AVOID BEING SCAMMED; WHAT EVERY BUSINESS OWNER NEEDS TO KNOW

LOW PRICING: When a pump company quotes a price that is significantly lower than their competitors’, it often indicates they are not complying with the necessary regulations for the legal disposal of your waste grease, or FOG (Fats, Oils, and Grease), in accordance with municipal and environmental standards. Instead, they may be dumping your waste directly into Colorado’s vital streams, rivers, and retention ponds, causing irreparable damage to wildlife and the environment. Alternatively, they might illegally discharge it into sewers and storm drains, leading to disruptions and costly damage to municipal collection systems. These actions can also affect other services, such as septic tank cleaning and grease trap maintenance. Authorities take these violations seriously and conduct thorough investigations that can trace the problem back to its source, resulting in potential legal trouble and financial losses for the business owner. Utilizing reliable 24/7 emergency pump service and system inspection services can help ensure compliance and prevent these issues.

Illegal dumping for commercial purposes, including improper disposal of FOG (fats, oils, and grease) from grease traps, is a felony. Both the business owner, known as the waste grease generator, and the pump company can be charged, even if the business owner was unaware of the illegal activity. A business owner found guilty of illegal dumping may face severe penalties, which can include incarceration, restitution, remediation, and hefty fines. To avoid such legal issues and ensure proper waste management, consider hiring a reputable pumper service that offers 24/7 emergency pump service and thorough system inspection services. For more information on how to select a trustworthy pumping company, refer to the section below titled 'How to Interview a Pumping Company.'

Because the intensely foul odor emitted during the pumping process will send employees and customers running for fresh air, most pumpers begin their routes before the sun comes up, before you’re on-site to observe the pump operator at work. Without direct supervision by someone who knows what proper pumping looks like, even during business hours, the pump operator typically works alone, without being observed by anyone from the establishment who understands the standards of grease trap maintenance or FOG management. 

This leaves you vulnerable to a variety of costly scams related to septic tank cleaning and other system inspection services. Continue reading to understand just how these scams work, and how you can protect your business from these costly, illegal practices, including the importance of having a reliable 24/7 emergency pump service.

The pump truck arrives at your premises and may linger for a while, giving the impression that work is being done—especially if anyone is watching. However, it leaves without ever providing the necessary 24/7 emergency pump service, such as septic tank cleaning or system inspection services. You end up paying the invoice, completely unaware that the work, including checks on FOG and grease traps, was never performed.

The pump operator creates the illusion of a recently pumped grease trap by only removing the visible layer of fats, oils, and grease (FOG) that floats on the surface of the water inside your trap, leaving the remaining contents untouched. What you can’t see is all the solid waste that settles and accumulates at the bottom, nor can you see the built-up sludge coating the trap walls, crossovers, baffles, and T’s. If your grease trap isn’t emptied, it can’t be cleaned, which is why our 24/7 emergency pump service is essential. Without proper maintenance, including septic tank cleaning and routine system inspection services, the bacteria in the accumulating sludge produces hydrosulfuric acid. Over time, this leads to corrosion, causing significant damage and eventually total destruction of your equipment.

It's important to clarify that backwashing, an outdated method in grease trap cleaning, should not be confused with more reputable practices. Backwashing involves a pumper vacuuming out dirty water only to redeposit it back into the grease trap to agitate and loosen solids before completely removing them. This method is not only deceptive but also illegal. In some cases, pump operators may resort to backflushing, where they secretly open a valve to discharge waste from their tanker directly into your trap and subsequently into the municipal sewer system. This illegal practice allows them to avoid disposal fees, which can have serious implications for your system. For reliable solutions, consider using a 24/7 emergency pump service that emphasizes proper septic tank cleaning and thorough system inspection services to ensure compliance and efficiency.

To execute this level of deceit, disreputable pumping companies actually train their pump operators in a method that allows them to avoid suspicion. The operator moves normally along their route, providing the appearance of delivering routine pump service to each establishment, including essential tasks like grease trap maintenance and septic tank cleaning. In reality, the operator is merely transferring waste down the line, taking the content pumped from one trap and flushing it through the next trap into the municipal sewer system. By the end of the route, the operator has illicitly discharged most, if not all, of the waste pumped that day, effectively evading the substantial cost of legal disposal for thousands of gallons of waste. Furthermore, if they are engaged in a Pump & Dump scam, it is highly unlikely that the pump operator offers any beneficial service, such as thorough system inspection services or proper cleaning of the grease traps.

The vast majority of pumping service calls, including 24/7 emergency pump service, are performed without anyone else observing the work done by the Pump Operator. After pumping, a grease trap begins to refill with water, obscuring its true condition; a visual inspection alone will not reveal whether the grease trap was recently serviced. 

Without reviewing your security footage to see what the pumper actually did while on your premises, or without popping the lid on your trap and performing a full and proper inspection, you’d have no idea that the pumper you hired has scammed you. This becomes evident when your employees and customers are struck by the foul odor of decay coming from the neglected trap, which, when overwhelmed with waste, begins to overflow, block plumbing lines, and back up through interior sinks and drains, creating a health hazard and bringing your business operations to an immediate halt while you scramble to secure emergency pump and plumbing services. 

Alternatively, the scam may become apparent when the municipal inspector shows up, finds the grease trap in poor condition, and issues an inspection failure notice and an order to increase the frequency of your pumping maintenance, costing you more in annual pumping fees. The inspector may also issue fines. 

It is very difficult to hold a pumper accountable without direct evidence of illegal activity, particularly in cases involving FOG (fats, oils, and grease), leaving the business owner responsible for the costs. 

At All State Pumping & Consulting, we have never engaged in illegal dumping or any other deceptive practice—only a few pumping companies can truthfully say that. We provide time/date stamped Before and After pictures with every pump service, including septic tank cleaning, to document the work we perform and monitor the condition of your trap.