PDV, Inc.

My real estate agent, Laura [redacted] of [redacted] suggested Paul [redacted] for my home inspection. I was moving to Greenfield from Minneapolis and had no contacts of my own in the area so I took my agent's advice.

Unreliable inspection service, failure to test sump pump, untrue to his word

Mr. [redacted] did not recognize code violations in the plumbing (pipes under kitchen sink and in the basement) and the dryer venting. The former were confirmed and fixed by a plumber who had previously been the city of Deerfield's inspector for plumbing. Plumbing was something I specifically asked Mr. [redacted] to check. His inspection report stated that there were no issues with the plumbing ("no defect seen").

Mr. [redacted] also did not check the sump pump to see whether it would work. The house had a hole in the basement floor with standing water, a sump pump and a sewer pipe in that same space. The inspector and real estate agent indicated that the sump pump should vent water to the outside but that it was not difficult to do so. But because the sump pump was not tested, I only learned after the sale that it was trying to evacuate water into a broken sewer pipe. To fix this unsanitary situation (sewage leaking into the hole created for basement water), route the sump pump outflow to the outside and fix other plumbing code violations was a $1,500 job.

I discussed this matter with Mr. [redacted] in hopes that he might cover half of the cost. I agreed to let him send over his own plumber to check whether what $1,500. was an acceptable price. He left the impression that, assuming the price was acceptable, he would cover half the cost. I waited for his plumber to call me to set up a time to come by but he never did. I have heard nothing since then from Mr. [redacted].

We came to the understanding above in order to avoid me pursuing this as a claim against Mr. [redacted]. Customers should also be aware, however, that Mr. [redacted]' contract requires arbitration. The nonrefundable fee to simply file a claim for an amount under $75,000. is $800. As the New York Times recently pointed out in a series on the growing use of arbitration by businesses from major banks to local obgyns, this effectively means those with small claims like myself cannot get their day in court.