ComplaintsforStar Mechanical Edm Ltd

• Initial Complaint

  01/06/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On April 25 I had Star Mechanical do an assessment of my basement plumbing after a backup event. The technician came and identified a sag in my service line and a separation in my yard and located it in my yard with paint. My insurance covers service line repairs so I opened a claim and my adjuster required the report documenting the initial findings to support the claim. In the following weeks I reached out to Star repeatedly to get some kind of documentation to give my adjuster. They did provide me with 2 screenshots and 1 video. I spoke to 2 separate service managers and followed up with both and still got no report. Today (June 1) I had another contractor come and reinspect the line so I could get the documentation I needed to support my insurance claim. The second contractor inspected my line and could identify no separation. It seems as though Stars technician inspected and located my storm water line and not my service line.

  

  Business response

  06/06/2023

  We would like to sincerely apologize for the service provided and the lack of communication following the initial service call.  We will issue a full refund for the payment made on April 25, 2023 in the amount of $414.75.  This refund will be processed against the credit card the payment was taken from.

  Again, our apologies.

  Customer response

  06/06/2023

   
  ****** ******** *******
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 20130031, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  **** ********
  

• Initial Complaint

  06/02/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have a payment dispute with this company. I was charged by ***** $310 CAD for a water meter replacement due to a situation in which I had no ability of preventing. ***** does not believe this is something that they will have to pay for. Day 1 of the furnace failing, I actually contacted them immediately upon noticing that the furnace was not working as our place of residence was sitting at +6 degrees celcius. They took over 1 whole day to fix it and by then the temperature had dropped below 0.5 celcius (max thermostat temp) and into the minuses. This lack of response by Star Mechanical, unfortunately caused some damage and for some of the water pipes and the entire water meter to freeze. This led to ***** needing to replace the water meter for a charge of $310 to my energy bill as an adjustment. ***** refuses to talk to me to resolve the issue and instead he demands to speak to my landlord. I am not under the impression that this is a fair response as I am the one currently being charged for the lack of service.

  

  Business response

  07/02/2023

  We were called out to this residence on December 20th through the builder of the unit; the reasoning for the delay in initially getting out to the home was due to the fact the builder gave incorrect contact details and we were not able to get into touch with either the renter or the owner. 

  When we first arrived it was found the furnace was frozen due to tenant's garage door being left open which resulted in the freezing of the furnace.  Our service tech informed the renter and the owner of the property to get a heater into the room to thaw the frozen water in the heat exchanger and to call us back once it thawed; we instructed the renter as well as the owner of the property that this would have to be monitored until it thawed.  During the thaw period is when the damage occurred to the water meter which could have been avoided if properly monitored.  The tenant informed our service tech when he was out that he wasn't fully aware of how long furnace wasn't running as he was upstairs in his room with an electric heater. 

  This call should have been a billable charge due to the events that caused the freeze up however we did not collect on this.  If reimbursement of the water meter is being asked for we suggest asking the owner of the property to pay; Star is not responsible as this would have all been avoided if the garage door closed; especially during the winter months.

• Initial Complaint

  13/06/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Called this company for a new furnace and A/C installation quote. I was told that someone would be there at 11. ****** should up a 1/2 hr late. i had to call several times to get a quote e-mailed to me. I was told that the installation would take either, one day 8-15 hrs or two days. Techs showed up on a monday which is the day that I booked for the install, they removed my existing furnace but did not complete all the work. On day two one tech showed up for a couple hours then left. He never spoke to me to let me know if we was to return. After several hours I called the office to ask about this. I received a text saying that the tech would return later that day but noone did show up. I had to book Monday off and use up a vacation day to be at home. I then had to book a second day off for work on tuesday and the job was not even completed. The A/C has not been completed and their tech brazed all the copper line for the A/C but forgot to install a refrigeration line dryer. The new furnace also has glue all over it. A very rushed and messy job. When I checked the furnace i noticed 4 locations that condensate was leaking into the furnace housing. condensate was running down the motor and wiring as well as pooling in several locations. This is a brand new installation and is already showing problems. This job has been unreliable in every way

  

  Business response

  14/06/2022

  The install was originally scheduled for June 6, 2022.  We went to site and proceeded to start the work but unfortunately needed a few more parts to complete the job.  We went back on Tuesday June 7th 2022 and continued the work however we had an emergency call out that our tech needed to leave and attend.  We tried contacting him numerous times to rebook however was not able to get through to *****.    Our tech did go back to do as much outside work that he was able to do for the AC as ***** was not home.  ****** has tried reaching out to him with texts and voice calls (we can provide dates and times if required) and has not returned any.  *****, our General Manager has also tried contacting him but ***** will not return his calls.  We understand the frustration that ***** has and we do apologize however we have tried our hardest to resolve this matter.  If ***** can call ***** ********* back (he did leave a voice mail) we are positive that we can have these issues resolved.  The furnace and AC are still in the home and if ***** does want us to remove it we can; we just need him to respond to us.  We are willing to work with *****, even provide a discount for the time that he missed from work.

  

  Business response

  24/06/2022

  ***** **** ******** ***************************** ***** ******* **** *** **** **** ** *** ***** ******* ********************** ******** *** ********** ********

   

  Good Afternoon ******

   

  I just wanted to provide you an update for complaint number *********

   

  ***** did eventually speak to ***** ********* our General Manager and arrangements were made to have both the furnace and AC removed from *****’s home.  This was completed on June 17, 2022.

   

  Please let me know if any further details are required.

   

  Thank you,

   

  **** ******** ***** *** ****** ** ********* ** *** *** ***      ***** ******** ****    ***** ******** *****    ***** ******** ****** ***************************  

  Customer response

  28/06/2022

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  ***** *******

• Initial Complaint

  28/03/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  A service man from Star Mechanical installed a thermostat component to our hot water tank in Nov of 2020. It was installed improperly causing the wires to burn and ignite melting it’s components. Strong electrical smell from furnace room triggered concern. Company worker from Star Mechanical called. They indicated the entire tank will need to be replaced due to damage and manager, Cory, would need to be contacted about accountability for negligence. Company manager refusing to contact or hold any responsibility for the damage. Company indicates they “are in high demand” and all they can do is have us pay upfront for a new tank and installation. Contacted another plumbing company who verified the root cause of the damage was the poorly installed thermostat by plumber.

  

  Business response

  11/04/2022

  Star Mechanical was originally called this home on November 17, 2020.  We had replaced the upper thermostat on the homeowners HWT. At that time of the original call the tank was still under manufacture parts warranty.  The charge for this service call in November was to cover for the labour as labour was not covered under manufacture 6 year warranty. 

  On March 25 2022 we were called out for a burning smell from the furnace. We found the HWT's thermostat was the cause for the burning smell.  Our technician was able to determine that the thermostat was replaced correctly by the original tech on November 17 2020. All of the wires were installed correctly. It was at this point the homeowner became upset with us and started claiming negligence. He wanted us to do a repair on the wiring. We advised him the wires were in too bad of shape and we wouldn’t do that for him. With the tank being past warranty we offered him a replacement tank cost. The technician on site had another call to be at that afternoon, the homeowner was not willing to pay us for our time on site or for the replacement tank so we left. Upon completion of his next service call tech reached out to homeowner with no response back.

  We did consulate our hot water tank representative and showed the picture of the thermostat and he confirmed the installation was in fact correct and suggested that the damage may have occurred due to a power surge or another party may have tampered with the thermostat itself after we were originally out at this home.

  The damage of thermostat was not caused by any negligence on Star Mechanicals behalf.  If the thermostat was installed incorrectly this would have been noticed the same day or the day after it was replaced, not a year and a half later.

   

   

  Customer response

  10/05/2022

   
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  According to the information we have, Star Mechanical, our contractor, didn't apply for / check our warranty for the hot water tank they destroyed due to their negligence.  When we contacted the manufacturer of the hot water tank, OA Smith, they identified that the contractor was able to apply for this. This is the exact opposite of what Star Mechanical told us. They claimed that our warranty is expired. Instead, the company said that they wouldn't do anything without us paying full price. They told us nothing about the warranty which is the full responsibility of them. This indicted to us that this company directly lied to us, the consumer. 

  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ********

  

  Business response

  18/05/2022

  
  On the original call out to *****’s home the thermostats were replaced under warranty; the charge he paid for was the labour as this was not covered by warranty.  I am unsure of who ***** spoke to at AO Smith however his tank fell out of the warranty period after the repeat call to Star Mechanical was made.  I have attached below a snip of his tank details; as you can see the warranty expired in October 25, 2021.
   
   
  Please advise on further steps.
   
  Thank you,
    **** ********
  Office Manager
    ***** *** ****** ** ********* ** *** *** ***      ***** ******** ****    ***** ******** *****    ***** ******** ****** ***************************   

  
  

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