That's a bummer, amazon is great with returns so I'd just submit it as a defective (you can ask for a credit to your account too). Don't worry about the pipe cuts and broken part.
Sorry to hear that. I think you just got the very rare bad unit. These filters are historically reliable. If it's a DOA situation, I recommend returning it to Amazon. Jeff Bezos, who owns a third of our planet, will make it right.