A very disappointed customer!

This company sits on the fact that you pay a premium price for customer service, how quickly they respond, the quality behind their work, and their warranties. I received almost none of that. I feel ripped off after paying nearly double the cost of their competitors for having my sewer main line snaked for 30-35 mins. The first tech, although very nice and seemed honest, was not equipped by Bonfe with a camera to scope his work, make sure all obstructions had been cleared, and continue snaking during the time I had already paid for if the camera showed it was needed- which after having it scoped days later by the second technician and seeing what was left behind on camera, it could've used that extra time to snake further. The second technician even pushed out some of the debris with the camera to the city sewer line as he was scoping my sewer main- further proof that more time (that I already paid for) could've been used to snake my sewer main. I was quoted $13,940 for a hydro-jetting and a pipe liner for my sewer main by the second Bonfe technician that came with the camera scope. There definitely were pressure sales tactics that occurred by the second technician in the form of a discount if you decide in the next day or so, but I did not cave and I received 3 other bids on the same work. The closest one to your price was $9,000, the next was $6,950, and the final was $6,271 for the same work! That is less than half the cost of your bid from VERY reputable companies! Bonfe must rely on pressure sales tactics because anyone getting multiple bids would never pick Bonfe to complete the work! I'm guessing nothing will come of this review based on Bonfe's responses to other bad reviews- Bonfe has consistently taken absolutely no ownership/responsibility for any wrong doing or mistakes, and many times sounds condescending to unsatisfied customers. Bonfe's response will likely say something about paying a premium cost due to Bonfe's customer service, the overhead costs of running a business that is as responsive as Bonfe, and the warranty/quality surrounding the work. But none of that was my experience, so I am left wondering why such a ridiculous price?! The person I made an appointment with said the tech would be at my house first thing in the morning (as they were pretty much open on the schedule), but the technician did not arrive until 7 PM. All updates concerning the delay were given when I called customer service, not the other way around. The first time I called (around 10:30 AM), they said it would be delayed until around 1 PM. I had to call around 3:30 PM to get another update, and had to call again at 6:00 PM to make sure they were even coming. Not once did customer service call and inform me. Every call to figure out the status of when a technician would be out to my home was placed by me. If that isn't your go-to tactic, based on your responses to other bad reviews, you will likely argue that I chose to sign off on the work. And yes, I signed off on the work knowing it was priced too high. But I will say that for double the cost, I at least expected the quality of work to be on par with your competitors and my previous experience clearing my line in February , which it was not and the camera scope by your technician DAYS later proved that. Not only that, but I already had to pay $89 just to get you in my house, so at that point I might as well pay the extra cost just to get it done while you were there. I'm happy I only lost out on a couple hundred dollars and not thousands like some other customers have (based on their reviews). Your price of $491 to snake my line for 30-35 mins, which I did received $50 off from the tech for my poor customer service experience, wasn't worth denying and paying Bonfe $89 for doing nothing just to call someone else to come out and do the job for $275. I'd rather have it done right away instead of wait for another appointment with another company just to save $127 at that point. But I did expect the job to be as good as your competitors and it wasn't. And yes, I signed off on the work after he finished snaking the line because I couldn't SEE it until days later when a different technician came with the camera, so please don't try to make that argument either when responding to my review. I hardly think it's coincidence since all other companies have immediately shown their work with a camera scope. And just so Bonfe is aware, all these other reputable companies I received quotes from (and ultimately went with one to complete the work) also backed their work with warranties, gave me the best possible price without having to sign up for some monthly membership deal, they were better prepared when they came to my house- all techs had their own scoping cameras and showed me their work before leaving, they were more knowledgeable, and their customer service was more responsive- they actually called ME if they were running late. Stay away!