ComplaintsforAll Clean Septic Services LLC

• Initial Complaint

  01/16/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Horrible business. Called them out December to pump septic and they did but also crushed 2 of 3 lateral lines in my yard as well. System started backing up again and called them back out and he try to run a hydro jet down the line got it stuck and cut it and left it in my lateral to clog even more. Ran his camera down it and sure enough stopped right at the spot where he drove his truck over and its collapsed. Got a call 3 days after that and said they are not responsible because they did not crush it and its failed. This has been a joke of a business. Also we had no prior issues for years of living here and after they pumped it out it only lasted a month. This has been going on for a month and a half. The owners name is ***************************.

  Business response

  01/22/2024

  Please see attached response

  12/4/2023 we were called by a client, ************* afterhours complaining that his tank was
  completely full and he was backing up. We arrived to the home and greeted the homeowner who
  walked us to a septic tank that was at ground level in the backyard and open and exposed without
  any lid. The homeowner removed the cinderblocks he had blocking the hole to the tank and advised
  that he had purchased the home this way. The open hole was full of debris from an apple tree
  nearby. There were significant amounts of dirt runoff and leaves inside the tank. The septic tank
  was in high water and that is a key indicator of lateral line failure. This is because the water is not
  able to make it into the ***** field and subsequently fills up the tank and then backs up into the
  home. When water has no other way to escape this is known as highwater. However, because there
  were lots of leaves and mud in the tank from the tank being open and exposed to the elements we
  felt it to be most likely that the outlet pipe was clogged with debris. The homeowner said we could
  bring the truck around back and helped the driver get back there and the truck turned around. The
  tank is in a difficult place to otherwise access and the closer the truck is the better the vacuum you
  can get because pressure is lost with the more hose you add. Due to the amounts of debris the
  closer we can get to the tank the better suction we will have. The homeowner made no mention of
  his lateral field location, and it should be noted that lateral field placement is not typical. The tank
  was then pumped out without incident. We removed all the leaves from the outlet line and cleared
  the tank of as much mud and other debris as possible. The homeowner was advised at that time
  that the tank was most likely failing due to the debris in the line, and to get ahead of this we need to
  add a lid to prevent more debris from entering the tank. The homeowner agreed and we came back
  12/15/2024 and added a risered lid. The tank was working in operational order and based on the
  current level of water usage the lines were taking on the water that was being used inside the
  home. At this time the homeowner was completely satisfied and even left a tip for both the
  pumping and risering of the tank.
  On 1/4/2024, the homeowner called us back and the tank was in high water again. We came right
  out, and the tank was found in high water again. We advised the homeowner that his lines were
  failing, but still most probably from debris in the line. It is not unusual for a system that is failing to
  begin having issues after the holidays. This is because water usage typically increases around the
  holidays and the water usage exceeds typical operational amounts. The homeowner then
  suggested that it was possible we had crushed the lines and he wanted us to confirm the reason for
  failure. We advised the homeowner that it was highly improbable that was the case, but that his
  lines have likely been failing this whole time, but out of an abundance of reassurance to the
  customer we offered to evaluate the lines free of charge. We ran a camera and couldn't make it
  past the header line because of impaction of biomat (a buildup of bacteria and organic sludge
  found in failing lines), baby wipes, and leaves. We removed as much as we could, but were not able
  to make it more than 6ft because the distribution box was so compacted. We explained that we felt
  confident that the lines were failing due to biomat impact resulting from age and tank negligence.
  The homeowner was notably frustrated that his tank was suddenly failing, but the reality is that
  this tank had been failing for some time. The homeowner kept aggressively suggesting we had
  crushed the lines and that was why it was failing. Again, despite being confident this was not the
  case and to give the homeowner peace of mind we offered to hydrojet the lines and show him the
  lateral line impaction on camera.
  We came out again on 1/10/2024 and the distribution box was dug up and there were three lateral
  lines found. It should be noted that the truck was not near at least one of the lines. Furthermore,
  the homeowner was advised that these lines are of an old, outdated, non-DEQ compliant material
  that is likely very brittle due to age and it may not tolerate the pressure of the hydrojetter, but in
  order for us to evaluate the lines per his request there would be a possibility that the lines could be
  damaged. The homeowner insisted that we continue to determine the root cause. He
  acknowledged that he understood the risk, but felt that regardless he would have to replace the
  lateral field so if damage happened he would be in no different of a position.
  That middle line of the three was the first to be hydrojetted, and we made it ~25ft in, it was found to
  be clogged with heavy amounts of biomat. There were no signs of crushing or collapse. The right
  line was hydrojetted and we made it ~10ft in and the line was too heavily compacted with biomat.
  There were not any signs that the right line was crushed. The far-left line was hydrojetted, and it
  was a line where the truck was nowhere in the vicinity of and that line was too heavily impacted
  with biomat that we made it ~2ft into the line. As good measure we went back to the middle line
  since it was in the area that he claims to be crushed and tried to make it as far down the line as
  possible to show that the line is in fact not crushed. During that time the level of impaction was
  impenetrable and the hydrojetter line became stuck in the line. After about an hour of trying to free
  the line the homeowner was advised that this was a failure of lines due to biomat buildup and
  generalized line failure unrelated and that the hydrojetter line would have to be cut and left.
  All laterals are failed due to age and occlusion and that includes a failed line that the truck was
  nowhere in the vicinity of. The lines are approximately 70 years old, brittle, and were failed prior to
  us arriving. We have made every effort to satisfy this customer including over $1000 in free labor
  and diagnostics, but the unfortunate reality of this is that the homeowners septic was failed prior
  to our arrival, and it is not our responsibility to replace it. The homeowner was very agitated we
  wouldnt pay for a new system and left bad reviews on ****** and contacted you out of anger and
  aggression of his situation.

  Customer response

  01/24/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:When *************************** and His wife arrived I told them where my lateral lines were.  She got out of the car and was chasing her kids around my yard throwing apples at each other which is nowhere near professional. When he came back out to install the riser on my tank they caulked it and pushed it down on top of mud and called it good, which I made them come back out and fix which was still not fixed correctly. When they came out to camera the lateral lines his camera went out 35ft and we walked out with his locating tool and it was exactly on the sunken in tire marks from his truck. This business has been nothing but a disaster for my family and I and have only caused issues and to just walk away and deny responsibility. Thats not honest work or how you treat people. Im not doing this out of frustration Im doing this when I know a business is dishonest and shouldnt be in business. People need to know how they treat customers. News 4 will be next to know how this business treats customers.
  Sincerely,
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******************

  Business response

  01/31/2024

  We perform hundreds of pumps and services a month and our client base is exceptionally family-friendly and our reviews and customer satisfaction reflect the actual quality of the work we do on a day-to-day basis.In fact, this is the only complaint we have ever had out of thousands of jobs, and at this point I am no longer willing to entertain an unproductive conversation.Each response is an ever-growing list of complaints irrelevant to the matter that his system failed prior to our arrival. Although we stand firm that the failure is unrelated to our services, a matter that we will agree to disagree on, we would like him to respond to this BBB complaint with what it is that he wants as resolution to the matter. Our insurance company will likely handle his case moving forward and they have been placed on notice. Once he has responded to this we will move forward with trying to help the homeowner find solutions rather than more complaints. 

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