ComplaintsforUnited States Drug Testing Laboratories, Inc (USDTL)

• Initial Complaint

  11/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I went to get a hair follicle drug test, i paid out of pocket 160$ to have this test so that i can confidently apply for jobs, i have not used in over 3 months and i assumed that is as far as the test goes back. I called the collection facility and the same person who collected my hair answered the phone, and could not tell me if they only tested the 1.5 inches of hair, so she told me to call the laboratory. Once i called the woman she said they don't deal with customers and to call the collection facility back but she also referred me to their ******* channel. Prior to this i looked at the website and they said they do not test more than 1.5 inches and you would think i was satisfied by this answer but i wasn't because there was no way i was positive if this was true. I went to their ******* watched how the collection is supposed to be conducted and to no surprise it was done incorrectly. The collector is supposed to measure 1.5 inches from the scalp hair and folded inward into the foil. She instead used my entire length of hair she cut even said "thats way more than enough, good because i dont want to hear anything from them." I don't understand how this was done so incorrectly when my hair is 18+ inches long you should know to at least not fold all of it in the foil but she did. I have wasted my paid out of pocket money coming from my savings because i need to make sure i can pass pre-employment drug screenings. I think it is only fair if i get a retest done correctly by the standards of the laboratory.

• Initial Complaint

  08/15/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  A laboratory cannot possibly swear by testing results that were improperly collected yet this company does. When something as important as a hair follicle test that could result in someone having their child taken away every effort should be made to achieve correct results. I personally watched a collection representative cut the under arm hair from my daughter after using the same instrument on who knows how many people that day , I know of 5 before her. The collector used a non alcohol fragrance free baby wipe to barely wipe the head of the clippers. She did not change the clipper head between people , she did not remove the head to clean previous hair out, she did not sterilize or sanitize the equipment. My daughter is 8 months pregnant and takes a drug test ,urine and blood weekly and before that monthly and has failed no drug tests. She also took a urine test that day and passed it. If this lab provides no collection procedures or training in collection procedures to make sure there can be no cross contamination between people they cannot swear by the results . These results are far to important and affect the lives of thousands from loss of employment to loss of a child . The collection site isn't even listed ,a DCS office , really another unsanitary, unsterilized environment. This lab has no control over collection so it cannot swear by it's results. It is also not listed as an approved lab by SAMHA, the federal government. Any unapproved lab should never have power to destroy lives.

  Business response

  08/30/2023

  Hello,
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  05/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have personally taken 2 separate nail folical tests for .ARC Pou t labs of ******* **, On the second test there is a positive for cocaine, I want my test retested or more specifically the nails. I submitted retested as I have not even seen cocaine in over 20 years. I have looked up your company you are not even b b b accredited And therefore are affecting both my employment and my court ordered nail folical tests. I have noticed. There are numerous reports of false positive drug tests results for this company therefore before my attorney proceeds we would like a verification test Prior to ** filing litigation. Furthermore perhaps the originating company who submitting The nail clippings the employee ***************************** I am requesting that She submit to a nail test as well.

  Business response

  05/30/2023

  Hello,
  

  
  

  I am sorry, we had some communication issues, and we missed the deadline for responding to this complaint; I didn't realize we had a time limit for responding.
  

  
  

  Can we submit this response for the complaint:

  
  

  Thank you for reaching out and giving ** an opportunity to respond. As a business-to-business service laboratory (not business-to-consumer), we are not a member of the Better Business Bureau. Our testing is forensic (relating to courts of law); to protect the donors privacy and ensure that requests and comments are from a verified donor, we require that the donor correspond directly with the collection site.
  

  
  

  Thanks so much in advance and let me know if there is anything else I need to do.
  

  
  

  Best,

  *************************, MSIMC  (she/her/hers)
  

  Director of Communications | USDTL

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  05/09/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  False positive hair follicle drug test! Resulting in my children being removed from my care! I have been in recovery for over 6months! Also the way the tests are being administered is a joke and the chain of custody on samples are not upheld and proven!

  Business response

  05/18/2022

  
  Hello,
  
  Thank you for reaching out and giving us an opportunity to respond. We are a very niche B2B service laboratory, so a few points are essential to clarify in response to this complaint. 
  
  We are a business-to-business service laboratory specializing in innovative long-term substance abuse testing/toxicology in specimens like umbilical cord, hair, and fingernail. Unlike more common short-term specimen testing such as urine and oral fluid which looks back only a few days, is used for current intoxication, and can be fairly easy to beat we do testing that is very difficult to adulterate because our testing looks back at up to approximately 3-months of history of drug and alcohol use. As you can imagine, after decades of drug tests that were easy to skirt, our testing tends to make donors very angry when they cant find a way to pass them without abstaining from drug and alcohol use. Note: One of the top keyword searches on our website is donors trying to figure out how to pass a hair test.
  
  
  
  We have a range of customers, including community collection sites, drug courts, hospitals, physician health programs, university research programs, and more. Our customers are the organizations working with clientele (specimen donors) that have a history of substance abuse and are generally required to be drug or alcohol tested for various reasons, usually legally required. The specimen donor is not a customer of **********************, and ********************** has no business relationship with the specimen donor. Our business relationship is with the organization that provided the collection service, and our duty is to that customer.
  
  
  
  We only provide laboratory services. We do not interact with donors, collect specimens, interpret results, or make decisions in donor cases. As such, donors are informed that they must go through the organization that collected the specimen from them if they have any questions. We receive and test specimens sent to us and then send the report back to the organization that requested the testing results. Those organizations work with professionals who are trained in making determinations based on the information on the report. Often this is a Medical ********************* a licensed physician responsible for receiving and reviewing laboratory results generated by a drug-testing program. Anyone interpreting tests for our customers is specifically employed independently of our laboratory. We do not have any MROs on staff.
  
  
  We are an internationally accredited forensic toxicology laboratory following strict forensic protocols under extensive oversight and inspection from these accrediting bodies: College of *********************************************************** Improvement Amendments (CLIA), and the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANABISO ******). Unlike a clinical laboratory, forensic laboratories require confirmation testing for any positive result to be reported.
  
  This means: 
  every specimen tested in our laboratory requires and remains under a chain of custody from collection through destruction,
  if a specimen needs to be confirmed, an entirely separate aliquot (a new selection of the original specimen) is selected and processed on completely different instrumentation to get the same result before any positive is reviewed and reported out,
  making the likelihood of a false positive incredibly low.
  
  
  When you contacted us about this complaint, we extensively reviewed the data again and still stand by the original results.
  
  
  Finally, and possibly most important to note in this matter, there are controls in place for donors who want to dispute their test results. Specimens are stored under a chain of custody for a year after testing, so the donor can submit a request for another lab to test their original specimen if they believe the results are inaccurate. This complainant has not requested any retests, which may indicate fear of another positive result.
  
  
  If there are any parts of this reply that you would like further explanation of, please do not hesitate to reach out. We understand toxicology is complex and can prompt many questions; we are here to help in any way we can. 

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