Pool Repair Advice

Hello all!

I'm looking for some independent advice on our situation.

We bought our house a year ago and the previous owners (PO) told us when we went to sign the PA that there was a leak in the pool. They didn't know where it was or how much it would cost to fix it, but they promised that they would take care of it and further substantiated that "it will be fix (sic) right". Things were going fine for awhile - they hired a leak detection company who came out for $1500 and found a "double whammy" in the catch basin - there was a leak somewhere (they never found exactly where) in one of the pipes of the Caretaker floor cleaner system feeding two heads and there was a crack in the wall of the bench right next to it. The PO's claim that they recieved recommendations from BOTH the original pool builder (they filed it as a warranty claim) and this leak detection company to:

1) fill the crack with pool putty
2) fill the cleaning heads associated with that pipe (2 of them) with plaster
3) re-plumb the Caretaker diverter valve so there are only 4 active ports instead of 5.

That didn't seem right to me - not the best thing to do for the pool like they promised to do. When I rejected their plan because it doesn't address fixing the leak, they offered to pay me $700 to put toward however I thought it should be fixed.

Am I off my rocker, or do you consider this to be the way to fix this problem? Cost aside, what is the best way to get this fixed? Any input is much appreciated!

Thanks,

Beachman