Mitchell R.

8/14/2017

Bonfe Experience

On 8/11/17 had an unfortunate incident with AC system as internet installer punctured the refrigeration line from the inside wall of our home.
Had called several AC repair folks & only Bonfe had anyone available for emergency service. Spoke with Bonfe & at 930AM & the rep said they could have a tech out by 130PM. At 200PM called back & said he is being delayed at previous job but should be their soon. Tech arrived at 315PM. The tech looked at the unit, looked inside the wall & stated he could not repair the unit, it had to be an installer. (I was confused as the ad says 93% same day completion, guess we are the 7%?) Asked when the installer could repair the unit and said Monday. OK can we do it in the afternoon? No it would be 1200 or wait til Tuesday. (7-day service?)
Also asked what the estimated cost would be & was told Not sure, $400-800 Kind of a big range for a punctured line & re-charge?
Had to use half a vacation day to make the appt in order to get air conditioning, got home and waited. Called office at 1220, placed on hold for 5 minutes. Was told was still at other job & been there since 8AM but the dispatcher would contact me. (Dispatcher never called) Called back at 115PM, placed on hold for 9 minutes while rep tried to get a hold of the dispatcher. Was then told in the area still at other job & dispatcher would call when is on way? Received call at 213PM tech on way. Arrived at 245PM looked at the job, was on phone for approx. 15 minutes. Revised quote was now $1471 for the repair?
So wasted three days waiting to get the AC fixed, burned half vacation day for them to show almost 3 hours late & had the quote changed dramatically. Needless to say very disappointed and will know have to find someone else to do the repair. Perhaps they are just better at plumbing!
Oh watch what you sign with them! Didn't realize was signing everything was done to my satisfaction until received the email receipt!!!

Gretchen Z.

2/20/2015

During a heater maintenance visit, the technician discovered something that prompted him to tell me that I needed a new heater. That is fine, if they could document the problem, but they could not. I called other companies to determine if I needed a new heater and I was told that you can put a camera into the heat receiver to determine if there is a crack. I wish that Bonfe's had this capability as this would have given me confidence that I had a real problem.

Megan L.

01/07/2015 12:00:00 SA

I have never written review before, but this time I have to write to let future customers know what kind of quality service this company serves.

I had read so many good reviews about this company and 99% of them are about Mike (I guess he is the only good tech in the company, I was he was the one that came to my house). So I made my appointment with Bonfe's today because my electrical water heater is not working.

But the appointment ended up like a sales plan. The plumber came in and took a look and said the upper and lower elements of the water heater are broken, for the replacement of the two elements is $650, for the replacement of the water heater is $2200. And then he also said that my water softener tank is old too, not really working. I asked how can you tell the tank is working or not since it has no indicator, he answered there is too much water in the tank and since the tank is old i don't wanna touch it. so I asked how much to replace a new one, he said $2700. Whattt??!! so total together to fix them is 5 thousand dollars. And then I asked how about I buy the tank from home depot, what is the installation fee for that? He said $800. Period. I was totally disappointed.

I searched online the prices of the water heater and water softener tank are around 300 to 600 dollars.

Just be careful, don't trust them fully until you get your second quote from another company. And the service fee just for showing up is $89.

Jeff R.

9/24/2022

Wow Bonfe suck! They told us they would let us know the night before when they would be coming. Now they said they have no idea when they will come today. They will call before they come

Ben J.

02/01/2019 12:00:00 SA

I was a piece of mind Bonfe customer but after two completely disappearing appointments that they had no record of scheduling even thought I scheduled out 1 month ahead on both. Took the days off too waiting for them and finally just cancelled their service. I would not recommend them.

Ryan N.

04/12/2017 12:00:00 SA

The tech was very friendly and polite, but wanted to charge me $460 to replace a shutoff valve under my kitchen sink. The part is a simple ball valve, and he thought it would take him 30-45min to change out. Still had to pay their $89 appraisal fee, but even with that it will still cost me 1/3 of the price they quoted to have someone else do it. I could tell he felt bad having to quote me a price like that for the amount of work that needed to be done, but it's of course not his fault.

Megan H.

5/31/2021

Ridiculously overpriced. Bonfe quoted +$3600 to replace and install a 40 gallon short water heater. A quick competitive check proved Bonfe to be +270% of other quotes. Ended up contracting with a local plumber for ~$1200. Buyer beware, you are paying for advertising and high pressure sales tactics.

Lee B.

6/17/2022

If you want to pay over $700 for some simple plumbing work (installing a new connector from the dishwasher to the water source) that took 20 minutes, Bonfe is the place for you. If not, I would go somewhere else. I will say they were prompt in showing up, and you do get a lifetime guarantee. But, over $700 for a 20 minute project and a part that couldn't have cost more than a few dollars? Not fair at all. I'll be taking my business somewhere else in the future that's for sure.

Peter R.

7/27/2015

Zach was a laid back, patient tech. He was happy to explain what he was doing and why. Double checked his work the whole way through...and now my house is cool. He was on time and courteous.

Michael B.

9/24/2018

We have a service contract with Bonfe's and have done business with them several times over the years. In general the people they send are decent and we've never needed to do much except get out old gas heating unit checked.

Most recently we'd been advised by Xcel that we should replace the valve and connecting line for our gas stove as they were old and susceptible to possible intermittent leaks. We looked up the parts to do the the job and saw that they were easily under $100. We called Bonfe's to come do an estimate and possibly the job. They gave us and estimate of $900. What!?? It's valve and line screwed to an easily accessible pipe. We declined, paid the $89 fee and called Norblom. They came out exactly when they said, calling beforehand. They did the job in well under an hour and charged less than $270.

Sorry Bonfe's, you got our last $. That's just a ridiculous amount to overcharge. Apparently the people at Bonfe's work at least partly on commission and bid jobs whole rather than parts and labor, so they're motivated to get as much as they can, so buyer beware.

Tom A.

07/11/2017 12:00:00 SA

Had bonfe come out to look at a dryer vent that had to be replaced. The tech comes out and give me a bid for $1000. ??? For a dryer vent. Then charges a $90 trip fee when I dont what to agree to his price gouging. Really disappointed in the horrible attitude towards trying to rip people off. Called in to talk to a supervisor and never got a call back.

Dustin D.

9/15/2018

I called Bonfe around 7 PM on a Friday night when I noticed the house wasn't cooling with my A/C. I was able to get through in 1 call on a Friday night which I was scheduled for next day service. Tech arrived Saturday Morning. Jeff was very professional who was even local to my Community. He had my A/C nice and cold and job complete in under an hour from his arrival. It's 92° outside and it's 68° in my house A/C has no problem keeping up. Problem solved by Bonfe on a hot weekend in under 24 hours start to finish during what other companies would consider non-business hours. Bonfe knows how to roll, I appreciate such prompt & professional service. Thank you Jeff!

Mike J.

10/08/2020 12:00:00 SA

The service tech was pleasant to work with, but the answers he gave us were a little over the top in what was needed to correct the problem. He told us a new circuit board was needed, but wasn't sure that was the answer, at a cost of $1700. Also told us it was time for a new furnace. We had another company come out and they solved the problem for a third of the money, and told us our furnace was in great shape. So Bonfe, is this how you extract money from your customers, tell them they need something and hope they pay, ver poor customer service, never again using your company!

Devon G.

6/27/2020

Updated review:
Never will I ever use Bonfe again. The only upside to this company is the fast response time, especially nights and weekends and a low off hours visit fee - and for that they get 1 Star.

Our AC gave out and the tech told us our fan motor was toast and we could fix it to the tune of $1200, or buy a new unit for $7k. When I mentioned I'd been quoted by a competitor $3300 for a new Carrier unit a few months ago he laughed and said he didn't know how that was possible but if I found that low of a price I should go with them, and you know, you get what you pay for.....
Well, okay, I guess I will.

I've now had multiple quotes from other companies to either fix the fan or install a new unit and they're all at least half the price of the Bonfe quote- for both the repair option and the replace option. I guess they can say their Amana is a much more amazing and better brand (and is it really?) but that does nothing to explain the gross price gouging on the repair. Never again.

David K.

11/23/2013

I just switched to Bonfe from an other well known twin cities heating and plumbing company. The difference was night and day. Tom at Bonfe was very knowledgable and honest.

Rickilee R.

02/07/2021 12:00:00 SA

We called last night as a part broke and we had to turn off our furnace. The 24 hour service is more for just being able to schedule an appointment, not for someone to come out. Then we scheduled an appointment and their window was 7-12 and we would get a call. No call, and they arrived around 3pm. They didn't have the part and were told something completely different, that our furnace wasn't responding. So nothing was completed and we paid the $89. We'll use someone else.

Brad P.

6/20/2014

I have been a Bonf'e Bronze member for over 6 years since I moved into my house upon my move to Minneapolis. For $19 per month, I get the peace of mind knowing that if something goes wrong with my plumbing or heating, I get reduced pricing, I also get a free heating check up in the fall and A/C check up in the spring. What I didn't realize is that these guys are indeed CON artists!
Everytime they come out for a free inspection, it ends up no matter what, something is wrong or needs to be replaced and not cheaply I might add! Five years ago, they did a furnace inspection in the fall and I was told that my furnace would need to be replaced to the tune of $7K and that it would not make it through the winter if I did not replace it. Well I rolled the dice and guess what? FIve years later my furnace works fine and I am having it serviced by somebody else!
Yesterday was the kicker though, I have a water heater that is leaking so I called them to come out and take a look at it. I was told that it needed to be replaced and that becasue I am a bronze member, my cost would be $2300! I said no thank you. Went to Home depot, found my exact water heater with a 12 year warranty (I only plan to be in the house another 5) and received a quote to be installed with all the proper paperwork, removal of old water heater, etc for $935!! Unbelievable. Needless to say, I am cancelling my bronze membership and will NEVER call them again.

C C.

04/02/2017 12:00:00 SA

I'm very glad that Adam N was my plumber. He was immediately cordial and friendly. He listened to a brief description of the issue, assessed the problem, then came back and explained what was wrong. There were a couple of options that Bonfe offers, so he explained the costs and the pros/cons of each. The job was repaired very quickly and it's been running great, even better than before it was broken. Adam gets 5 stars!

Bonfe did not do a great job of keeping on schedule or keeping me updated on reschedules. They called me an hour after my appointment window had passed to let me know that someone would be available after another hour and a half. That window passed, and another hour went by before they gave me another, future time. About half an hour after that window, I was told that the plumber was on the way. I was on standby all day with another company in town, and if they had an opening, I would have taken that appointment and cancelled with Bonfe.

Tom M.

1/18/2019

Bonfe called to apologize about the high charge for my mother's thermostat. They reduced the charge - still expensive in my opinion but much closer to fair and I appreciate the effort.

JT E.

6/22/2018

Never ever hire Bonfe. My tenant called Bonfe because of a minor leak under the sink, and their plumber came onsite and determined the disposal was broken and it needed to be replaced. All service seemed good until the following happened.

A 3/4HP Garbage disposal retails for between $200-$250, but Bonfe feels it's okay to charge $1250 to replace a garbage disposal. My tenant unknowingly approved this charge because they didn't know the cost of the disposal and Bonfe doesn't disclose the cost of parts versus labor on there invoice. So just doing some basic math a $250 (retail disposal) means there plumber charged $500/hr for labor for the 2 hours they were onsite.

Unless your house is literally flooding save yourself from getting your wallet cleaned in addition to your drains.

They also failed because they are not supposed to service rental properties if the owner isn't present, so strike two Bonfe.

Greg W.

5/28/2014

The AC was not working on my townhouse when we tried to start it up for the first time this year on Monday 5/26. I called Bonfe first thing in the morning of 5/27, and they were able to send out a tech that afternoon! I was called ahead of time to let me know the tech was available, and was met at the house by Zach H exactly when they said he'd be there. Zach was very professional and walked me through exactly what he was looking for on the unit, and showed me where things were going wrong. After diagnosing the problem, he gave me a couple options of what could be done to resolve my problem, and clearly explained the differences and what the cost differences would be for the options. An option was picked, and he performed the service on the spot. All in all the service was handled excellent, and the unit is perfoming like brand new now!

Ryan Z.

7/21/2018

This is the first negative review I've ever written. I read reviews before I make purchases, and wanted to share my 2 Bonfe experiences to help bring awareness.

1 - furnace stopped working a few years back on one of the coldest days of the winter. Bonfe showed up first on my Google search, and took my call. That's where the positive experience ended. From the moment the technician walked in the door the objective was clear, sell me a new furnace, at top dollar. I called a smaller, local guy for a second opinion, who had my furnace fixed in an hour for less than $200. It's been running without issue ever since.

2 - water heater stopped working a couple of months ago. Understandably my wife didn't want to wait until I was able to take a crack at fixing it. She called Bonfe which brought back some memories, and I figured it'd be fair to give them another shot. Very similar story, it was all about selling new equipment, at a premium price. To add insult to injury, the technician was very condescending. The estimate to just to repair my water heater was more than me buying a brand new replacement at the local Home Depot or Lowes! I ended up fixing it myself for the cost of 2 new heating elements.

My wife was direct with them at the end of experience #2, which is why they attempted some follow-up, lip-service damage control. I tried to inject myself into that conversation, seeking a refund for their service visit. I decided that if they would've worked with me, I wasn't going to write any negative review. They never returned my call, and that's why I'm writing.

As I was sharing my frustration with a co-worker, she reported a similar experience.

I can tolerate a bad experience; we're all human, everyone deserves a mulligan every now and again, myself included. I feel like Bonfe was trying to take advantage of my situation both times.

Every bad review deserves a good review, so here goes - Bob Boldt is my goto for all things HVAC. He's been prompt, straight and reasonable EVERY time.

Nancy M.

9/25/2019

This is a difficult review to write because the guy that came out was good and I got my problem fixed in 15 minutes. However, I definitely should have done research because I was fairly certain I just needed a light switch. The single pole toggle switch is very inexpensive and as I said, he took out the old one and installed the new in under 15 minutes. The charge was $404.00. Yikes! Many of my townhouse neighbors use them, so I assumed they were reasonably priced. It would have been much less expensive had I done my homework and gotten a few quotes. Lesson learned.

Troy N.

11/29/2022

Our technician sold us on the service plan... Pay $11.00 now and save $100s!! Well.. what we does not tell you is that you are locked into that service plan for a year. So no.. You don't save $100s. I just called and they absolutely refuse to take the charge off. We have told our technicians to be more clear when telling clients... Okay. That's not helpful to me so take off my charge. A HUGE SCAM. Do. Not. Use!! Will not recommend and will tell everyone else to not use as well.

kristi b.

6/21/2013

Never Never Never. They will way overcharge you. They will come into your house, then go back outside to look in their catalogue and come back in with some outrageously inflated numbers (quotes). This guy tried to charge around $450 to have a wax ring replaced on my toilet. Are you frigging kidding me. What's worse is he tired to isolate me in another room away from the male bystander I had in my house for security so he could talk money in front of a woman whom he assumed would be an easy pushover. I was so deeply offended by this tactic. Puke. And then to try to quadruple to price? oh please. I got a licensed plumber to do it for $85. Never use this company unless you want to throw your money away and get treated like you are trying buy a used car from a sleezeball.

Sue D.

10/14/2014

While visiting an elderly relative in St. Paul, she needed a plumber & called Bonfe. The prices quoted were at least 3-4 times what they should have been. They must train their service-people on how to swindle little old ladies. For 1 leaky faucet, changing the guts of 1 toilet, and installing a new garbage disposal, the plumber tried to charge her $1500! Unbelievable! Then he convinced her to sign up for their priority client warrenty for $49/month. Outrageous! To top it off, the plumber failed to test the disposal installation & after it was run later that evening, it leaked. The plumber needed to return to fix it. So, they specialize in incompetence as well as highway robbery. I recommend you call another plumber.

Troy W.

2/17/2023

Very unhappy with the service Bonfe provided, they grossly overcharged my elderly widowed mother. I bought a garbage disposal as a gift for my mother and hired Bonfe to install this garbage disposal. I gave instructions to Bonfe that all install work for the disposal would be charged to me. My mother also wanted a new faucet in her bathroom and a replacement power outlet with USB installed for her kitchen, and that she would pay for that. I received a $750 charge from Bonfe thinking this was for the complete (plumbing and electrical) charge for the disposal. I thought this was on the high side, but acceptable. I was floored when my mother told me that she was presented a bill for $2110.00, plus another bill for the faucet install of ~$220! Also, she told me she 'was encouraged' and agreed to sign up for a $11 a month service, and that this $2110 was actually a discount! That without this monthly service her charge would have been $2610!! She, and I can't overstate this enough, DOES NOT NEED THIS MONTHLY SERVICE! She already has a service to check her furnace and other home appliances. Also, she does NOT need a service for the electrical work done as, and this is what Bonfe has told me about why this charge was so much, she has a 'lifetime warranty' on the work done. So why in the world does she need a monthly service from Bonfe then?? Unfortunately, I wasn't there for the install, but I think if I was she would not have been charged this outrageous fee for some simple and somewhat routine installation of a garbage disposal! I called McQuillan Brothers and asked what they would have charged for this and they said about '1/3rd' what Bonfe charged. I asked a former home handy man contractor and he agreed the charge Bonfe charged was extremely high for the work done! Don't go to Bonfe! They grossly overcharge for simple work. I see on Google ratings there this is a common complaint. Yelp Bonfe ratings were even less forgiving.

Uriah N.

6/27/2013

This place come out to check out our AC unit as the fan stopped spinning. After a few minutes he tells me that I need to replace my fan blower to the tune of $800! I quickly pulled up the replacement part of cozy parts.com and it was a $100 part and, in the end, took me 15 minutes to do myself.

I get companies need to make a profit...but $700 for 15 minutes of work?! I think not. Avoid this company like the plague unless you hate your money in which case they are all too happy to take it from you.

Jon O.

3/19/2014

Had appointment to show up by noon and they didn't arrive until 3pm without calling. Then the price quoted was just shy of $800, Thank goodness I had called some other technicians who could give me a price estimate over the phone and all came in less than $500, so I just sent Bonfe out the door without paying their fee as he was 3 hours late without calling.

Horrible service!

Karen M.

9/21/2014

Really happy with the service we've received from Bonfe. Prompt, knowledgeable, and professional, and really seem to care about their customers.

Linda W.

10/01/2019 12:00:00 SA

It was Friday night b4 Labor Day weekend and my toilet was leaking. I panicked and on Saturday morning called Bonfe. They had good reviews and a local company. B-4 they came over, I had googled the problem and realized it might need a new seal (simple fix). The toilet was only about 3 years old. The serviceman couldn't make it on Saturday and visit was rescheduled for Sunday morning. I was told several times I should replace the toilet for $1300. High pressure to sign up for their service plan which would have saved me about 80.00. The seal was replaced. An hour later, it was leaking again. He came back and said I needed a new toilet and he showed me the leak. The reason the toilet was leaking was because the screw wasn't tight in the tank. It was a very expensive service call. Bonfe did adjust the bill so I got the service plan rate. They also sent me a coupon for $25.00 off another service call. I wouldn't recommend Bonfe. One suggestion to you ... know where to turn off the water. Turn it off. Google the problem. Don't panic, call multiple companies and get a price quote. Don't make the same mistake I did.

Debbie L.

05/01/2017 12:00:00 SA

Jess C. arrived on time, quickly diagnosed the problem with my oven and fixed the oven the same morning because he made a special trip to pick up the part.

Joe F.

4/14/2022

STAY AWAY FROM BONFE! I was expecting a routine $99 drain cleaning service. $1700 later, the problem was not fixed, and the situation was completely misdiagnosed by Bonfe's inexperienced workers.

The technician for the drain cleaning arrived and announced that there would be an additional $700 fee(!!!) to remove a toilet in the basement bathroom that was necessary to access the sewer mainline. Thankfully I am handy enough that I was able to do this 3 minute task myself while the technician got his auger from the truck, but I am sickened to think of the hundreds of other customers who end up paying this exorbitant fee.

The technician was unable to clear the blockage but said he was confident that a $1700 Intense Drain Cleaning would fix the problem - most likely scale buildup on the pipesin his opinion. I reluctantly agreed. 3 hours later, the Intense Drain Cleaning had failed. I was still charged the full price. The technician announced my sewer had most likely collapsed under the street, and Bonfe could no longer help me.

This turned out to be a completely incorrect diagnosis - in fact my sewer line does not even go out to the street in my area. Other sewer cleaning services who came for followup work were shocked at the costs, diagnosis, and recommendations made by Bonfe's inexperienced technicians.

Bonfe employs inexperienced technicians and charges many multiples higher than smaller services in the twin cities. They use predatory practices to upcharge customers after coming into their homes under the guise of a $99 drain cleaning or tune up service. Use a smaller local company if you would like to be treated fairly.

Dorjee D.

2/19/2023

The technician are great ,company provides the fair price and the work gets done on time ,thank you and greatly appreciate your business.

Ben S.

10/12/2016 12:00:00 SA

Recently had Bonfe to the house and quote on some very basic electrical work.

Pricing was exhorbitant...

Suggest you get 2-3 firm/valid quotes elsewhere before contacting Bonfe.

Jon W.

8/19/2014

I agree with Bill B. Bonfe's are con artists. I had them do some same day work on our boiler. They ultimately discounted the price in such a way that included a $10/month service plan. Cheaper to include the plan than paying straight up for the work. Fine, I thought. Well after 12 months, I called them to cancel the plan which they said they did. It wasn't until 6 months later that I realized they were still charging my credit card. Trying to connect with them to fix the error resulted in no call backs from Bonfe's.

Also, while under their maintenance plan, I had them give me an estimate to repair a vent pipe at one of my wash basins. The guy looked at it and talked about how complicated the work would be. Gave me a $950 estimate. I sent him on his way then went to Menards and picked up some PVC and fittings for $16. Spent 35 minutes and was done.

I'd give them a Zero if I could. I'll say this though. Bonfe's is quick to respond to your call for plumbing help. Once they show up though, watch out.

Matthew R.

11/02/2012 12:00:00 SA

Did this using a Living Social Deal. The scheduling was easy, communication clear, and Tom was a very knowledgeable technician. Glad I did it.

Burger J.

7/17/2017

I made the mistake of calling Bonfe to fix an air conditioning system that was not working. I should have paid the $89 for the diagnosis and called it a day. However, the pressure was on from the family to get it fixed and I know nothing about A/C. Boy, did I get taken-$952 to replace two capacitors (cost of roughly $14 a piece.) Afterwards I talked to a couple of A/C contractors who told me this call should have cost $300 tops. Whoever reads this, please call someone else, or make Bonfe submit a bid so you don't get taken like I did.

Jen O.

11/21/2015

Be careful and do your research before agreeing to any of this company's work. They told us a part on our heater was out and they could replace it for $199--today only! Usually it's a $350 charge (sketchy sales pitch). We went online and it's a $1.99 part that is easily and safely self-installed.

The technician was nice was but their sales tactics are aggressive and deceptive.

R J.

09/11/2014 12:00:00 SA

Agree with Bill B. You expect a reasonable bid when they come out and when they hand you the estimate they are significantly over any reaonable level. How do I know its unreasonable? Becasue their cost to do a 2 hour job was $800. Doing the math thats $400 per hour. And yes, if you don't accept their unreasonable bid, you pay the $89 visit fee. And then they cut the bill by a $100 if you join their service program which requries a one year $19 per month payment. That gets you a couple tune ups. But, then they try to get you to buy overpriced AC regulators to install on your system. I also got them to give me a bid on a water heater. They were double the price of the reputable company I eventually used to install. Live and learn.

Ben M.

12/12/2016 12:00:00 SA

If I could rate them 0 stars I would, but looks like 1 is the lowest Yelp goes. Worst service company I have ever used. They were 1 of 4 companies Nest suggested to hook up my unit(s). The lady on the phone was nice, but gave me wrong information that they had looked at my configuration and they'd be able to get everything to work if I had someone come out. The visit costs $89, which means it would be $100-300 tops. The service person tells me it would cost $975 to re-wire everything in addition to $265 to install it then proceeds to try to upsell me into a monthly service plan for at least $8.95-39.95 (with a 12 month commitment). When I told him that was totally different than what the lady on the phone said, he said they aren't aloud to talk to customers about the plan. I told them to put the old thermostat back on and I'd pay the $89 for the trip. The heat and fan did not work after he left. When we called him he said I hooked it up right. I've done thousands of these. You should've gotten the plan. My wife called him and all he said is you should've gotten the plan.

We ended up hiring someone that night (not Bonfe) that did a wonderful job for a lot less money. Anyone who is looking to do anything HVAC or Electrical related, look at your options. 1) There's no reason to get a monthly plan for HVAC care unless you want to throw money away. My family moved back to MN from WA and the only people I've ever seen do this are the uber wealthy in Seattle. 2) Check other companies and ask friends. I did after this experience and they confirmed my suspicions about Bonfe's rep and gave me a ton of reliable contacts that would be able to help me with anything I need done.

Ardis B.

1/18/2021

My boiler stopped working and I had no heat, which in the winter leads to a bit of panic, which apparently turned off my common sense because I hired Bonfe. While I appreciate how quickly Bonfe responded, and that they got my heat going again, they charged way too much for the repair I agreed to, and I don't feel I received an honest assessment of my boiler. I received a second opinion today from a highly rated HVAC technician, who told me the part Bonfe replaced -- the ignition switch -- is roughly a $12 to $20 part. He told me these parts commonly go out, and showed me how simple the part is to replace (basically two screws and two wires). He said it should take at most 10 minutes. Given that it was a Saturday, a fair premium fee might be $300 to $400 dollars. Bonfe charged me $778! The technician said two other parts (valves related to the water feed) needed to be replaced as well, and the quotes for each of those was about the same as the switch, so another ~$1,600!! The HVAC tech today said those parts would be about $120, and it might take as much as a couple of hours. Naturally, the Bonfe guy suggested I need a new boiler, that by the time I fixed everything wrong with mine ..., well, you know. $12,000 for a Bosch with an 83% rating; $18,000 for a high-efficiency Bosch. I compared those quotes with a few Heating and Air firms, all of whom agreed those were ridiculous numbers. Today's HVAC tech said my boiler should last many more years. Gosh, I just don't like being treated like the Bonfe guy treated me. Who does? The goodwill created when someone is honest goes a long way.

Td B.

11/05/2015 12:00:00 SA

No stars for this place. I had them out to my house to look at my furnace since it didn't work this fall. We live close to bonfe so we called them. A tech came out, spent a long time looking at my furnace with a confused look. As I watched him he seemed to know nothing about what to do. He looked at me and said your furnace is bad I'm gonna call a senior tech to look at it. He left us without heat. We have kids might I add. A senior tech showed up. I've never heard of a company sending out a senior tech. The main tech should be able to fix or resolve and explain the issue. In comes the senior tech. All sales pitch. Looks at our furnace and said its old and can't be fixed. He never tried to troubleshoot it. All sales. He pushed us to sign a contract and then tried selling a service contract. We said we need to have a second opinion. He then planted a yard sign in our yard. It had a bonfe logo on it and then proceeded to say they were hiring on it. Nice. A advertisement for them hiring. I see why they are hiring because the can't fix anything. They said $12000+ for a new furnace and ac. We had 2 other companies out. Both much lower and didn't push to sell. We chose Boehm heating company. They actually got the furnace working and said to call them if we wanna replace it. We decided to replace it since it was over 20 years old. They were half the price, for a complete furnace and a.c.,never pressured us and knew what they were talking about. They were amazing, courteous and clean. There is a reason they don't need to advertise. We also found out half of the people in our neighborhood use Boehm. We will always recommend them and never bonfe again. Make sure you get a second opinion if you have bonfe in your house. And never sign a service contract. New equipment doesn't need to be serviced every year. And it should be warrantied by the company that puts it in for at least 10 years which is a manufacturing warranty carried on by a good respectful company. Boehm actually doesn't sell service contracts to lock you in and said to call them i n 3 years or so for a tune up. Unbelievable difference in companies. And no yard sign!

Barb G.

03/05/2014 12:00:00 SA

We have a duplex in the cities that needed a pump put on a boiler system. The technician said that they would have to replace the pump, bladder and that they would have to move the hot water heater to be able to do the work quoting my son $3000 - $3500. Needless to say we got a second bid and all that needed to be replaced was the pump and NOTHING else and they did it for $400. They also get a free $90 fee for coming out it they do the work or not. This is a total rip off and very tempted to turn them into the BBB. I can see having a difference of a couple hundred dollars but thousands? I would be very very cautious hiring this company. It looks like they add in totally bogus stuff that needs to be done.

Brice N.

2/21/2022

Have had Bonfe for everything. Had them for a new furnace install, water heater, softener. Our pipes went bad, they replaced them all. Was good service. They came for routine service on the furnace, 3 years after install, and said everything was fine. Later today notice the furnace is blowing but not hot air. Now we are sitting in a house sitting at 58 degrees and dropping. Called and was told I'd have to pay emergency rates to have someone come out. It was their problem! They did this! Had they not come to make sure everything was working it would have been fine. Been a peace of mind customer for years. They are coming to fix this tomorrow and that's the last time I'll be calling them. Spent over $20k on their services and get this kind of response. Family of 5 bundled in their home with a non functioning $15k plus Bonce furnace system installed.

Justin B.

4/30/2018

I called Bonfe for a Water Heater repair because they were open on Sundays. They couldn't come on Sunday, but did come first thing Monday morning. I'm fine with a service call fee that gets absorbed into the eventual repair, but I assume that's the fee then if they can't fix the issue. Their solution didn't fix the issue, and then I had to negotiate with them for what I would pay (they found a billing code for something less than the unsuccessful repair). The larger issue was that their quotes for the next idea were outrageous, including installing a new water heater for 3 times the cost of other providers. Friendly and courteous, but pricing is ridiculous and the service seemed like guessing.

Todd H.

01/02/2015 12:00:00 SA

With-in the last five years or so my wife and I have purchased a new furnace, AC and other numerous services from them. I've written positive reviews for them in the past, but Unfortunately, my wife and I just ended our five year plus relationship with Bonfe and canceled our Peace of Mind Service Plan.

I'm not sure what's is going on with them but it's not the same company we are used to dealing with. Prior to this everything had been fantastic; expensive, but at least they were extremely dependable and the technicians were always professional and courteous. Then this past fall we ended up having to wait six weeks for a dishwasher part that we were tyold would take a couple of weeks. In the meantime, we were unable to use it. NO FUN AT ALL. After a couple of weeks we had to call them to check on status. They told us they would call us back with an update and after a day or two we would again have to call them back. What was really frustrating was that I was lead to believe that the part was on back order and that it was a hard part to get for some reason. However, I looked up the part from their work order and I found and verified the part at multiple vendors online. I mailed and emailed a letter explaining our frustration and asked them to purchase the part from one of the vendors who had it available. No one even acknowledged the letter. Three weeks later or so the part finally showed up.

I wanted to chalk it up to some type of fluke, plus the dishwasher was now working so I moved on. However, we now have been waiting for a soap dispenser insert for six weeks. Same scenario as last. They told us a couple of weeks. Never showed up and I have called them three times and still no part. First time they said it should arrive shortly. Second time, they said that the part had been delivered and installed. The third time they said it would be there before the 27th of Dec. Nothing ever showed up and I'm tired of paying them $ 55 per month to have anything but peace of mind using them.

Recently they gave me a quote for a new hot water heater. For a 50 gallon heater they wanted $2700. Another large and licensed business will do it for about $1000. I'm kind of appalled at the mark-up, but when you do provide good service you can make this type of profit from customers, but you had better provide far better service then what is being delivered currently.

Very Disappointed.

Dan S.

03/11/2013 12:00:00 SA

Great fast service. Done right the first time! Great warranty! Great quality! Great customer service.

Walt R.

10/05/2016 12:00:00 SA

andy f. was very knowledgable and efficient. pleasant and patient with questions. very professional and personable.

Tom G.

9/13/2016

Jason M did a great job taking care of a problem with our main bath toilet. Cleaned up after his work and never would know he had completed a messy repair and replacement. Jason is another great example of the quality of service we've received from Bonfe. They have become our first call for repair.

Tina T.

6/29/2019

I had someone over to take a look at my leaky water heater. He didn't even take a close look at the problem, just asked me what was wrong, I said it was leaking, then he said we needed a brand new water heater, didn't even attempt to fix my leak due to the reason that our water heater was too old. He then proceeded to have us purchase their water heater for $3500, and get us to sign up for their monthly plan, didn't even discuss how much it would cost or how to fix the current problem. After trying to be polite and listen to his scheme, I asked if there was anything he could do to stop the current leaking and he straight up told me not to bother because my water heater was too old and that I must make the new installation within the next two days or else my basement is going to be flooded. I wish I would've read all these reviews before calling them over. Waste of my time listening to him trying to sell me something even before trying to fix my current problem. That was so much unappreciated.

Bill B.

4/26/2014

Con artists. Had a water heater go out, called my normal plumber but he was swamped with work and would not be able to come for a day. Called Bonfe to because they could come same day and I thought I'd probably pay a little more but it would be worth it for some hot water.

The intake person on the phone informed me that they have an $89 visit fee but if I get the work done it is waved, well ok because I planned on getting the water heater replaced by them. That is until they gave me the estimate. Initial estimate is $2950 for a basic 50 gallon water heater installed, but wait . .. . if i sign up for their $69/mo gold service plan they can knock it down to just $2350. Such a deal. I paid them to go away and they will never be back. My normal guy is here today and will be done in an hour, using the same brand and make of water heater I'll be into it for $1000.

Tempted to call the better business bureau, its as if Bonfe really didn't want to do the job and just wanted to collect the $89 service visit fee and move on. If some sap is willing to pay their inflated prices I'm sure they'd be happy to oblige but are equally happy just to take their money and run. The plumber they sent wasn't even embarrassed by their estimate.

Michala B.

12/02/2020 12:00:00 SA

Do not call this business for anything. I contacted this business to get an estimate on installing lighting in my dinning room. Scheduling set an appointment for around noon on Saturday, and they never showed up, and they didn't call until 4 pm with a request to reschedule. The rep stated that the technician was sent out on a job that took the entire day. I would suggest finding a reliable company for your electrical needs.

Robert S.

3/18/2018

Very poor service. First technician did not fix the second did not show and we are a preferred customer that pays an annual fee. Do yourself a favor and find another company. Will save you money and get you better service.

Max S.

10/19/2017

READ WHOLE REVIEW: I am a landlord of 8 rental properties in St. Paul. I started using Bonfe about 18 months ago because of there abundance of advertising in the area. I've seen their vans with their logo driving around many times and assumed because of their large presence in the area, they would do a good job. I couldn't have been more wrong. I've used them a number of times. Anything from fixing a toilet, fixing a water heater and even clearing a main line. They constantly have to reschedule and disgustingly over quote you for even the smallest of tasks. For one of my rental properties, the water heater wasn't working. I called Bonfe to take a look. They told me the water heater was on it's last breathe, despite it only being 6 years old, and that I had to replace it. To have them replace it would cost me upwards of $5,000. I decided to get a second opinion from a smaller local company. The other company informed me that the main gas line to the house had been shut off and that is why the pilot light wouldn't stay lit. To fix this problem all they had to do was turn a valve. Bonfe's professionals couldn't identify that perhaps the gas was shut off. They went right to replacing the whole system. My next horror story with Bonfe involves my mainline. At another one of my rental properties the main line was blocked which flooded the basement every time water was used. I had Bonfe come out on 3 occasions to clear the main line and they were unsuccessful. They were able to determine the issue; being that there were tree roots growing into the pipe and blocking the water. They told me that there was nothing they could do, and nothing any other company could do but to excavate the front lawn and put in all new piping. They quoted me $18,000 for the only viable repair. Naturally I wanted to get a second opinion because of my unfortunate history with the company. I called another local profession and he snaked the pipe in 2 hours. He charged me $240 for a repair that Bonfe quoted me $18,000 for. It seems that Bonfe instinctively jumps right to installed brand new everything. They have zero interest in fixing anything. Their only goal is to sell you new, even if the old can be fixed. They take advantage of the common folk who aren't educated in their profession and attempt to take advantage of that. I've mentioned 2 stories here in my review, but there are a handful more. Not as severe, yet still disheartening. They have never shown up when they claim. They give you a time window. They once gave me a window of 8 am-4pm. I don't know how things work in their industry, but to me that seems more like we'll show up sometime during the day. This doesn't work for me or anyone else since I'm an full time employed American who can't sit at his house and wait all day. I urge those of you considering using Bonfe to use another company. They're not reliable what so ever. Their only goal is to get you to sign up for their peace of mind membership. I personally guarantee that every time you use them they will ask you multiple times to sign up. This locks you into a monthly fee with them. Meanwhile they only wish to up sell you and have no intention of fixing your current issue, despite that being the main purpose of the peace of mind membership. Bonfe is made up of unreliable thieves. Zero sense of time and zero integrity. Keep in mind that I've used them roughly 20 times in the last year and half. This isn't someone ranting about 1 bad experience. Do yourself a favor and call the next number down on google.

Sincerely,

Too smart for the Plumbing thieves at Bonfe.

S M.

07/05/2018 12:00:00 SA

Absolutely horrible customer service and not professional. We had a tech come out to our home on a Friday to give us an estimate for a rather large project. He said the project wouldn't be a problem at all and he would send the estimate later that day or Monday morning at the latest. I have called Bonfe 9 times trying to get ahold of someone to give me the estimate (it's now Thursday evening). I got ahold of the manager who told me that the technician said they couldn't do the job because it was a complete gut job... weird, he never said ANYTHING about that to us when he was out here, not were we contacted by Bonfe afterwards to relay this information. She then informed me that he'd be able to get an estimate submitted to me this evening (confusing because just a second ago they said they couldn't do it?). Either way, it's very apparent their staff doesn't communicate with each other and that they could care less about their customers. At this point, I wouldn't trust them to hold a bucket of sand. Needless to say, our business is going elsewhere and I suggest yours should too.

Judy N.

09/11/2020 12:00:00 SA

Zero rating please
Called to have my sewer venting and drains checked. They did not come with a ladder or tools to open the main drain and no camera! They ran the water in each area and then said yes the venting is not up to date, we can send a plumber out to discuss removing cabinets and walls to install venting. Cost would be $5,000-$15,000 and they never opened the main drain to look for a blockage! Wow!!! Can I get this paycheck for doing nothing please! Can I hear you say BBB complaint...then charge $89 to turn on faucets! I was hosed.

Matthew C.

06/02/2020 12:00:00 SA

After reading reviews, looks like we dodged a bullet. My wife had scheduled them to come out for simple A/C cleaning/tune up. Took a few days to get them to call back to schedule. Once they did, we had it written down that it was a 8-12 time frame, so wife arranged to stay home (I work from home, but on calls frequently). After no one showed up, we called and they said we were on for 12-5. Maybe we had it wrong (though I would be surprised, wife is on top of schedules). Our understanding was that they would call to let us know when they were on their way. They ended up calling her at 2:15 but she couldn't take the call as she was with a client. She called back at 2:25 at which point they put her on hold for 7 minutes. When they finally took her call at 2:32, they reported we missed our chance and they had to move on. They tried to move to reschedule, but we said, yeah, no thanks.

My experience has always been that a service company might call to let you know they are on their way, but never to say if you don't answer at that specific moment, you just missed your chance. I mean, if that is the requirement, you might want to narrow down your window to less than 5 hours in case somewhere in that 5 hours I have to use the restroom, answer another call, etc.

At any rate, after reading reviews I've gone from irritation to relief. Who knows what would have been reported as needing replaced and a push for service contract, etc.

Brad S.

4/21/2016

My Experience with this company has been horrific. They charge for estimates and their prices, as I come to find out are 20 to 30 percent higher than most other organizations in the Twin Cities. Not only that, they came on day one, ripped out my AC unit and left stating that they would come back the next day to finish. They did not show up until 4pm and drilled a hole in my house and then left. Their customer service calls me at 8:30pm and tries to schedule a follow-up for the install the following week, not the next day. I would never use this company again, it has left a horrible taste in my mouth.

Gary N.

4/17/2017

They came out on time to repair a pull chain on a 3 year old ceiling fan. According to their code book for that type of job, the charge for that was similar to what they charge for a brand new fan, so they recommended that it would be easier and more economical to simply install a brand new fan.. So, instead of installing the chain, I gave them their $89 travel fee then found someone else to do the work I wanted for one third of the price they quoted.

D M.

6/18/2012

Bonfes has been a huge disappointment in my opinion too. I have been here every time a technician has come. My husband was not exaggerating. Back in November when they continually called us to schedule a cleaning and tune up I called and scheduled one. The technician came out and was down in basement for approximately 15 minutes; came up and said I am not going to clean the furnace as u just had it installed in August... (Well then why did u waste my time having me schedule a cleaning?) Nor did the technician even change one of the filters!

Furthermore... there is no payment plan. we pay this bill the same way we do all the others.. when it is due. We were told when we signed up for this protection that we needed to pay either by check or credit card... So what is the problem with paying by check when the bill comes due?

As of August when our contract expires, we will NEVER use Bonfes for anything ever again. We just used the scheduled maintenance in May and the technician disconnected the renters A/C and never hooked it back up again! We did not know for two days that the renters had NO A/C. I did call Bonfes and told them we were very disappointed in the appointment as now the renters had no A/C at all. They did send a technician out that same day and he did fix the A/C... But overall, we are very unhappy with Bonfes. If u ask us to pay $78,00 per month, we expect u to actually DO something for that money.. My husband was not exaggerating.. I have been here every time a technician has been here. WE would love to see a refund of the $78. for the last six months as we have not gotten our money's worth and poor service except for the one emergency call in May.

Jeff S.

12/23/2015

BONFE;S charged an $80 service call and offered an estimate of $800 to install an existing garbage disposal and basic PVC hook up of water trap. I told the Bonfe's plumber to leave my home.

I called a different plumbing company and was charged a total of $125,00 and was very happy. It took the ethical plumber 20 minutes to complete the repair.

I learned from the competitor plumber, that a lot of plumbers like BONFE'S are using a PRICE BOOK rather than charging by the hour. The PRICE BOOK overcharges by 4 to 5 times.

The PRICE BOOK SCAM provides a WIN \ WIN for the plumbing company in that the plumber always walk out of the residence with $80 dollar service fee when a home owner rejects the PRICE BOOK overcharging and a HUGE WIN for the plumbing company when a vulnerable homeowner pays for the highly inflated service.

This predatory practice exploits the most vulnerable people of our communities.

i am hoping that Media Outlets \ TV Investigative reporters and others with a social conscience will expose these companies.

Ask when calling for plumbing repairs if they use a PRICE BOOK. If the answer is vague or YES, call a different plumber to avoid being ripped off.

BUYER BEWARE!

Jan M.

04/02/2022 12:00:00 SA

Do not patronize Bonfe plumbing
There are abundant complaints online of outrageous pricing. Let me add our story. We paid over $800 to Bonfe to install a replacement faucet (that we supplied) Yes, we STUPIDLY agreed to the job thinking it had to involve more than 2 hours work. We STUPIDLY did not check reviews (needed a quick fix)
We could not image over $400 an hour for the work. Do not be like us, then, naive and now embarrased.

Robert C.

12/14/2016

Our boiler died on a Saturday night, on one of the coldest weeks of the year. Bonfe was able to get a technician to our place 9am on Sunday to see if they could restart it. Unfortunately, our 35-year-old boiler had fought its last fight, and ultimately needed to be replaced. Altin N. was extremely helpful in explaining our options, and was able to work with us to find a new boiler within our budget. He was also able to schedule installation for the following morning so that we would not be without heat for long.
Steve R, did the installation of the boiler. He did a wonderful job, and was pleasant and professional throughout the process. Perhaps most importantly, he left the basement CLEANER than it had been when he arrived.
Thank you Bonfe for getting all this work scheduled and completed so quickly! We have been extremely satisfied with your service every time we've had to use it.

Randy W.

9/22/2022

Pay attention to the reviews before you call these guys. In fact, DO NOT call these guys. They charged my 83 year old mother $810 to install ONE light above her shower. When she complained that it was outrageous they had the nerve to tell her it came with a lifetime warranty. It's a freakin light, what is going to break? They should be ashamed of themselves, but based on the reviews on here, they have no shame and just price gouge everyone. STAY AWAY!

Ed D.

02/07/2021 12:00:00 SA

Two years ago I left a 1 star review here due to my experience with Bonfe. I had them come out because my furnace was making noise (which ultimately turned out was just due to a blower motor with some water in it due to condensation, and was easily fixed by another repair company).

When Bonfe came in they told me my furnace was creating dangerous levels of Carbon Monoxide (CO) because of a hole inside where nobody could see without a special camera on a flexible wire. They then red tagged my furnace, which means they not only turned it off but they disconnected it so it wouldn't operate until it was fixed. This was in January, with sub zero temperatures at night.

The technician and the sales guy were in kahoots with one another. The technician used what I realized later were psychological techniques to try and make me feel like I was ignorant and incompetent to evaluate my situation. In other words, he was softening me up for the sales guy.

The sales guy comes in and tells me it will be $8,000 to replace the furnace. He put heavy pressure on me to have Bonfe come out the next morning (it's after 5pm when I'm talking to him, by the way). I told him I wanted to think about it over the weekend. Because I wouldn't give him the go ahead right then and there, the sales guy (not the tech) red tagged the furnace.

I thought this meant he was just putting a red tag on the furnace that said Unsafe. Not so. What the sales guy did was shut the furnace down by disconnecting wires inside it, without telling me. The sales guy leaves and an hour later when my house is down to 60 degrees I'm wondering what in the world is going on?! Upon investigation I found the disconnected wires, but had no way of knowing how to reconnect without causing damage to the electronics.

All night I had to run heaters and the stove and oven, with fans to move air around throughout the house so we and the pipes didn't freeze. I called another company (the one I originally bought the furnace from) and they came right out the next morning. They first reconnected the wires so the furnace would operate and the house could warm up. They weren't worried about doing so - they had seen this sort of behavior before not only by Bonfe but by all of the companies with billboards around town advertising furnace inspections for under $100.

Then they inspected the furnace. They found no holes inside the furnace. They found normal carbon monoxide levels - CO was perfectly within acceptable levels.

It is now 2 years later. I had my furnace inspected a couple days ago on general principle. Two years later, the CO levels are still where they should be. Quoting from the invoice left behind after the inspection: 18ppm low fire, 20 ppm high fire, system is running good and safe.

BOTTOM LINE: DO NOT USE BONFE. Look at all the negative reviews on Yelp and you will see, this isn't one sales guy, and one tech, looking to part thousands and thousands of dollars from your bank account, this is an entire company that is corrupt.

I encourage anyone who has had a similar experience to contact the Attorney General for the state of Minnesota and their elected representatives (House and Senate) and report their experiences.

Kris W.

08/01/2022 12:00:00 SA

Used their $99 special for sewer cleaning due to some roots about 70 ft out in our newly purchased home - wrong... the service is just a simple snaking but not clearing roots. Was sold some drain cleaner that was described to me as so awesome as an add-on they were going to do but simply given a tub of powder that's $40 more through them than Amazon. Camera guy - Alex - came; used a fish eye camera telling me i have a ton of protrusions in an attempt to sell me a sewer pipe liner for $12k and talked me into their $11/mo subscription - didn't bother to explain terms that included a required 12 months but we will get to that in a moment.
- called Drainbusters who did our initial sewer inspection to come back out. Watched Joe's camera while he talked me through it - pipes are great but Bonfe didn't clear the roots. Joe used a chain cleaner and cleared things right up - showed me pipes all the way to city connection and everything good to go. $300 well spent.
- Called Bonfe to cancel the subscription and explain that Alex failed to tell me about the 12 month requirement. Beth tells me it's at the bottom of my invoice - I never received an invoice after the camera, only after the snaking, thus no invoice for my monthly subscription but allows me to cancel since it's 30 days. However my card gets charged same day.
- Call back and speak to Gabby about the charge for a cancelled subscription. Tells me it can't be refunded because it was charged on the day I cancelled - but my service ended on that day. LOL at more wasted YOLO money.
SHADY BUSINESS PRACTICES, only out to sell unnecessary products and services. Call Drainbusters - you'll thank me later.

Kim O.

10/10/2014 12:00:00 SA

This company has unethical pricing and business practices. Years ago our AC broke and I called Bonfe for the repair. The price was high, and they said I could defray some of the cost if I signed up for their service plan. Monthly, I had been paying for the plan and had Bonfe to the house on a few occassions over the years to unclog a drain. Then, one morning we woke up to a broken hot water heater gushing water in to our basement. It was a work day and we were going out of town the next day. We actually said, At least we have Bonfe and called the number. This is our first home and we don't know how much appliances and services usually cost. To replace our water heater Bonfe charged us $2,400. This price was supposedly reflective of a 15% discount since we were peace of mind members. We found out later that day talking to friends that a typical water heater installed should cost between $600-900. When I called Bonfe to complain, they acknowledged their prices were higher than the market and even sent me a $400 refund. That's nice, except that still brings the cost of our water heater and installation to double the market value. I believe this company takes advantage of implied trust when you are a subscriber and when there's a real emergency, they price-gouge you. If you use this company for repairs, be aware that they charge exorbitant prices and unless you want to pay $70 a month to have your sink drain unclogged once a year, do not sign up for a peace of mind subscription. We also learned our lesson to always call for multiple quotes before getting a service. Very disappointing.

Diane E.

07/11/2019 12:00:00 SA

After calling to see if this was covered under warranty, They wanted to charge $600 to replace the wax seal on the toilet. I told them no way and had a local plumber do it. No way I will call them again

Carolina A.

07/03/2017 12:00:00 SA

Unless you are fine with paying for a service that you will not get and getting charged a nice $96 fee for every visit they do to see the issue, I would say go ahead and buy their service. Otherwise, I would say: save yourself this money, the headache and find a nice contractor that will do the job. There are plenty out there looking forward to provide this service to you guys!

When we bought our home, built on the 1950's, we thought that having a Home Warranty was a good idea. I could have never been so wrong in my life.

My first issue with them started when they would say that the issues I had would not be covered under the warranty as they were pre-existing! My house was built on the 1950's, obviously every issue I will have it will be pre-existing. It's an old house, if it was a brand new one I wouldn't be buying the warranty! When I made the offer to my house, I did 2 inspections and none of these problems with electricity and plumbing showed in any of those. When Bonfe, very disrespectfully instigated that I was trying to play smart, I offered to show them BOTH inspections I made so they could see that I was not aware of any of these problems and they were NEW to me. When Bonfe was running out of arguments, they got back to me saying that what I wanted was an upgrade and they have to charge for upgrades!!!

Let's make it clear: an upgrade for me is when you exchange your hot tub for a Jacuzzi, your Chevy Malibu for a BMW, when you move from Crystal to Minnetonka... getting an electrical issue fixed, which Bonfe's employee claimed it was a safety manner, it is not an upgrade, it is just doing the bear minimum and what they were paid to do!!

The schedules for me were also a nightmare! I leave work at 5pm, and I have a long commute. All my appointments would always be scheduled at 6pm or later and Bonfe at least 3 times tried to show up earlier, and I had to rescheduled them because they would not honor the time that was originally scheduled. One of the appointments during the weekend, they had me waiting at home for over 4 hours!

At this point I just feel fooled. The time I lost and the money I lost were not worth it of all the headaches I had because I hired this company.

Carl B.

8/31/2022

This review is in 2 parts - service itself and their service plans.

Their service itself is great. They came out for a clogged main sewer line, took care of us and the price was fair - sold me on their annual plan. For one off service calls Bonfe is great - don't hesitate to call.

My problem with them is their service plan. It is set up to make it difficult to cancel. There is no way to manage your plans on their website (customer service told me they were working on it), their customer service staff refuse to turn off the auto renew on the plans, and will not cancel it or flag it to be cancelled prior to the one year plan expiration date. I am now 24 hours from hitting my one year mark and will be calling them back tomorrow morning to cancel, where I have a sneaky suspicion I will have been auto renewed and charged. 0/5 stars for their service plan management. Nothing is this hard without being purposefully created to be difficult. I will not be using their service again due to my experience trying to cancel their service plan and being forced to jump through hoops.

Kim H.

12/25/2017

Terrible service not to mention they charge you $98 just walk in your door . I called for minor toilet tank leaking and so called technician they sent didn't know what to do I had to tell him how to fix it .....and he gave me estimates to fix other things......oh my god totally ripoff
I don't recommend this business...

Henry B.

11/10/2013 12:00:00 SA

Kyle showed up on time. He was very courteous and diligent. He was able to answer some questions I had. Bonfe's always provides great service, starting with its customer representative team.

Clinton C.

10/13/2017

I called Bonfe to schedule service for an Amana PTAC, since they are listed on the Amana website. I got their answering service. They took down my information and said they would give it to a scheduler who would be calling me back. Four days went by and no one called back. So I called Bonfe again. This time I got a scheduler who setup the appointment on a Thursday with an arrival window between 10:00 am and noon. They said someone would call 30 minutes before they arrived. When the Thursday arrived, no one showed up nor did they call to say they were not coming. I had taken off work to be home so I could let them in, so I was obviously very upset that no one showed. Late that night at 8:37 pm, someone called and left a message wondering if I still wanted someone to come out. I got the message about 9:00 pm, so I called them back. I got their answering service again. They said they would give it to a scheduler who would be calling me back. This was really exasperating. So I asked to speak with a manager, but they could not give out the phone number for a direct call. This is by far the worst service I have ever experienced in 35 years of owning a home. I would never recommend using Bonfe; and I'm wondering who else has experienced this same lack of service.

Stacia N.

12/07/2015 12:00:00 SA

I've called this company twice for service. The first time, they had a week long wait for service. That is way too long. The second time, I called for a rough estimate/second opinion and they refused to give any kind of a quote without sending a technician (which costs$)...even though I could tell them the bran of the boiler, the non functional piece that needed replacing and the diagnostic from the other company. And the woman I spoke to was very snotty about it. I won't be calling again!

Emily C.

06/10/2012 12:00:00 SA

Very pleasant experience. I called Bonfe at 8PM the night before and they had a technician (Wyatt) at my home by 10:30 the next morning. He was professional, courteous and explained what he was doing before he did it. Overall good experience.

Nancy W.

6/23/2016

Had Bonfe out 6 times in one year and could not clear the roots. Was told I needed my yard torn up and pipes replaced. Called Cardinal plumbing and they were able to clear the roots, give a warrenty and told my pipes are in good shape. Called to complain and get my money back and told they will not give me my money back and they would need to camera my pipes to check the work of Cardinal as they don't believe another company could do what they could not. Manager told me straight out he is not giving me my money back and even if pipes are root free, he would need to investigate more!!! Time to call the City of Blaine, BBB on this!!

James T.

6/19/2017

I rent a house and was having problems with my refrigerator. After giving bonfe all of my details they said that they do not service rental properties. It is their policy. What is the reasoning behind your policy? Is cash or an Amex from people who rent not good enough for bonfe? Are refrigerators in rental properties different from other houses (they are not) ? Please provide an explanation?

Khang M.

6/28/2015

After a year of waiting for the contractor who installed our Samsung Split system to come out and inspect it we decided to give Bonfe a call. Bonfe sent out Mike B who let us know up front that this will be a learning experience us and him. He let us know he will try his best to diagnose our system and that if he couldn't solve it today he would come back when Samsung tech support is available. He assured us he would not charge us for the return trip. About 30 minutes into looking at the system, our ac blew cold air for the first time. He explained the split systems to us and even offered their Piece of Mind plan. We would like to take this opportunity to commend Mike's great service and attitude. We really appreciate it.

Joe G.

9/30/2016

The lights were brightening and dimming in our house, we had switches that needed to be replaced and a ceiling light fixture rusted in place (leak from upstairs bathroom) and not working. Nick Petrich came. He at once determined that the lights dimming and brightening was caused by the feed from the transformer. Then gave the exact wording we should use when we notify the power company. He then quickly fixed all the switches and then began working on the rusted ceiling fixture. I watched the entire time. It took a lot of work simply to get everything down that needed to be down. He then inserted the new box ...which was extremely difficult.. and then solved the puzzle of which frayed wire did what, then got rid of the defective wiring, hooked it all up. He said let there be light and there was light! He was totally professional throughout: thoughtful, informative, super competent. And, oh yeah, he also took down a chandelier and determined that it was defective and then...wham...put it back up...shut off the switch to it... then calculated the bill, explained all the charges and left...a bit like Superman going up up and away after defeating the bad guys. A wondrous experience altogether!

Chris C.

10/15/2015

I had this company come to my rental house to repair my furnace. They quoted me 900+ dollars to repair a part that costs 187 to buy at sears.. I feel since i live out of state this company tried to take advantage of me. I talked to the manager and he stated that they charge every customer about a 600% markup on every part. This has blown me away.. I have sent the company away and will never recommend this company to anyone else.
I would suggest to stay away from this company

Shawn N.

7/16/2013

Response time was awesome, friendly plumber, very dependable/knowledgeable.

Eric E.

2/27/2017

Dave D. provided excellent service and helpful tips. Very thorough annual furnace inspection.
Thanks Dave!

mark c.

10/10/2015 12:00:00 SA

We had a pilot light out on our water heater. We couldn't get it lighted. Turns out that with the new igniters you need to hold it down longer to allow more gas in the chamber. The technician took 5 minutes to accomplish this. Charge: $167.

DubYou B.

2/15/2021

BUYER BEWARE. DON'T LET THEM IN YOUR HOUSE.

Would have given one star, but the work was performed.

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.

Bryan F.

06/01/2017 12:00:00 SA

Called to get an estimate to have two toilets installed. They could not give me an answer and said one of their techs would have to come out and look at the job and could then give me a quote. Catch is there is an $89 service call that is non refundable unless you have them do the work. Seriously... At that point they can quote you whatever they want. And if you choose not to use them because they will obviously be much higher than it should you are out the $89 bucks. Horrible business practice! Installing a toilet should be a simple quote with a few variables. This company may do good work but is out for quick easy cash from people who turn down their services and then collecting service fees. Not a very customer driven company.

Bobbi D.

03/06/2014 12:00:00 SA

Bonfe was very responsive when my boiler stopped working. Trevor was able to come out even earlier than my quote time. He diagnosed the problem quickly and was able to do the repair for less $$$ than he originally quoted.

Jen C.

10/08/2015 12:00:00 SA

The tech was nice and friendly and they do nice work but last time they were here they hammered a Bonfe sign in my yard without asking. That's pretty distasteful if you ask me. I'm not sure how I feel about that situation.

Steven N.

04/12/2020 12:00:00 SA

$99 advertised main drain cleaning and camera inspection of the main line up to 100' is what is advertised. Two techs arrived, looked at my drain, asked if I called about the $99 special. I said I did. The passenger was telling me that he would only clean right by the laundry tub and that they did not have a camera. They both went back to the truck for 15 minutes, preparing me a list of options. When they returned, the passenger did not give me my 6' of space. He walked right next to me and tried to explain the options. I had to back away as my wife is compromised with health issues. The first option was around $1,100.
Second was around 800 and so on. I told them I wanted what was advertised. They said they did not have a camera and that would be another trip and that would be another issue. I told them to leave my property. Bait and switch is what was happening to me.
Most importantly, the technicians wanted to up sell so badly they did not care about the 6' distancing that is requested by the CDC.
Save yourself grief and maybe illness, use a different company.
I will never call Bonfe again.

Paul M.

12/06/2017 12:00:00 SA

It will be very interesting to see where this one goes. I work out of state; yesterday my wife call Bonfe to repair a leaking cold water faucet in our bathroom. The O-ring rotted resulting in the water running. The technician that came out quoted her a price of $485 to rebuild the faucet and as a POM member discounted the price to $413. Also gracious enough to quote a replacement price of $1,212, discounted again as a POM member to $1,031. Unbelievable! He was on site for 45 minutes, 20 of which were in his vehicle preparing his bill. The process is simply to unscrew the bonnet nut, remove the stem, remove the set screw for the O-ring, replace it (cost is maybe $1.25) and reassemble, all of 15 minutes. I placed a call this morning and got the call center, the guy who helped me was nice enough but obviously had never worked on any plumbing issues but assured me a call back this afternoon after 2pm CST (my request due to meetings). The call never came. I called an hour ago and got another call center person who this time was put off by my call and concern, told me my wife was quoted a price prior to the work being performed and was unclear about my concerns but did tell me that protocol was to return calls within 24 hours and someone would get back to me. Highway robbery, I'm sorry but we or my wife was taken advantage. Kind of inexcusable.

T H.

9/22/2016

Nick P. provided excellent, first class electrical service. I will continue to use Bonfe and Nick for my service needs.

Heather O.

6/25/2023

Needed a Sunday appt because of my work schedule. Its my only day off, and my next day off is in two weeks. Kitchen sink plumbing is leaking, I am trying to protect my cabinets with buckets and a tough tote to catch the water. Bonfe said they called - they never showed up. when I called in, they said the evening technician would come out - then they called back and said the tech didn't think it was important that they come- so it was my problem, despite my schedule and now not having another day off for two more weeks, Bonfe should invest less in all the advertising they are doing, saying how great they are and a great place to work, and more in making sure they are caring for customer needs.

Patrick S.

3/29/2016

Excellent service. I was able to get an electrician to my house the same day I called however they don't quote prices on the phone and I ended up having to pay over $300 just to have a light switch replaced. Shop around. You can find good service for a lot less.

David W.

5/16/2017

Don't hire these guys. Way overpriced, bad quality service, borderline fraud
* had a boiler recirculating pump installed, guy put it in upside down. Still charged me 10x the price for the part and the service after they fixed it
* had ac inspected and the guy told me it was completely empty with a massive leak so entire system (condenser + compressor) needed to be replaced for $12k. Got other bids and confirmed system wasn't empty and had a minor leak that could be repaired for a few hundred bucks

The people are nice enough, and they arrive on time and act professional, you're just not getting what's advertised. They should cut back on their ad spend and start doing s good job.

James R.

3/23/2017

Dan E. came to fix our fridge. He quickly noticed that the motor for the fan was dying. The motor needed to be replaced. Since it was Thursday, it seemed that we might have to wait until Monday before we could get the new motor. However, Dan E made a few calls and was able to find a motor that was near by. He himself went to get it, came back and installed it that same afternoon.

Andea O.

08/04/2022 12:00:00 SA

Bonfe charged me $496 for the labor to replace a thermostat on July 1, 2022. That price is about $300 more than industry standard from what I could tell from calling around. Bonfe is a price gouging company not to be trusted. They gave me a $31.90 credit for being a regular customer who they charge $34/ month to be a peace of mind customer. I noticed they stopped using that tag line. It should be a piece of flesh customer. They also gave me a $50 coupon credit so they charged me $414.10 total for labor only. I had a thermostat on hand I was planning to install in the future. I am not sure the thermostat even needed replacing. This company also charges a lower price for replacing an a/c unit when you do not need one. If your a/c fails they have a higher price for the exact same work. I had been a customer paying $34 /month for over 10 years. I also found out that I should have been charged $11/month for one side of duplex or $22/month for the two sides of my duplex, not $34 or $68 for 2. My bad for not comparing prices earlier. No longer a monthly paying customer. I have called 3 times to get a reduction in this charge, but since I gave them a payment on July 1st, I guess they don't see a need to return my call. Sorry for such a long review, but I am concerned for all the customers that are being overcharged.

Karla K.

6/19/2016

We became a Bonfe's customer last weekend. The day I got home from the hospital after knee surgery, our central AC stopped working and Service Plus couldn't get someone out to see us for five days. Our son and my sister spoke highly of Bonfe. We called, a technician came out on Sunday morning, and the AC was back up and running in no time.

Two days later our dishwasher failed! Dan E. was out the same day and while he couldn't repair the dishwasher, he took care of everything he could and recommended new models for us. We called All, Inc. The price was great and the transaction couldn't have been easier. Bonfe will be back to install our new dishwasher when it arrives.

Terrific service and solid professionals!

Andy A.

10/19/2017

They ripped me off. Charged $289 to reset a tripped GFCI Outlet. $289 to literally push a button. There was nothing I could do about the price. Please use anyone else instead of Bonfe.

C M.

08/09/2011 12:00:00 SA

Like everyone else my husband made the error of hiring them before he checked yelp. These people are con artists. We hired them to do an inspection. We thought routine. They came out and inspected 2 furnaces that have been in fine working order and regularly maintained. They then failed them both and indicated we need a great deal of work including new furnaces and or some repairs on the furnaces that didn't even exist. They obviously did not realize that my husband is an architect, when they suggested fixing things that made no sense or parts that don't exist. A litlle like the mechanic saying you need to replace the electical in your moon roof on a car with no moon roof. (Another inspection was completed and was no problem by a reputable person.) To top it off they cgharged double their quoted inspection price to the tune of over $400.00 for literally nothing....

Melanie H.

6/15/2016

Kyle B. Was very knowledgable and accommodating. He was very professional and answered all of my questions. I felt very comfortable having opened my home to him. The repair was fixed quickly and was done thoroughly. Thanks again!
Melanie

Tim M.

10/23/2017

Well writing for my parents, which aren't one to complain. But after a extremely expensive electrical work at my senior parents house - at the tune of $7,200 / for rewiring a kitchen / the work that's happened has been terrible.

1st - stock upper cabinets are mounted at 54 - the guy that wired for the under cabinet lighting - put them at 45 / then he came back after the cabinets were mounted at 54 / he mentioned that his mistake on the hole location could be covered by the backsplash. Really? They haven't done a backsplash at all, so now we're looking at your mistake.

2nd - The new outlets that he also mounted are not level. There is about a 5-10 degree variation in the boxes?

But - the biggest complaint was after this weekend
My parents were out of town and I went down this past weekend to check on the house. Their refrigerator was not working. I looked at the new mini breaker box installed, and everything appeared OK / then noticed 1 of the GFCI countertop outlets were thrown.... WHY is the fridge hooked up through the countertop GFCI? The fridge sat without power for more than a week. SO - Everything in the fridge/freezer had to be thrown out. Hundreds of dollars of food wasted?

I would not recommend these folks for any work.

Sean G.

4/17/2019

Predatory

Bonfe came out and told us it'd cost $4900 to replace our water heater and $3000 to replace our water softener. I ordered a way better softener from Home Depot and had a local plumber install it all for less than $1000. The water heater should come out to $1500 installed.

Bonfe also calls us incessantly. I recently had to finally block them because they called in the middle of our son's show at school and forced my phone to stop recording the video.

I highly recommend staying away from Bonfe. These are salespeople first, plumbers last.

Linda T.

3/24/2021

Worst customer service. Got a coupon for drain cleaning with camera inspection, was not told it was two appointments over two days. Confirm with technician who did cleaning on day one, that next day camera inspection was this morning, also confirm via text to them that I was on the schedule the night before. Day two no one called, no one came. Told they had to reschedule cause the current job was gonna taking all day at 11:30. So he was gonna do a camera inspection on a home from 11:30 to 5pm. She wouldn't tell me I was next in line so I could wait past the morning hours for the afternoon. She kept saying it could take all day, but didn't know. She kept avoiding my very specific questions to her. She just said they had to be careful like they would at my house. So a really big job, hmmm.. if it was so big why did you schedule other people that day. Really a camera inspection can take 5.5 hours, you got to be kidding me. Asked to speak to manager, they have to put in a request and get back to you one to two business days. Really Bonfe, you are that big of a company that you don't have anyone to supervise your staff... oh wow. Told her if they don't show to get refund. Her response was we won't refund, but we will be there Friday. Ask to be first person on Friday, as they made the reschedule. She said she would just suggest it...really you have no customer service. So you failed to notify people it's two appointments, don't show or call for the second appointment, and won't help the situation but tell you that you can just wait all around on Friday. Don't go with Bonfe. They aren't quick and don't do it correctly.

Grant Y.

09/11/2016 12:00:00 SA

Came at 10:30 at night for a install. Paid the price, but they were extremely helpful and knew how to get the job done and correctly. Very professional people at Bonfe.

David W.

1/25/2012

I have had a long working relationship with Bonfe and while they are more expensive than a lot of plumbers in the metro area they do good quality work. The plumbers we've used have all been efficient, clean, and do what needs to be done. I recommend them, but negotiate on pricing up front and do take other plumber's bids if you can.

Nancy T.

11/30/2015

These guys are simply amazing! We are Gold Plan members and have had plumbing, electrical and every other kind of repair over the years. Their staff is so professional. I am highly recommending this company to home owners! Nancy

Lindsay J.

7/20/2016

I initially sent this review as an email to Bonfe customer service. When they didn't respond with an explanation I wanted to post as a warning to other potential clients.

About two years ago our sump pump went out after a city water main broke and our basement flooded. We were thrilled that Bonfe was able to come so quickly and help. We ended up signing up for the gold plan to help defer the cost of a replacement pump and were hopeful that with our one-year commitment we may be able to get some service or tune-ups on our other appliances. Last summer, near the end of our contract, we had a technician come out to see if there was anything you could offer to help us with our poorly functioning A/C. After spending a small amount of time looking at it he informed us that there was nothing to be done besides replacing the entire unit, which would obviously be a very costly job. We were so disappointed. As a young family with a baby, new to home ownership this was an expense we couldn't afford, so we suffered through the remainder of the summer and the beginning of this one before we decided to get a second opinion. This provider was at the house for no more than 10 minutes, said our Freon was nearly empty which would have caused the a/c to run poorly, filled it up and left. Our air has worked just fine since then.

I'm so glad we got another opinion that was able to fix our problem. Looking back, though, we are very upset and disappointed that Bonfe recommended an incredibly drastic and expensive replacement while overlooking such an obvious solution. We feel like we wasted a year's subscription to your service only to feel like you attempted to rip us off. After sharing our story with friends and family they have expressed they have no interest in doing business with your company. I don't expect there is anything you can or will do at this point to rectify this situation, but it's important information to have to keep future clients and recommendations coming.

Fran L.

5/25/2022

My water heater had a slow leak. Bonfe came out, confirmed there was a leak and quoted over $7K to replace the heater and water softener. I said that was out of my budget. The tech said he wanted to double check. When he left, water started spraying out of the water heater ... this was not a leak, this was water going all over. I called asking for some help - it's a gas, it's all over the floor ... what do I do? could they help? Bonfe REFUSED to do anything, telling me to get another quote.

Sinthang H.

02/02/2021 12:00:00 SA

Charged $670 for a value that cost under $50 and was installed in 5 minutes. This is typical for Bonfe's.

Cecil N.

11/30/2009

We needed a 10' gas line installed for our new gas range. The job is so easy that I was sorely tempted to do it myself (I even priced out all the parts I'd need at Home Depot: less than $50). But I called Bonfe because I thought, what the hay, it's gas so I may as well go the conservative route and use a professional.

My mistake. After taking a very quick look around, complaining about how difficult the job would be (????), the Bonfe plumber wrote us a quote for $750 (I put quote in quotes because it contained zero information about what he was actually going to do). To add insult to injury, he then spent most of his time trying to sell us an expensive service contract for our furnace! Then, he collected his $55 fee (for what?) and left.

I see from other online reviews that this is all SOP for Bonfe. It's my impression that he had no intention of doing the job for us, but just wanted to collect his fee and go home. Another plumber is going to do the job for $120 an hour, and will take about two hours. Even if it comes to double that, I'll come out way ahead.

Bottom line: avoid Bonfe like the plague. If I could give Bonfe a zero stars rating, I certainly would.

Kim D.

05/08/2016 12:00:00 SA

We have been using Bonfe's services for many years. all of their techs are great, but our favorite is Zach A. He's always courteous and very knowledgeable. He's takes great pride in his work and it shows. Their Peace of Mind service plan is nice because they are proactive about calling to schedule A/C and furnace tuneups before the seasons start. They are customer focused and call the day before to let you know when the tech will arrive, then they call again when they are on the way.

Ted G.

6/15/2018

I asked Bonfe to come to my house and fix some issues on my truth in housing report. Well, they missed there service window, and about an hour and a half after they called me, I wasnt able to get to the phone at that time, but I was home, just like they told me to be, but because I didn't answer, the just canceled my appointment. Problem is, I used vacation time to be available for this job. When I finally got the master plumber to my house, one of the jobs that needed fixing was a dryer vent. Not usually a master plumbers thing, but should be easy enough. I wish I could show you pictures of this hack job. It looks like the guy taped a dead cat to the wall, and guess what. The first time I fired up my dryer, this horrible makeshift apparatus fell apart like wet toilet paper. Not only is this the absolute worst $1042 I have ever spent, they aren't willing to come out and make this right. They tried to tell me I needed to take a different day off to meet a technician. These folks obviously dont get it. I even complained about the first time they stood me up and no one even called me. This has been the worst experience I have ever had, second to only LG appliances. Find a different plumber, handy person. This looks like a third grader out togather my dryer vent.

Chris B.

3/21/2016

Zach H. was incredibly helpful and kind. Thanks for being awesome with our sleeping kids!

James F.

11/05/2017 12:00:00 SA

Called for electrical. Needed to talk to someone and see if they'd be able to rewire my detached garage after I spent all weekend digging a trench. Was told that not only could I not speak with anybody on the phone, but they would have to come in person and it would be $89 with no guarantee whether or not they can perform the service.

Scott A.

6/13/2022

price gauging...do not call. I had all parts, tech said it would take 2 hours to complete yet they would charge me $1,200. Who would pay a tech $600 per hour to fix a shower handle?

Peter K.

03/05/2018 12:00:00 SA

Before you call Bonfe, I would ask you to look elsewhere. ANYWHERE.

I submitted an online request for service, for a leaking pipe, on Monday morning. I did recieve a prompt call back on Monday afternoon, stating that they would have a tech. come to investigate the leak, Tuesday at noon. This is where they mention the $89 service call fee as others have mentioned. The fee is waved if you recieve overpriced service.

Noon on Tuesday comes around I recieve a call from Bonfe I should expect the tech at 3:30pm. Well ok I guess.

3:30pm on Tuesday comes around I recieve a call from Bonfe, I should expect the tech at 4:30pm. Ok.

4:30pm on Tuesday comes around I recieve a call from Bonfe, I should expect the tech at 7pm, maybe a few minutes earlier if he happens to finish his current job early. WTF.

6:50pm the tech arrives, I show him the leaking pipe, which happens to be the main line into my house, just above the first shut off, before the meter. It took him all of 12 seconds to tell me that he couldn't help me today, but tomorrow he could have a plumber come out after contacting the city to shut the water off. After some discussion I decide on 12 noon for the following days appointment.

I reluctantly agree. Only $605 dollars to unscrew the damaged shutoff off, and thread a new shutoff on.

The next day, Wednesday arrives, 12 noon comes and goes. 1pm comes and goes.

1:30pm Plumber arrives. I show him the leaking pipe. He states he wasn't the plumber that was meant for the call, but he had been 're-routed'
to cover me. He soon discovers that the pipe that is leaking is the main line, and niether he, nor the tech that originally came out, have contacted the city to have the water shut off. He apologizes, and states that he will come back tomorrow at noon after the city is contacted, to fix the leak. Until then there is nothing he can do for me.

1pm Thursday
Plumber from Wednesday arrives, the water has been shut off by the city, he does his 6 minutes of work, screwing off the damaged shutoff, screwing on the new shut off, and collects his $305, the remaining part of the balance that wasn't collected the first day.

Yea! 3 days later, my problem is solved.

If you enjoy wasting your week, waiting on a plumber, call BONFE.

Joe B.

9/28/2018

I called Bonfe to get a quote on a a new water heater for my house. They said they would need to do a service call in order to provide the quote which I did expecting that I would buy the water heater from them. During the service call, they told me that a new water heater would cost over $2,500 due to the warranty program. I told them they were crazy as I new other plumbers could get me a new water heater for $700 installed. They charged me almost $100 for the service call. Bottom line is I paid $80 for a ridiculous estimate that should have been done for free.

If I could give this company a review with zero stars I would. However, because I can't they get one star. I will never do business with them and will tell everyone I know not to do business with them.

Joe I.

07/11/2012 12:00:00 SA

I hate to say it, but I agree with the other 1 star reviews here. Our recent experience included a plumber who was not only rude, but was also sloppy in his work and only grudgingly willing to clean up the huge mess he made, which resulted it wrecking some the wood baseboards in our kitchen. All this after three days of their scheduler calling to say they could not come at the time they said they would previously. They send out cute emails, but are WAY overpriced for the service they provide. I do not recommend at all.

Dan I.

06/05/2023 12:00:00 SA

Never consider getting their service plan. The services that are included in the plan will never actually be done. I have had two different appointments as part of my prepaid service plan. Both have been cancelled day of under the auspices of me not being an emergency. They told me they are required by law to cancel me for others deemed more important. my AC tune-up, which is the main reason I paid for the plan, is now not available until late July. Almost two months after my original appointment that they cancelled. what good is a tune-up 2 months after it's needed? If you have the plan, you have already paid them and they will always cancel your appointment and give it to someone that will be charged more money. Huge mistake on my part, and they refuse to cancel and refund my service plan that is seemingly impossible to use.

Justin P.

02/05/2016 12:00:00 SA

I had a lot of hopes with Bonfe due to their rating. We were experiencing a water line leak that could not really afford delays due to the potential damage to our basement and property.

The initial dispatcher was very courteous and took my basic information. We were rescheduled due to a prior commitment that the plumber had that was going to be an all day project. The odd thing to me was the guy that came out seemed more like an assessor/inspector rather than the individual that would do the work so the cause for the delay was a bit odd in my opinion.

When they called me to reschedule, I tried to give the dispatcher more information like I had found that the leak was outside of the house and no water was coming inside the house. The dispatcher stopped me and said she already had all of the information that they needed.

The plumber/inspector came out and was very polite. Within 5 minutes, he goes, Well the bad news is the leak is outside of the house...(which I told them over the phone)...and we don't quote those projects. The unfortunate thing is that I am going to have to charge you for the visit since I had to come out here. $89. I was not made aware of this service fee when they scheduled the appointment.

I am very disappointed with the service that I received as this is supposed to be a reputable company.

Sean C.

10/23/2020

Our basement after Bonfe snaked the drain, and tried charging my Mother $500.00 fo a $40.00 thermostat even though the current one works. So either the tech didn't know what he was doing, or was trying to take advantage of an elderly woman. They refused to hook up her current one as they didn't install it aka they don't do service calls like they claim. Stay far away, and save your money! Fraudsters!

Luis Z.

6/23/2018

Bad customer service. Technician skipped my appointment 3 weeks in a row finally I stopped calling to reschedule since I knew he wasn't gonna come anyhow. I get the txt messages that their coming and they never show up and dispatch is useless

Rocky M.

8/30/2017

This company is a scam. Bait and switch pricing model and takes advantage of seniors.

Watch out for these bad guys.

Matt G.

2/22/2023

Zane came out and took a look at the project I wanted done. After about 5-10 min of walking him through a pretty simple and straight-forward installation of a 50 amp GFCI breaker and NEMA 14-50 outlet in my garage, he said he would go out to his truck and work up a quote in about 15 min. He came back in and provided me with the quote and it was absolutely disgustingly high! I immediately said that I was going to look elsewhere because that type of rate was just not ok. He didn't even flinch and charged me the $99 service call (also a waste of money) and left. The project literally was going out from the box and the outlet was on the other side of the wall. That was it!

The company called me later in the day and I told them that I was unhappy with the quote and I will not be moving forward with service. Definitely shop around. Try Thumbtack and talk to professionals around. This place definitely is not fair priced. For the amount they charged, I could get all the parts, do it myself, and bring myself on a vacation to Cancun for two weeks. Save yourself from contacting them. Not worth it.

Jane D.

8/21/2015

Altin was very knowledgeable and made sure our boiler system was ready for winter!

Erik J.

09/06/2015 12:00:00 SA

After a disappointing phone call to the company that I have my home service plan through, and being told that it would be 10 days before they could come out, I gave Bonfe a call. They could come out later the same day.

The service I received was great, my technician did a great job getting my AC up and running again. Only downside I have is the cost - $368 to replace a capacitor that is about $40 (on the high side) in parts is a little steep. But I paid it happily since its Sunday, and now we can sleep tonight in a cool house once more. A more reasonable price and I would have given it 5 stars all the way.

Hillary H.

06/02/2023 12:00:00 SA

They are currently holding my 50% down payment hostage while they reschedule me a third time. I'm not even sure they are coming back. Beware!!

Ben W.

12/23/2015

Bonfe had great scheduling services, customer service, and technician availability. Unfortunately, their prices are outlandish and absurd.

When the tech arrived he tried to charge me $931 for a garbage disposal. Other quotes I got were $250. Their work might be good, but they are gouging folks. The tech still charged me $89 for a service call.

I did call the Bonfe office and asked for a refund. They were very cordial and agreed to refund my service call without any hassle at all.

D S.

5/18/2012

Oh wow Wish I had looked at these reviews and not the Carrier web site!!

Had a guy out to diagnose problem with AC yesterday. He said we needed an electrician who would be out this afternoon. Called at 1:30 to find out when to expect them. Receptionist says technician told her we weren't sure we wanted an electrician..WHAT????? Supposed to be 90 degrees next few days. Hard to imagine how anyone could be any dummer than that....And I paid $90!!!

Alan H.

11/17/2012

Three tune-ups on three working boilers in three hours = three houses without heat. You decide.

As a landlord I like to make sure my boilers/furnaces are in good shape before winter. This year I contracted with Bonfe Heating to check these out: clean burner, check pressure and CO levels. Here's the results:

Boiler 1:
Bonfe Heating: they pulled out pilot assembly, broke wire, and called to say it couldn't be fixed and would be $350 to replace; result = no heat for the night
Boehm Heating: they reattached wire, checked CO and cleaned burner for cost of normal service call

Boiler 2:
Bonfe: they checked CO and called to say levels were too high, by law boiler needs to be shut down immediately and would need to be replaced (for $4-5,000); result = no heat for the night
Boehm Heating: they checked the CO levels and found them to be within legal limits and restarted boiler speculating that Bonfe didn't conduct reading properly

Boiler 3:
Bonfe Heating: they supposedly checked the boiler but ...
Inspector: During a TIH inspection the following morning, the inspector reported that the boiler was in fact not cleaned and that the heat was left off (the house was vacant)

Bonfe's service manager and GM defended their work saying that they do not like to fix things but prefer long-term, i.e. more expensive, solutions. They did agree to refund the cost of their calls but not the additional expenses I incurred.

Incompetence, deceit, high standards?. You decide.

Michael S.

9/21/2018

This is why you hire a professional . . . Heat exchangers can leak carbon monoxide into the air supply. I knew this.

I would give him one star or less. But . . . He seemed to belittle my service on the system. As if my lubrication of the fan wasn't service industry standard. As if I needed a second opinion that the cracks in the heat exchanger weren't Federal Level concerns for the generic human being risking his life for hot and cold running water. I was grumpy, he was grumpy, it was getting late. I wish I could give him more than five stars. Carbon Monoxide. Circulating through my home. Think about it! It's what kills you. Thanks, Dude. You saved my life.

P.S. Yes, I'm buying a new furnace with the AC unit. I'll buy it over the internet, install them myself, for which I will void the warranty, and see if Bonfe will certify it as a pro install for which I can retain thec warranty.

Think of me as a farmer. I can drive at 14 years old. We farmers. We can fix it. And then hire a professional.

P.P.S. Yes, he did due diligence. He took the time to do a professional service/ repair inspection. I hired Bonfe to inspect my heat exchanger. Five stars for what I spent my hard earned cash on.

P.P.P.S. No, no, no no . . . Cut . . . End scene . . . No one told me it would cost this much.

Steven N.

9/16/2011

Way, way overcharged on a simple plumbing fix. Were already at my house to install water heater for $395. Then charged me $155 to fix a simple leak without first telling me what it would cost. Mike, their manager basically told me they were really a great company, tough luck, go away. watch out!

Carla S.

08/08/2018 12:00:00 SA

Had Bonfe come in to do an install of a bathroom sink and tub faucet which we had purchased. They were to come between 8-12 and finally showed at around 1:45. Technician came in and right away tried to sell me the Bronze plan for $8/month which would allow me a discount in services and they would come and check your furnace/AC/Etc. in the Spring and Fall. He right away commented on the faucets that we had stating that they weren't the greatest but said that this was a bathroom that was used at the most 3 months out of the year. Spent 10 minutes to check out what needed to happen and came back downstairs with a quote of (are you ready?) $1500! This was to install 2 sets of faucets which were provided! I of course said that I would have to pass of which he replied I understand, but I will need to collect the $89 service fee. Have another reputable plumber coming in and will do it for around$250. Unbelievable BONFE! Will never use or recommend to anyone again!

Dan T.

01/11/2014 12:00:00 SA

Responsive, friendly and professional but ridiculously expensive (or do all plumbers charge $360 for a little over an hour's work?) They wouldn't give an estimate over the phone even though it was a straightforward job. Once they're at your house you get a crazy high estimate but if you don't want the work done they charge you $89. I'd suggest you only work with someone who will give you an estimate over the phone (even if it's rough)

Rebecca K.

09/07/2022 12:00:00 SA

We had a kitchen faucet replaced with something similar.. we had purchased the faucet.. it was not emergency or after hours..took 45 minutes.. charged$1300.. have used for years but never again...With that said, the average cost to install a new faucet or replace an existing one is between $120 and $300, with most homeowners paying around $250. This includes the removal and replacement of the old faucet, and any required adjustments of the water lines.

Jon O.

06/06/2017 12:00:00 SA

Careful! While they are in your home they are kind, respectful and very knowledgable. What you need to watch for is the 'service plan' pitch. The tech signed us up pushing that the cost of the trip will be reduced a ton. Here's the catch: he never states that it is a contract minimum of a year. We were told by the original tech that we could cancel at anytime if it didn't work for us. Either this was a stretch or lie. Now I'm told I can't cancel the contract until three months from now. If we can't cancel the contract (according to the phone support), how do you ever get out?. Did you just tell me to call back on September 23rd? Really? If I don't call on that day, what then? Another year is added? The piece of mind plan is quite the opposite.

Ann Marie F.

11/20/2014

Billy from Bonfe came and did a tune up! I'm so glad! I feel so confident in a good company and a great and helpful tech to come to my house! I bought a tune up on Living Social, and it was well worth the $$! Thanks Bonfe! I'm so happy about the cold weather coming... not really, but I know I'll be toasty warm in my house!

Rick K.

7/16/2012

Bonfe did a great job. Our AC went out and they answered my call on a Sunday right away, gave me the time the scheduler would call me on Monday. Monday the scheduler called right on time, technician Zach showed up when he said he would and the repair was done as needed. Very professional, wore shoe covers in my house and had a big friendly smile the whole time. Highly recommend them.

Melinda K.

06/09/2018 12:00:00 SA

Service guy was super great,however they wanted to charge us 476.00 for a part that you can get online for 9.99. We went out and got the part the next day and replaced it ourselves.

MaryBeth P.

7/24/2018

Based on my experience, this company's pricing is not only not competitive but they are also unethical. I called to get an estimate of the cost of a garbage disposal for my kitchen sink and was told that they do not provide estimates over the phone. This is understandable because it seems it's up to each technician to determine the price for based on how much they think they can squeeze out of you. In my case, he charged me $1340.00. Finally after 3 weeks had gone by and multiple phone calls, I was able to get $294 of that $1340 back but I still paid over a thousand dollars to have a garbage disposal replaced which took him about 15 - 20 minutes. This company is able to continue price gouging people because they offer evening hours and people like me get excited about the prospect of not having to take off work for the appointment but get completely screwed in the process. I was foolish and paid a ridiculous amount of money to replace a garbage disposal. If they could charge me such a ridiculous amount, not return repeated phone calls to their Customer Care Manager and only refund a small portion of the total charge after multiple attempts on my part to get the money refunded, I don't think it's realistic for any one to expect to receive honest, fair and transparent pricing and service. RUN.... DO NOT WALK TO A COMPETITOR. Apparently, there are enough suckers out there like myself who keep this company making fistfuls of money for work that doesn't warrant the high price. DON'T do what I did! Go to the competition even if that means taking time off of work to meet a plumber at your house during normal business hours.

J M.

08/04/2014 12:00:00 SA

I have a home warranty plan with Bonfe and was going to renew when it was up, but will be looking for another company. When the plumber came out to our house he was too busy trying to sell products that we did not need versus fixing the problem. He was more interested in selling a new tiolet, which our warranty covers, than lifting the old one off and replacing the seal. He kept informing us that we needed to pay $795 for a new tiolet or we could go buy one and he would come back on to put it on for $32 and another sevice visit charge of $95 even though we had a home warranty plan. The warranty plan states that the service visit is a one-time charge per incident. I think that the staff at Bonfe's do not know what their home warranty plans even cover or they are trying to scam their home warranty customer's.

Jim C.

06/11/2019 12:00:00 SA

We had a bad first time experience with Bonfe' but the people were very nice to work with and we got (duped) into the monthly service contract. Last winter we had the furnace check-up and the tech seemed thorough but was pretty sales oriented and was pretty insistent I should get new smoke detectors which was done one year prior (about a 10 year life).
This spring they came out for inspection of air conditioner and (again) the tech was pleasant and seemed thorough but (again) he had something to sell, in spite of the fact that he continually mentioned the AC was in great shape for its age. He felt three parts could extend its life maybe another 5 years. Once again (on the surface) it sounded reasonable. But the cost was $1057.00 (with a $770.00 discount). I am sad to say I agreed. Without much understanding of what I was getting when the parts arrived I opened the box and looked at them and could only guess that these were much cheaper. So I did an online search and picked reputable dealers / wholesalers and also picked the higher prices. The total $123.00 for all three parts. So I guess they feel that $993.00 to install isn't to bad (by the way that is a discounted fee). Also looked at Youtube video's on how to install and most people with minimal mechanical aptitude could install in a very short time. So I called Bonfe' to cancel and a very pleasant woman was eager to help but she was only able to cancel the job. She would have a customer service rep call me in two days. I asked her if the techs received compensation for an upsell or commission, she said she was unsure how their bonuses worked. She also made comment that she didn't know what amount they would reimburse. I said write a note that it will be the entire amount or I will contact the Attorney General. As one reviewer made mention this is a predatory company.

For some reason Yelp considers me from San Francisco and I am really in the Minneapolis / St. Paul area

Emily O.

4/25/2023

I normally don't post negative reviews, but I want our experience to be helpful for future first time home buyers.

We had Bonfe come out last Tuesday to asses our backed up main sewer line. The technician who came out was very friendly to us and his response time was great, but that is where my praise for this company ends. He unclogged our pipes, showed us our sewer line and disclosed some problems he saw, but wasted no time trying to fear sell us a brand new sewage liner for $12,000. Even threw in the sales tactic by saying I had a client who didn't do it and ended up paying $25,000 for collapsed pipes. He also offered us payment methods for this but it was either we pay the $12,000 outright, $1,000 a month for a 1 year plan, or do the 7 year plan with a whopping 10.9% interest rate added on, which is wild. When we tried to ask for the footage of our pipes they said we needed to pay $250 for the footage on top of the $350 unclog fee. One week later we noticed we had a backup again, I tried calling Bonfe to see if they had a 30 day warranty since they came a week ago and got the response well we gave you options to fix the situation and you didn't get back to us, so that's why it got clogged up again. I was absolutely floored by this response and quickly found another plumber who not only found the problem that Bonfe clearly missed for a much cheaper cost, but also told me that a new liner was not necessary at all and that our pipes weren't even that bad. Our situation makes me think of how many anxious and desperate first time home buyers/elderly/etc they have taken advantage of with these absolutely ridiculous prices. If you do have them come to your house, do NOT let them talk you into doing anything and try to find a second opinion, you will most likely find someone who will do it for you at a much more affordable rate.

Brenda S.

2/28/2016

We needed to have an electrician after hours and there are very few places who do this. We used Bonfe out of desperation as we were traveling the next day and had issues with 6 outlets that had been blown without an easy fix of resetting the breakers. We were quoted the service fee ($89 if before 10pm and $189 after 10pm, service fee credited toward the work). We were not quoted any other fee and expected to be quoted a price for the repair when the problem was determined. Rather, when the technician arrived, we were asked to pay a $721.00 diagnostic fee, and told that since it was after 10, the $189 service fee would not be applied to this charge. So we were stuck. It's 10:30 at night, we've already paid $189. Pay $721 dollars before any work is done. I have two issues - we needed to have been told the $189 would NOT be credited to the bill, and we should have been told over the phone what the cost would be just to walk in the door and diagnose the problem. (900 bucks) If that's going to be the cost, then tell us over the phone. Then we could've made a different choice, OR the same choice with full knowledge. The manager I talked with over the phone reimbursed half of the $189 but that was it. We may have made the same choice to have them come out but felt blindsided by the cost once they arrived. It was not impressive and we won't use or recommend them. The fix took 10 minutes, btw.

Scott C.

1/17/2020

This is not a company that will try to make good on their mistakes even at their own expense. Received paperwork 11 months ago saying that work was, Paid in Full. Now 12 months later, they are threatening legal action. No previous bill or no apology, just a certified letter in the mail. Also, like others that have done reviews, high pressure sales at the repair and prices almost twice of competitors. Think of them as being like Sears Home Service. Remember them?

Paul T.

3/18/2019

Today a technician ride to my home. I understood there was a $89 service call. this service call fee would be deducted from any work done. 2 men showed up And give me a quote for installing 2 faucets . I had already purchased brand new faucets for them to install. I explained That I was on a tight budget. One of the gentleman at that time told me that installing the 2 faucets (that I already purchased) would cost approximately $900! I thought this is insane . Oh no . Why so much money for installing 2 water Faucets? I can appreciate their bonded insured. Its Less than 2 hours work for $900!!! They charged me $89 for less than 90 seconds of conversation . I would not recommend their services Unless you are loaded with money! SCAM ARTIST

Larry C.

06/02/2021 12:00:00 SA

We joined their loyalty club for $108 per year ($9/month) that include two inspections for heating and A/C. On both scheduled appointments, they canceled on us and made us reschedule due to other more important (full rates, my guess) appointments. Our appointment today was for the 8-12 morning slot and they hadn't showed up by 11:30am. I called and they informed me I would need to reschedule. This after sitting around and waiting all morning. I don't plan to renew.

Alex T.

02/01/2018 12:00:00 SA

We have been waiting for three weeks to get visit to fix the tub faucet they broke. Every time we are scheduled to have someone come out no one shows up. The excuses are never ending to why they didn't show up after we call to ask why no one contacted us to say they weren't coming. I would give them zero stars if I could. I would recommend for no one to use this horrible company with extremely lack luster customer service.

Also they will claim to have a manager call within 24 but never call back to give any update on what they will do to fix problems they created.

mary r.

3/28/2012

Bonfe came out to repair a shower head that was leaking. $403.00. The first thing the guy talked about was their maintenance plan. He also fixed the problem down stairs which was not a big deal. He was down there for maybe 2 minutes and said he was finished. Leaking? Watch and see. Bonfe fixed a pipe in the ceiling and now it needed some work so that the ceiling could be flat again. They also did a furnace job and needed to return back, x3, in order to fix the problem. I don't know, look for a different plumber? I agree with all the other reviews.

Wendy H.

01/03/2022 12:00:00 SA

I would suggest not calling them if you just need a repair done. My water heater was only a year old, and the pilot light wouldn't stay lit. Normally my boyfriend does this, but this happened on a Friday night and we were leaving on vacation the next day at 4 am. I called and told them what the problem was hoping they could fix it for me. They didn't send a technician out; they sent a salesman. I had 3 options, ranging from 669.00, 1477.00 to 3500.00 for a new water heater. He couldn't even tell me what was wrong with my water heater. The guy didn't even want to talk about my options, he wanted to install a new water heater for 3500.00 and sell me a service contract. Even though my water heater was only a year old. All I wanted was someone to come out, tell me what part went bad, then replace it. That was not their plan. I had to pay them 100.00 just to come out and try to sell me a new water heater. Oh, and if I wanted to just replace parts on my water heater, it was going to be a least a week for them to order the part and install it. If I got a new water heater from them, they would have it installed in 2 hours. I kicked them out and they were not happy about it. We postponed our trip for a day and my boyfriend replaced the part for 100.00. I feel like I was taken advantage of because I'm a woman and a homeowner. Servicemen see dollar signs when I open the door. This is often the case when I need service work done on my house. I was extremely disappointed.

Teguh S.

02/10/2023 12:00:00 SA

They are doing the job well, but they are really OVERPRICED. I had issue with my furnace about 10 days ago. It made a very loud noise. I suspected there was something wrong with the blower. So I called Bonfe, and their technician came about 3 hour later. He checked my furnace, and said that the bearing of the blower is about to break. He said it could break in two days or two hours. So, I asked him how much to fix it. He punched in something to this Tablet and came up with a number, $ 1,200 something. I asked can I have some discount, he responded it will be around $ 1,000 something if I agree to pay for maintenance fee for $11/month , can be cancelled after a year. Since it is -10 degrees outside, and I thought either the part is expensive or it will take hours to fix, I decided not to shop around and agreed with that. He said the part will be come in an hour. An hour later the part came, I called Bonfe. But the technician did not come until about 5pm. I was thinking I will not have the heat for several hours while he is working. To my surprise, it took only 20 minutes for him to replace the blower. So I am really puzzled why the quote is $ 1,200. I checked online, the part only cost abut $ 300. With a special express delivery , say $ 100 , it is only $ 400. So either they have $ 500 markup for the part or they have almost $ 400 / hour labor cost. I called bonfe to have the receipt with the breakdown , but the person on the other side just said we don't do breakdown receipt, it is bundle per job. So I guess this Bonfe will not be the first one to call the next time I have issue with my HVAC.

E M.

02/05/2016 12:00:00 SA

I live in a townhouse built in the 1970s. Two of the 3 toilets were leaking sporadically and after a couple attempts to fix them myself, I called Bonfe. I had seen their advertisements everywhere and assumed they must be decent. Wrong.

The receptionist warned me there was an $89 service fee to send out the technician. I didn't think there could be much cost above that as it was just leaky toilets and likely a quick fix for a skilled professional. I also printed the $35 off plumbing services coupon from their website. I figured he would have everything fixed in about hour and life would go on.

The technician came out on time. He told me I should replace both toilets rather than fix them, and it would actually be less work to replace them than to fix them. Ok. I don't know much about plumbing and replacing 40 year-old toilets might be appropriate.

He then quoted me COMPLETELY absurd prices- $1,000 to replace EACH toilet (so $2,000 total) with a Bonfe toilet; $960 EACH to fix the leak problem; or $760 for the technician to replace EACH toilet with a toilet that I would provide. And this was assuming I sign up for their annual service package and get the 15% discount.

I was floored. I'm a twenty-something year-old girl. I told him I needed to think about this. He said I still owed him $89. I showed him my coupon. He said the $35 off plumbing services is not good towards plumbing consultations. So I paid my $89 and wanted to cry.

I called another small firm. They told me to buy the toilets and they would install them and charge me hourly. It took 90 minutes for them to remove/reinstall the two new toilets. They charged me $75. (i.e. $1,445 less than it would have cost with Bonfe!!!!!!)

I think Bonfe is a complete scam that makes most of its money from the service fee. Their service fee was higher than what it ultimately cost me to have the service performed.

Scott H.

11/05/2015 12:00:00 SA

Had Bonfe install a new 220 V circuit and provided great service.

Dale W.

09/02/2016 12:00:00 SA

I am a preferred customer and was scheduled for an electrical system check up at 2:30 PM on my given appointment day.

When I called at 2:30 PM, as no one had showed up as yet,I was told by the Bonfe office that they would be 3 hours late and not arrive until 5:30 PM. I immediately cancelled that appointment and re-scheduled for another day.

I was told by the Bonfe office that, except for only the first service call, their policy is not for a fixed time and they would arrive sometime during the day. In this regard, this is an abuse of the Customer's valuable time. As a customer, I cannot wait 4 - 8 hours for their service technician to arrive. They need to have a fixed date/time policy and sustain that policy over a long period of time to retain customers going forward. Otherwise, customers like me will leave for another vendor. Exceptional customer service means meeting and exceeding all customer expectations. This Bonfe did not do in this situation.

Jessami B.

5/17/2017

Hired Bonfe to fix a leak in my fridge. They ordered the wrong part the first time, and didn't verify that they turned the water back off twice. $252 later my fridge still leaks, and I have a $15,000 dollar home owners claim (two floors and a ceiling) with a $3000 deductible. They claim they are not responsible and have offered nothing. It would have been cheaper by half to have purchased a new fridge.
Edit: What I know is that I didn't have a faulty valve or any damage to my home until after Bonfe came to fix my fridge and every time a technician has walked into my home the issue has gotten worse. There wouldn't have been an issue had anyone actually made sure the water they turned on was turned off again. Each technician has been happy to elaborate on the missteps of the previous employee. The first tech (names ommitted) wasn't even looking at the right part, so couldn't have determined that the water was off--the second tech
The second technician didn't stay long enough to verify that there wasn't a leak, they never do --the plumber.
The possibility that you MIGHT install the correct part now 6 weeks and $15,252.00 later doesn't inspire confidence when the result of it being incorrect would be destroying brand new floors and ceiling.

Barb S.

10/12/2015 12:00:00 SA

The utility tub in our laundry room wasn't emptying after doing a load of wash and it appeared the floor drain was clogged too. Since it was Sunday I looked online for a company that would send someone out and found Bonfe. Since I had seen many of their trucks around the Twin Cities I figured they'd be a good company to call. The customer service person who took my call was very courteous and said that someone could be out that afternoon. Eric was the tech who arrived and when I showed him the problem he said he could fix it and probably be done in 20 minutes. Well, first of all, he tried to pop off the floor drain which he said was stuck so he'd have to take apart a pipe and cable the line through the pipe. He began but found that his cable wasn't flexible enough so he went and got another drum with a more flexible cable. He cabled the line 30' which helped a little bit but it was still draining very slowly. He told me that I had 2 options - #1 was to Jetter the line which would cost $1,800 and if that didn't work then we'd need a new water line to the house which would cost thousands more. I told him that we'd discuss and get back to him. The encounter cost $250 which I wouldn't have minded had he fixed the problem. On top of that, Eric didn't clean up the stinky mess that he made.

We ended up calling another sewer service that came highly recommended by a friend and they were able to come out on Monday. That person was able to pop off the floor drain (the one that Eric from Bonfe said he couldn't budge) in about 5 seconds. He then cabled the line 50' and the floor drain and sink instantly began emptying very quickly and working just fine. He also cleaned up his mess very nicely and only charged $97.

I am very, very disappointed in the service that I received from Bonfe and the lack of knowledge about the job that he came to do and will never use the company again.

Ben S.

10/25/2016

1. 236 Yelp Bonfe reviews not recommended by Yelp Software....FYI, look up Yelp's explanation/policy/definition for not recommending reviews..
2.Bonfe is doing a lot of media advertising lately including door knob hang tags.
3.My review was originally posted as recommended by Yelp then moved to the not recommended list...?
4. I found Bonfe's pricing exhorbitant without satisfactory justification from management and without any interest in having me remain a new customer. No problem here for having my future work done by someone else.
5. Get 2-3 reliable FREE qoutes/ball-park estimates befiore having Bonfe visit for a nonrefundabke FEE that is applied to the high cost of their service/repairs/promotions.
6.Interestingly, I found a few reviews on Yelp about Bonfe pricing and price gouging plus the need for rework calll-backs.

Yelp should not be filtering and separating valid Yelp customer reviews...

Lisa E.

7/16/2019

My Mother used this service for a leaking toilet. The young
technician came out and repaired the flange. While doing this he
broke some of the tile and left a red rag on her cream colored carpet.
He also said her floor boards underneath might need replacement .
We were glad he stopped the leak, however the broken tile and red
stain left us frustrated. The bill came to $600.00 dollars which is like
rape. I feel that BONFE took advantage of an elderly woman. My mother
called and they did send out a carpet cleaning company to help rid the stain however did not reduce her bill.
I called the company today to state my complaint and am told someone will be contacting me.
I would never ever recommend this company!

Nathan S.

10/28/2020

Caution advised!!! Read this whole review if 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.

Guya I.

1/21/2013

After trying to find out who to call for service on my furnace-( looked all over Yelp) looked on facebook, I went to my E.Democracy neighborhood forum and got a few ideas. What I saw was that they have evening hours. How handy is that?

I had a really simple problem- flame sensor- wasn't on the truck, ( but ya know there is millions and millions of parts). Perhaps I did not give a good enough instruction when I called -( of what the problem was) but the part had to be ordered. The charge to come out was industry standard charge, and then there was a add't part I ordered for my humidifier. I feel like the prices were pretty much industry standard--no one likes a pay a few hundred bucks when we are all pay check to paycheck, but at least I know the problem was fixed. And the techs were very nice.
I got exact calls when the tech was coming and I appreciate a service company coming when they say they are supposed to.

I'd call them again-as they did show up on time, I had tried to call Centerpoint/Service Plus, even sent an email- heard from them days later.

I'd definitely call Bonfes again.

Danie. F.

05/09/2018 12:00:00 SA

We got a new furnace from Bonfe. The work was fine, and the price was reasonable (after we negotiated it down more than 30%). However, while they opened a Minneapolis permit to do the work, they never closed the permit or helped us call an inspector, so we had to do that ourselves (taking time off work to let the inspector in). They also sent someone by more than 6 months after installing the furnace to check the CO levels (for free-- apparently this is part of their required procedure but they forgot it the first time in our case, and someone found this in the old paperwork). I'd use them again, but they do seem pretty disorganized which could result in costly errors.

Meaghan G.

12/10/2013 12:00:00 SA

I recommend not using Bonfe. My boiler died and I needed to buy a new one. Bonfe knew that I was desperate because it was going to snow and the temperature was dropping below 0. Bonfe tried to sell me a $12,000 boiler. When I went online the boiler that they were trying to sell me received horrible reviews--literally there was not 1 positive review. I then called Boehm's Heating and Air Conditioning and received a boiler for $5,600 that received stellar reviews.

Lesson learned: Bonfe's will take advantage of you and charge you way more then what you need to spend. Bonfe's lacks professionalism and integrity. In addition, they will try and sell you poor quality products just to benefit their bottom line which is to make a profit. Use any company besides Bonfe if you care about quality. In addition, Bonfe's refuses to allow for you to enter into a payment plan with them unless you get a credit card through them AND they will charge you interest. I would like to know how many people have $12,000 laying around. Again, DO NOT USE Bonfe.

Philip T.

05/11/2020 12:00:00 SA

I called on April 30th to set up an appointment to fix an outside water spigot that has been leaking water. The earliest available time slot was May 11th, so I took that. Now I got a call an hour before the appointment saying they need to cancel, and I need to reschedule for the earliest of May 22nd. I'd probably reschedule if they could accommodate something for me sooner than making a brand new appointment as if this was my first time calling or even offering a 10% discount. Putting it all on the customer is bad business. I'm calling someone else and won't be using them in the future. I'm so upset right now for the time I wasted while the water is still leaking.

James W.

7/15/2019

The service person from Bonfe was prompt and very nice. The problem I had was that Bonfe would not give an estimate over the phone for replacing my water heater. A technician was required, at a cost of $89, to come out to asset my problem even though I knew the water heater had to be replaced. The $89 would be deducted from the water heater replacement. Then asked the technician what would the total cost be. He quoted a VERY high price that I thought was out of line, $3000. The LABOR cost was 5 times higher than the cost of the water heater. Ouch! I contacted someone else and (over the phone) he quoted me a price for two different replacements models. I picked the longer warranty water heater and the total cost was about $1450. A closer look revealed that Bonfe was charging about $2300 for labor where a well know reputable dealer's labor cost was about $750. The only justification for their high labor cost was there Life Time Warranty with Bonfe. Not worth it to me. Now you see my problem. Both were doing the same procedures and including the same extras.

Darien J.

11/18/2018

The staff were very competent, but the prices are outrageous.... about 3 times what I'd pay anyone else! Took a week to get them out to look at a dripping faucet and charged me $531 to fix it... in about 30 minutes. Expected maybe 200. Will NEVER call them again!

Kim F.

11/18/2019

We had a plumbing issue/clog over the weekend. Astounded at the pricing. There was literally a cost for them to drive out and knock on our door and this was ON TOP of the diagnostic cost. AND I'm not even sure what the diagnostic cost entailed considering the use of diagnostic equipment was never used - I would call it speculation. For them to use the camera to let us know it was a clog would have cost us $1000, in addition we would have then had to pay for them to actually unclog the drain. I can see weekend pricing but this was outrageous! In the end we were asked to pay $300 for them to come to our house; $100 for them to show up and $200 for them to diagnose the problem. So $300 in and nothing was taken care of or confirmed. We did not use their service and it feels like an absolute scam! I should note the technicians were very kind, can't say much for their actual plumbing skills as we never saw them but very nice guys (yes, there were two). In the end we found a wonderful company and were charged $270 all in!

Isaac N.

11/30/2019

This is by far the worst customer service possible. We called for an inspection on aluminum wiring for a house for sale. We specified it was aluminum wiring! The appointment was set up for two weeks later, and on the day of the appointment, as we are waiting on an empty house for the electrician to call and say they're on their way, they call to CANCEL the appointment because they don't do aluminum wiring. Did they not know during the original call? Could they not take the two weeks between the call and the appointment to apologize and rectify the issue instead of cancelling at the very last minute? I would give it zero stars if I could.

Diana T.

7/30/2014

RIP OFF!

I recently had a faucet replaced by Bonfe. I already had a faucet which I was requesting they install. They charge $500 to install a faucet which is not one of their own! Please tell me how this is reasonable? If you end up using their faucet (which I unfortunately had to due to a missing washer piece; I find it odd they did not have the piece I required considering they are a repair service, just saying...) they charge $700!!! Supposedly the ridiculous pricing is due to a lifetime warranty on parts and labor but if you ask me they are completely ripping consumers off. Forget about same day service too. I called for service on Tuesday and the first available appointment was on the following Friday! Unfortunately, they did not make it out on Friday either due to another job going wrong. They were not able to make it out to my place until that Sunday, almost an entire week later!

The repair man was there for one hour and 15 minutes, how much are they charging for labor?!?!? I would tell you all but, unfortunately, Bonfe does not and will not provide an itemized invoice for their customers so we can understand the reasoning behind their pricing. Instead all you get is an explanation that they provide a lifetime warranty! Ohh, and forget about the 100% satisfaction guarantee! (How much are they charging for this lifetime guarantee anyways??) I was advised this in reference to the clean up the technician completes once the job is completed and does not encompass the consumers' actual satisfaction for the entire job being completed. Consumer's beware and stay clear of Bonfe unless you have money to throw out!

maryalecia b.

07/09/2015 12:00:00 SA

Quick service, professional and knowledgeable technicians, always available when convenient for my schedule - couldn't really get any better. Sam B. came out to my house today with another tech shadowing him. They diagnosed and fixed the problem with my air conditioner in under 30 minutes. Awesome. Thanks!

Mindy T.

09/05/2016 12:00:00 SA

Adam was great. We are new homeowners so a lot of this stuff is new to us, but he answered our questions and explained why things were happening the way they were, and what our options were to deal with each dilemma. He went above and beyond in fixing more than what we even realized needed repairs, all of which was covered by our Bonfe home warranty, so it didn't cost us extra.

Todd H.

5/30/2023

Waited for my appointment and Bonfe canceled 2 days in a row after I waited all day for a plumber to arrive. Both days they called after 3:30 and said they would have to reschedule. I would not use them as your time means nothing and customer service is not in their vocabulary. I wasted 2 days waiting for them... Better not call Bonfe!

Sean K.

6/19/2012

This is our 3rd or 4th experience with Bonfe's and they are great! Our Technician, Tom K., was courteous and explained things clearly. He put on boot covers before coming into the house to make sure he kept our carpets clean - a nice touch. We used to call another local company, but they were so small that you could never get them to call you back unless you happened to catch Dad or Junior in the office. No problems with Bonfe's - they are great at communicating with us and scheduling is easy. Every technician we have had has been pleasant, professional, and quick. Keep up the good work.

Josh B.

03/03/2019 12:00:00 SA

$500 for a $25 part...

$90 Service call on a Sunday... pretty respectable although it did take 10 mins on site. I told the tech I was pretty sure what it needed and I was correct. It needed an igniter. The igniter is $25 on amazon with 2 day shipping. I understand that companies have to make money, so with what I knew it was going to cost me $200 and the furnace would be working on a below zero day.

Nope, wrong. A $500 quote for a $25 part and 10 minutes of work. That's highway robbery.

Instead I paid $90 and I have a cold house until tomorrow when a part supply house is open. I feel cheated.

John S.

04/03/2019 12:00:00 SA

Called Bonfe to ask for a bid to replace an AC unit. They said it would be $89 to come out and evaluate the unit. I explained that an ice dam fell on it and it is no longer useable and that I just wanted to know how much it would cost to replace it. They mentioned that the $89 charge would be refunded if I chose them to do the work. No one else I contacted wanted to charge me for a bid.

Greg L.

9/22/2014

Our Realtor purchased a Bonfe Home Warranty for us at time of closing. It was the worst part of a closing deal (I should have argued for something - ANYTHING else). My wife and I have called Bonfe six times to let them know that I've never received any paperwork acknowledging that I even have a warranty. Each time they say oh, well you should have received a welcome packet. I even emailed the Sales Manager for the Warranty program, and he too promised to send the welcome packet. We let them know repeatedly that I have never received anything in the mail from their company, to which they reply, We sent it out. They sent me a PDF of supposed covered services in a 4 point font, which stated that electrical panel work was covered. I have an email from the Sales Manager stating the same. I then contacted Bonfe, who then charged me a $95 service call to come out and look at the panel. Once there, the electrician informed my wife and I that the panel, since it was functioning, was NOT covered. Apparently, the warranty does not cover and overloaded an incorrectly wired electrical panel - but I would not know that since I do not have a welcome packet! The electrician then wrote me a quote to replace the panel from $5300. I contacted another electrician that quoted me $1200. Beware! Apparently, they have this warranty in place, but really hope that you never call them for service. If your realtor offers to get you a home warranty with this company, I would pass and negotiate for the refrigerator or something else you want from the seller. If you do need a warranty, I would go ANYWHERE else possible - as you can see from this review and others - this company is a bunch con artists.

Doreen E.

7/27/2022

I recently cancelled with this company as the prices were raised and what it covered was less. I had to wait 2+ months to get my air conditioner serviced and was told of either a very expensive fix or I needed a new one. Decided to get a second opinion and got the reassurance that it was fine to wait until spring to replace it. I feel like the bonfe service people try to find something wrong as if they get commission or something. I was very happy for years but this last change in services offered and increased prices was too much.

Mary E.

9/25/2022

We called today as our water heater went out on a Sunday and needed it fixed today as we are going out of town. The dispatch told me they could come out and should be able to fix today. I asked for approximate pricing for a 50 Gal tank. They said they didn't know. I asked to have a tech call me before they came over and they said they couldn't. I figured my daughter just put one in in Chicago for $1100, how bad could it be and on a Sunday I get it. A very nice man came out, walked downstairs and looked and told me it would be $5000 to replace it and he couldn't do it today. MAYBE there was an appt for Monday. Theirs all have a lifetime warranty and they will replace 3 times for free. I am 62 and most likely won't live in this house more than 8 years and the warranty is not transferrable. I had to pay $99 for the appt. I could get a 15% discount if I signed up for their monthly program. I said why could someone not have told me on the phone an approximate fee. I would have said don't bother if we had to have a lifetime warranty. He left without doing anything for me. I called a guy recommended by neighbors, he answered on a Sunday, will be here tomorrow and it's $1300-$1500. He face timed me, told me how to empty the tank so the flooding would stop, turn the valve off and the gas. Great guy. I would NEVER recommend BONFE! What a scam. I am going to dispute the $99 since they told me they could replace the tank today and the tech said no, maybe tomorrow. What a waste of everyones time and what poor business practice.

Lee S.

7/29/2016

Absolutely great service! My technician, Zach, really knew his stuff! I had another company out a few days earlier and couldn't figure out the issues, Bonfe Took care of everything in less than an hour. I signed on to their maintenance plan, and highly recommend them for whatever service needs you have.

Tony T.

2/17/2013

My sewer backed up in to the basement. Bonfe sent several technicians before the eventually had to dig up the front yard. I thought that would have been the end of it, but less than two months later my sewer backs up again. This time, my property was destroyed and my insurance already settled the claim.

When the technician came to service the backup (the information was come and don't expect to get paid), the technician was flippant about my concerns. Wanting to have a video of the pipe, which the city says we are able to do, he says he doesn't have a DVD. Saying that he sprayed towards the house so hard that it blew water up through my toilet, his reply was, Oh. When informed that the owners wants a call before he leaves the property, he chuckles sarcastically.

Really? Way to go! What ever happen to the concerns of the customer?

Rob S.

11/07/2015 12:00:00 SA

DO NOT EVER, EVER, EVER USE BONFE!!!

We purchased a home and the realtor bought a 1-year Bonfe Home Warranty for us. When we woke up one morning with no hot water, we contacted Bonfe. A technician came a day-and-a-half later and put a new T&P relief valve on the water heater (in about 15 minutes) and only charged us $95 on top of the normal $478 charge that was covered by their warranty.

Of course it happened again 6 times in the ensuing weeks (I re-started it myself every time) and I wrote a very detailed 3-page letter with 8 pages of photos requesting a REAL fix or replacement, upon which Warranty Manager Mark Esperson responded the next day:

...The pour (sic) quality of the water heater is not on us. If I were you, I would call the company that put the water heater in. You may have a warranty on the water heater with them. Let them replace it for you.

Of course the previous owner had put the water heater in years before, and Bonfe knows very well that warranties don't transfer to new owners, but there is no sense in trying to communicate with them. Besides--we had a new 1-year Bonfe Warranty! But they were not going to honor it!

We got a REAL plumber to put a new water heater in: 50 gallon state-of-the-art for under $900 complete. As to the 1-year Bonfe Warranty: I'll sell it for $1

(By the way, it doesn't take an English teacher to quickly tell that many of the testimonials on this website were written by the same person!)

Kourtny W.

02/11/2019 12:00:00 SA

Folks on the tele were very helpful and friendly for scheduling. The contractor who came out to check my furnace was nice but certainly laying on the salesman act pretty thick. He told me I needed 2k in repairs OR 6k for a new system for my 2009 Bryant furnace that was still blowing perfectly warm air. Got a second opinion (for free I might add as Bonfe charges $90 when they walk in the door) and apparently my furnace is working just fine... will be going with Mcquillan Bros for my plumbing and heating needs moving forward.

Donald T.

2/22/2012

I'm glad I learned about Yelp today since it allows me to let others know how mad I still am, 11 years after being grossly overcharged by this company for a simple toilet repair. They were at my home for an hour, and replaced the tank bowl gasket and 2 bolts that connect the tank to the bowl. It cost 257.70 on Feb.21, 2001. - I was out of town and my wife made the call for service, we have 3 kids, one toilet, the repair couldn't wait. - I later went to a hardware store to check the prices of the materials for the repair, which were under $10. I will never use or recommend this company.

Brie S.

05/06/2017 12:00:00 SA

My water heater went out and they were able to come out just a few hours after I called. They were very nice, professional and completed the work very quickly. I highly recommend them.

Rob M.

1/27/2015

we were very satisfied with the prompt service and professionalism of our technician! it's never fun making the phone call that your furnace is not working. He was prompt and made us feel at ease. Happy with our service

David R.

5/16/2019

Bonfe is a Way Over Priced Plumbing Company!!!! Just recently my bath tub had a leaky faucet. I call Bonfe on a Sunday night, an was able to schedule someone to come out the next day, Monday. I was impressed over getting someone on a Sunday Night. The next day when the plumber arrived, I told him what was happening, He looked at the situation, and said it probably was the sleeve, which I had no idea what that was, I'm really not technical. He said it would be $500 to replace it. I said ok, what can I do, if I said no, it would still have cost $89.00 for the service call, and still would have a leaky faucet.. He started working on it, and then he said he couldn't get the so-called sleeve off. He said , I'm going to be here all day trying to get this off. He said I can just replace the entire faucet instead. I said how much, he said $1,300.00. He said I don't set the prices, the company does. I didn't know what to do at this point, so instead of saying no, I said ok. I think I personally got ripped off!!! BELIEVE ME I WILL NEVER CALL THESE GUYS AGAIN THEY ARE A RIP-OFF!!!!!

Marla E.

07/07/2014 12:00:00 SA

Outside AC unit went out, of course on the weekend. I found that Bonfe's would come out on Sunday and look at it for a $89 fee that would be applied to the repair cost if repair was needed. The Tech came out looked at the AC said he needed to do a diagnostic review that would cost and additional fee. We agreed and found out the AC is totally shot, it is a 20 year old unit and the same cost to repair or replace. He gave us an estimate of $5859 plus $186 off for the service call and $200 off with a coupon. We called around because this seemed high. The quotes that we received from other businesses, for the same type of service is over $2000 less then Bonfe quoted. We made sure that we were comparing apples to apples and can be replaced by tomorrow. I would not trust this company and will never deal with them again.

Alex Q.

5/13/2020

They say they don't service condos , but they won't explain why.

I have called them repeatedly to try to schedule an appointment, literally BEGGING to pay them money.

Well, it turns out they were lying through their teeth because their van just showed up outside and is servicing my upstairs neighbor. I called and asked point blank why this was and they said it was because they are honoring an existing plan for that customer, but they won't accept any new customers.

Inconsistent, unprofessional, and completely ridiculous.

Cindy A.

05/04/2017 12:00:00 SA

Sean from Bonfe came out for routine AC tune-up. He was professional, enthusiastic and informative. He taught me a number of things I could do to make my AC and furnace last longer. Plus, I had no idea you could get furnace filters from Bonfe for less than what I was paying at an online store. He said he would send me more info on a surge suppressor for the AC and followed up that very afternoon. Really appreciated his help and expertise (and cheerfulness which is kind of rare these days).

B J.

04/05/2020 12:00:00 SA

Called for a fix on a lifetime warranty tub and shower faucet. Bonfe wanted to charge $89 just to come to my house. What is a lifetime warranty good for? I had this faucet repaired three times before and was never charged by them. When I asked why, the clerk said anything that is over a year old is charged a service fee. Then why wasn't I charged before? They ripped me off for $1K for this faucet in the first place! Never do business with this company.

Kyle W.

9/26/2013

ROBBERY

I had a few minor leaks at a rental property so I called Bonfe to come out and make the repairs. The toilet was running and there was a leak under the sink.

First off, they showed up an hour early and no one was home, so they had to reschedule.

When the service technician called me for the repair bid he told me he would do the repairs for $350 and that he was giving me a deal. After pressing him for facts, the toilet mechanisms inside needed to be replaced and the garbage disposal under the sink was loose.

The inside guts on a toilet cost $15 and it can be fixed in about 10 minutes. The garbage disposal just needed to be tightened. I told him this and he didn't even argue the facts, but he told me that having an office, a big truck and getting a plumber's license was expensive, so that is why they charged so much. Basically too much overhead.

After telling him that a handyman would fix those repairs for way less, he tried lying to me by saying that a licensed plumber is the only one that can do those types of repairs. You have to be a licensed plumber to repair anything that touches water. BS I told him to take a hike.

DONT USE BONFE UNLESS YOU LOVE WASTING MONEY

I called a handyman and he came out the same day and repaired everything for $80.

Nathan K.

5/20/2017

Had a technician out for a home air conditioner that was not cooling properly. He told me the system likely had a leak and gave me the option to recharge the refrigerant (~$600) or replace the system ($3000-$5000). I elected to attempt to recharge the refrigerant. After draining and refilling the freon, the tech told me the unit was not even turning on now. (Odd because it turned on before). He told me I would need a new system and could have someone come give me a quote right away. They gave 3 options for a new system, starting at $3500 which included a $2000 credit (Bonfe home warranty) and a 15% discount. The quote was for a 13 seer 2 ton Goodman air conditioner. That's nearly 4 times the cost of the individual unit. While going through the options with me, the tech made a remark that Bonfe would make the most profit off of one of the options.
When I mentioned that the price seemed extremely high and that I wanted to first shop around, the technician went off about how Bonfe spends $60,000 a year on new uniforms and is open 7 days a week. They asked for half or full payment up front (before installation would begin).
After they left, I was left without a functioning AC unit (which was at least turning on before they worked on it), so I inspected around the unit and found that the fuses were inserted upside down, which wasn't allowing the unit to get electricity. I corrected this, and the unit started functioning again, like it was before.
This was very disappointing to see that they were dishonest and were trying force a sale on me.

Kari V.

07/10/2015 12:00:00 SA

The work was done quickly and the technician arrived right at the beginning of the window expected, after calling 30 minutes in advance to let me know when he would arrive. Great work! For reference , it was $262 for 15 minutes to clean a sink drain.

What was extremely annoying, however, was that the office would not accept my credit card after I told them when I made the appointment that I would be using it. After the technician could not get through, we agreed I would call it in. I was on a work conference call at the time. About 3 minutes after he left, I proceeded to get 5 calls in 15 minutes from Bonfes (3 of them one minute apart). It was unprofessional to keep calling minutes apart and frustrating since it was interrupting the important work call I was on. It took more time to get my card # to Bonfes than it took to get the work done!

Shauna V.

09/04/2013 12:00:00 SA

There are good things about Bonfe - the availability of weekend and evening hours, and generally they can get out to you quickly in an emergency situation. Having previously owned a midcentury home in Highland Park, we needed to do some upgrades. Most of the servicemen that came out were professional and friendly. What is unfortunate, and in my opinion, a very poor business practice (from a consumer's perspective), is that they charge an $89 trip fee just to get an electrician/plumber/etc. out to your home even for a routine repair and won't give any estimates over the phone (despite having a book of all prices readily available). For example, if you want them to install a new toilet they have a fixed price for that, but won't give it to you over the phone so instead they send a plumber to your house, look in their book of prices, and then you find out that their prices are twice as expensive as other plumbers in the area and at that point you are already $89 in the hole if you choose to go with someone more affordable. (And, once you already have someone out at your house, you just want to get the job done instead of waiting around for another service call - which of course Bonfe knows and is one of the reasons they don't give you their prices over the phone.) It cost us over $800 to have a valve replaced under our sink! I have no complaints about the work done by Bonfe in my home, but their prices are outrageous and I would much rather work with a company that can provide estimates for routine services so you know what you are getting into before undertaking a project.

Heidi V.

5/31/2012

We had a great experience with Bonfe's. Our technician (Mike B) came out to do general service on our furnace and air conditioner. He was professional, courteous and explained options for additional service that we should consider in the future to keep our units running well for the years to come.

Michael S.

12/27/2015

No heat when we came back from dinner Saturday evening. Bonfe sent 4 space heaters that evening and Zach H arrived the next day on a Sunday! Very professional - terrific service. Thank you!

Drew Y.

2/18/2019

If I could give a negative rating, I would. Bonfe came out to install a dishwasher. They claimed thousands of dollars in electrical upgrades were required to bring things up to code for install. Upon further research, they were correct if the home was new construction. However, this is an older home and upgrades are not required. All that was needed was to connect a couple wires. Should have been a minimum charge and instead they attempted to bilk us out of thousands. I feel sorry for anyone who doesn't have the time or resources to do further research.

Karen H.

11/06/2017 12:00:00 SA

I purchased a home warranty thru Bonfe. I was thrilled to have the feeling that I was covered, if anything happened to my appliances, furnace, A/C. Over the year time I had several service calls to check my A/C and furnace. The last 2 service calls for my furnace/A/C were a month or so right before my Home warranty ended. I was experiencing intermitent heating cooling.
Last resort, they changed the thermostat. After that call I had a fall tuneup scheduled, which was changed a couple times to a time-frame that was out of my home warranty. The tech arrived and within 10 minutes, said I had a cracked heat exchanger and red tagged my furnace. Said I could purchase a new heat exchanger for $3,000, since now I was out of the home warranty. You cannot tell me this heat exchanger cracked in a month, and why didn't the tech find this several months ago. If you have a 15 year old furnace, that should be one of the checks made in diagnosing the problem of no heat. The thermostat was just fine and never needed replacing. And I paid for these service calls. I have reached out several times to ask for a manager to call me back. I received a phone voice message advising to bad, so sad.
I would not recommend this company. They are part changers, and do not have the expertise to take care of your products. To date, I have asked for a manager to call me back, so I can discuss my situation, and no one has called me back. DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE, Also the tech immediately put a Bonfe sticker on my furnace, hot-water heater, water softner, and heat transformer. They are all in a row in my basement. It looks like a billboard, as soon as you walk up to my furnace. I don't mind 1 sticker, but 4, And they are large stickers!!!!! Totally unprofessional, the tech did not even ask me if this was ok. And once he determined my furnace needed to be red tagged, he was done. I had to ask him to check out my other components pertaining to the furnace. What a waste! I should contact the Minnesota BBB!

Karen H.

Krystin E.

4/26/2016

Their plumbers came to my home jerked me around as a first time home buyer and a women and told me my pipes were broken and it would cost 5500 dollars and asked me if I wanted 15000 dollars worth of worry free plumbing when I'm already distraught. I called another company Honest Mikes and he cleaned my drain, made a DVD while I watched and showed me there was no broken pipe. They are horrible plumbers and as home warranty.

Michael S.

8/26/2012

This was our first experience with Bonfe. Mike B. came out with a trainee. Both were very personable and professional. They clearly explained what they were going to do and then followed up by explaining while they were performing the furnace and air conditioner inspection.
Overall it was a very good service visit and we'd use them again if needed.

Estela H.

11/11/2020 12:00:00 SA

I set up an appointment with Bonfe Electric (Base 3) and was given a 6 hr window in which to expect the technician to arrive. Was told the tech would call when on their way. I got no call and I they never showed up. I sent an email to them and was offered another 6 hr window on their time schedule. If you value your time and work hard for your money- find a company that deserves your business.

Bryan E.

11/11/2012 12:00:00 SA

We had Jon Tripp with Bonfe come check out our boiler furnace for the winter. He was very professional, courteous, and wore slip on booties. He educated us on the proper annual maintenance for our radiators and what ideal pressures should be.

Thanks Jon!

Andrew D.

03/08/2023 12:00:00 SA

BUYER BEWARE ABSOLUTELY DO NOT GO WITH BONFE

Bonfe recently came out to my house to fix/ replace a water heater and the cost was just over 6k. Being a first time home buyer and not knowedable in the hvac areas, I thought this was the normal cost to complete this type of job but after the fact and speaking with other individuals, I came to find out that these jobs usually don't cost more thank 2k. They have competed other jobs at my house such as cleaning out a basement drain where the pricing for that job seemed reasonable which is why I trusted the prices the technician presented me to complete the install for the water heater. I followed up with Bonfe inquiring if an itemized receipt could be provided to see what the complete breakdown of the charges were but they could not provide an itemized receipt and stated they go by a 50-40-10 model.

I feel completely taken advantage of and just sick to my stomach overall. The fact they cannot provide an itemized receipt is unethical in my opinion. I am also curious how many other individuals, such as, first time home buyers, elderly folk, or any others who are not knowledgeable about hvac jobs have been taken advantage of by Bonfe.

I will be telling any family, friends, coworkers, etc, to never go with this company and have them cancel any maintenance subscriptions they currently have with them.

Lance H.

5/23/2014

On 5/14 My 77yr old aunt had a leak in the water heater.
I am uncertain as to why she called Bonfe in particular.
Bonfe arrived on the same day and on time. The Service tech was nice.

She did not call around, and signed the contract to pay $2300 for a Hot water heater Replacement. 40 Gallon, Non powervent. Just a straight up easy water heater.
She called me after the tech got started on replacement.

I called two other Companies and was quoted at $1450, and $1475.
Bonfe states that they have upfront pricing. What that means is that they mark up an additional 30%.
After a phone call to the service manager regarding taking advantage of an elderly woman, Brandon did apply a Coupon to bring the price down to an atrocious $2150.

Bonfe is a low end company charging High end rates.

Be very careful, contacting them for service.

Mike D.

06/08/2021 12:00:00 SA

I scheduled the $89 tuneup. False and misleading advertising. They called just now (the night before) to cancel. But they offered to come out if I paid them more than the $89 advertised price.

False advertising. I will be advising anyone who listens to ignore their billboards. It is a total scam.

Arazue F.

7/28/2020

HIGHWAY ROBBERY. If I could give negative stars, I would.

Liars and crooks who take advantage of people. As a new homeowner, our AC went out and there were Bonfe stickers on our furnace, so we called them to check what was going on. I was out for most of the visit (which was less than an hour), upon my return we were charged $570. Apparently, we needed a new thermostat. The same thermostat that was installed can be purchased at Target for $43. This isn't even a thermostat that I would have chose because it is not under the approved thermostats to get a bill credit with Xcel Energy. If I wanted to spend that much for a thermostat I would've gotten a smart one. Our invoice states we were charged $570 for the thermostat, not any other services, so I'm confused at where the money goes exactly, do they upcharge their thermostat that much?

I called to ask where the remaining $527 went. The first person said it went to the warranty. WHAT? I highly doubt any sort of warranty costs $527. I asked to speak to a manager, they said they would have one call me. Never got that call, so I called again. They had the technician who came to the house call me back. I asked him where the remaining $527, he said they're a business and that extra money pays the people who answer the phone. I questioned further and he said he did checks other things to make sure everything runs smoothly. Very suspicious that I am getting varying answers on where the money goes. Are technicians allowed to charge whatever and pocket the money? He also said his manager Syd will call me. Two weeks later, still waiting for that call.

I called around other companies, estimates were LESS THAN HALF of what Bonfe charged. I will be filing a complaint with the attorney general. Their business is clearly built on shady operations and taking advantage of people. I will not be using their services again, and I recommend you to avoid them as well.

Nahom A.

8/17/2023

Terrible service..it took them three days to come and look at my house and the price they quoted me is 200% above what the others offered...how are they not regulated ? Stay away from them

Kathleen S.

12/20/2019

never again would i use them, high sales pressure kitchen sink was leaking under the sink, 2 guys came out 1 was training 15 mins later it was fixed for 600.00 dollars called them for detain report on what they did was told we don't do that way, please call other people this company sucks

K F.

6/13/2021

Had an appointment with them to do a tune up on my AC unit and they called the night before to cancel the appointment. Annoying because I planned my schedule around their visit. Will be going with another vendor who honors their commitments.

Katie K.

01/10/2016 12:00:00 SA

We had Bonfe come to our home to install a pedestal sink and toilet in our half bath in December 2015. Two plumbers --a licensed plumber and an apprentice--came to our home and gave us an estimate of $900 for services. We were in need of the services that day (regular Bonfe business hours) and paid this outrageous price for approximately one hour of work. The work was done well.

My husband called Bonfe to complain about the cost of the work we had done. The representative he spoke with said Bonfe charges a specific amount for work done regardless of the time. My husband said, So, we have to pay more money for the work we had done because sometimes it takes longer for other projects? The representative did not know what to say. We were offered $100 back, which we took. I still think $800 for the work done is extremely expensive.

We will not be using Bonfe again because of the ridiculous prices, which is too bad because the plumbers do good work. I am writing this review to warn others of the exorbitant fees Bonfe charges. We should have done more research before hiring them.

Matt C.

6/17/2019

I was extremely disappointed with Bonfe's approach to pricing and follow-up response for an air conditioning repair job earlier this month at my home. It all started with a non-refundable cost for the service call that is rolled into their price, so at once you are pressured to accept their repair solution. Secondly, they will not discuss part costs and labor rates, even after I followed up after the service call. Rather they use fixed pricing which hides the actual costs involved. Third, they quoted the issue as a malfunctioning 'high storage device' vs. the more common name of a capacitor, and in my opinion is designed to confuse the customer further and prevent people from learning their real costs. I was quoted $544 for replacing each of the 3 capacitors - 1 was malfunctioning and the other 2 were operating poorly. In thinking I was replacing an expensive part, I mistakenly agreed to have all 3 replaced (again, I was already stuck paying the service call fee if I chose to have a second opinion). I was also given a 'discount' of $144 for each capacitor for signing up for Bonfe's $108 annual service plan, a fancy way of making me think I was saving money.

When I realized the next day that they charged me those fees for replacing 3 capacitors which are likely less than $75/each according to online searches (again, they wouldn't share the part costs), I contacted the company to see if they made a mistake in their pricing. Using capacitor part pricing from the internet, I calculated the math for the time the technician was at our house, added 1 hour of drive time, and their standard pricing comes to well over $350/hour for the technician's time.

I gave the company two chances to remedy their pricing and over a week to respond, even copying a member of their leadership team in the process. Their only response was a weak attempt at justifying their business model and the high cost of labor. I would happily pay close to $200/hour for a professional installer (for comparison - I just paid the boat mechanic a $125/hourly labor rate). However, Bonfe chooses a non-transparent pricing approach and when clearly overcharging for a job, does not care enough about repeat business and customer satisfaction to find a reasonable solution. So I am doing my part to share my story and recommend that you stay far away from Bonfe. I could never recommend their services.