American Leak Detection of MN

This letter is in response to the complaint filed by *** and *** *** pertaining to property at *** *** *** Woodbury, MN. Customer is contesting on the point that the Leak Detection services performed did not result in a successful air pressure test required by the City of Woodbury
Inspections DepartmentCustomer contacted American Leak Detection regarding a suspected leak in the plumbing system of the home due to previous fire damage. Our testing procedures, requirements, trip charges (initial and follow-up) were discussed, authorized, scheduled and performed. Please refer to attached work authorization documents, invoices, as well as other documents pertaining to explanation of services and charges.10-31-18: Testing was performed and pressure drop was noted. Underground plumbing was eliminated from test and above ground system held psi for fifteen minutes with no drop in pressure. Invoice for $was submitted and paid by credit card.2-6-18: Customer called and requested additional testing citing that the system had been tested by the City of Woodbury and subsequently failed the required psi test. Additional testing and charges were again discussed, authorized, scheduled and performed.2-9-18: Testing was performed, and pressure drop was noted. Leaks were found in attic space vent line, at union in master bath wall and at roof caps. Invoice for $was submitted and to date has not been paid.American Leak Detection performed a leak detection standard to the industry. Due to the fact that only one leak can be located at a time on any particular plumbing line, folltesting is often required after initial repairs have been performed to verify if additional leaks exist. Leak Detection is a process of elimination, therefore the customer’s assumption that all leaks can be found in one trip is incorrect. American Leak Detection does not perform repairs, however after a leak is located the area or wall must be opened for repair. Customer confirmed that in fact two leaks had been found (one in attic and one in bathroom) and repaired, but pressure test was not successful indicating more leaksAmerican Leak Detection fulfilled its service obligation and fully explained our process and pricing to the customer prior to and after service was conducted. Our office has made several attempts to resolve Mrs***’s concern. It appears she just does not wish to pay for any services

The ***’s were informed of testing procedures and all documents were signed prior to the job in October as well as the job in FebruaryThere was no loss of pressure in October during our initial testing. When a property is left in the process of construction or remodel for extended periods of time subsequent issues can ariseWe are unsure of who is doing repairs and their testing. The City of Woodbury informed us that the inspector has not been to the property as the ***s have stated (see City of Woodbury email). The ***’s never stated they were unhappy with our services before or after the 2nd trip. Only after several calls requesting payment for the 2nd trip, were we notified of a concern. Both technicians and office staff left messages to offer more testing if needed and resolution. *** accuses our company of “hounding her and not working with her” which is false. She is adamant that she will not pay and accused us of wanting to charge thousands of dollars, which is false Our company cannot be responsible for a customer’s misunderstanding of a process nor the parameters they set for our procedures. It is standard of the industry with electronic leak detection, that only one leak can be found at a time. Most often with this type of service, plumbers are on site during testing to perform the needed repair, and allow for retestingThe ***’s accusations that we have not provided requested services and fulfilled our obligation is incorrect. The ***’s have confirmed we have found two leaks and stated they have been repairedThey have referred to our logo “Leak Detection Without Destruction”. Testing is indeed done with non-invasive techniques, however, once a leak is located the affected area does need to be opened by others to perform repairsOur company has met all obligations to the customer, therefore payment is due for services they received

I am rejecting this response because: After the first visit of American Leak Detection the technician just told us that the system held 5LB of pressure for 15 minutes.  He did not show us that the system held the air for 15 minutes.  Furthermore what they are saying does not make any sense.  If the system passed the air test the first time then it would have passed the test with the City of Woodbury. It failed.  American Leak Detection told us verbally that they can detect all leaks at once by putting smoke in the system and they would be able to detect all the leaks through the electrical outlets. Additionally the technician that came over the 2nd time admitted that it would have been impossible for the system to hold air the first time since they found additional leaks. If they can only find one leak at a time then it would take them hundreds of times to detect each and every leak since plumbing systems have lots of joints in them.  Therefore the service that they would be providing would costs thousands of dollars.We hired them because we did not want to tear out the walls in order to find the leak(s) and American Leak Detection has the logo of " leak detection without destruction".  It would have been a lot easier to tear down the walls to detect the leak(s) than to have these guys come over numerous times and charge just ridiculous amounts of money.This is a home and only has 2 stacks of piping.  It is not a huge complex with numerous stacks of plumbing.  We see that there was another complaint was filed against this company stating exactly the same issue with them. After their 2nd visit they kept calling and asking us for the 3 digit code on our credit card even though we were saying that we are not satisfied with their service.  They have not provided the service that they promised us and they are not even entitled  to the initial $350 payment that they took from us.