Holt Plumbing Company

I had an underground water leak and contacted Holt for assistance. (23 gallons/hr per Water Co.) Holt advised that replacing the entire water line would cost approximately $4,500. As a less expensive alternative, they offered an acoustic leak-detection test for $395 to identify the location of the leak so that a spot repair could be made once identified. I chose the acoustic test. After completing the test, Holt marked the location where the leak was identified. (see picture) Based on that marking, the hole was hand-dug. The hole was approximately 36 inches deep at one end and 30 inches deep throughout the remainder of the excavation. Anyone who has hand-dug a hole of that depth understands the amount of work involved. During the excavation, I did locate the sewer pipe, but I found no water line.. Days later the hole remained completely dry, with no standing water and no damp soil. At 23/gal an hour leak rate, I believe I would have seen water or at the least dampness in that hole. This strongly indicated that the water line was not located where the acoustic test had identified it. I contacted Holt and requested a refund of the $395 leak-detection charge. That request was denied. I then had the entire water line replaced by another company for $2,850, compared with Holt’s quoted price of $4,500. After the replacement, I again requested a refund of the $395 charge because the marked location did not identify the leak. That request was again denied. My takeaway is that Holt’s pricing was substantially higher than the alternative for the line replacement ($4,500 vs $2,850) I believe it was unreasonable to refuse a refund for a leak-detection service that did not locate a water pipe, much less a leak. As a consumer, there is not much recourse against these large companies other than sharing an account of the experience. I needed this company to step forward, not back.