ComplaintsforMainStream Heating & Cooling

• Initial Complaint

  11/09/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I Purchased and installed a New HVAC unit on 7.1.22, It appeared to be malfunctioning. The Interior of the home was too warm, the cool air is escaping to the outer atmosphere from HVAC's housing, same is covered in condensation. The technician responded, displayed professionalism, and was cordial, however his Work ethic left much to be desired.I expect that my investment would be guarded and handled with pride, at least its value acknowledged, not disregarded. The accountability factor of the technician was absent. I've included a few pictures to demonstrate my point of view. The housing of the ***** unit was removed/accessed by the technician and left unsecured, and screws were left about the ground, leaving easy access for rodents/small animals seeking refuge from the heatI am perturbed and appalled that such disregard is happening here. Had this malfunction been corrected, I might have missed this careless disregard and mishandling of this extremely expensive equipment ($8437.00). Please, this situation needs to be rectified ASAP. I have also reached out to the finance company/***** Fargo. I don't know what is the best course of action, but I chose to shut the unit down at this time due to its malfunctioning and negative effect on my energy bill.After multiple conversations/attempts to resolve the issues. I feel that the quality and life span of the ***** and, the warranty have been compromised, in addition to its malfunction and so, I've asked multiple times for a follow-up evaluation per the manufacturer, also, suggested bythe finance company.At this point, although I am making monthly payments, I feel that it's inappropriate, given the above concerns.To date, I've not received said request. This is supporting my suspicions and this has been the Main Stream's response, "I am having trouble getting them to come. Since the unit is performing and it is condensation on the outside, they are pushing back.Am working my way up their chain of command."

  

  Business response

  11/17/2022

  I have been working with **************** since July and here is a summary of the issues.  1)  Her rooms were warm not because of any malfunction of the unit, but because she had blocked almost half of her vents.  I personally conducted an inspection of her unit and her vents, and discovered 2 primary issues.  A)  she had installed vent filters in a number of register openings. While these filters can be cosmetic, they also impede airflow and prevent the conditioned air from circulating properly.  After identification, I recommend she remove them and not reinstall them.  B)  Vents blocked by  furniture - I suggested she do everything possible to allow these to move air freely by removing books and other movable items.  After confirming this was done, we measured the room temperatures and the only remaining issue was an inherent design limitation in her converted garage.

  After this was resolved, she mentioned that the unit was sweating on its exterior.  After inspection, I agreed that the amount of sweating was slightly higher than normal and proceeded to make some sealing adjustment on her unit while lowering it to maximize airflow into the home.  While reducing the amount of condensation it did not eliminate it.  All during the summer, her home did maintain the temperature and we confirmed her unit is operating correctly.

  The only open item after these conversations is the amount of condensation on the exterior of the case during summer.  This does not reduce her warranty or impact unit performance, however, she has expressed an interest in having this cosmetic issue resolved.  After discussions with ***** and sharing with them the performance numbers for the unit, they are satisfied that the unit is operating as designed.  I suspect I may have left a small exposed position on the return side that could be impact the condensation on the unit and since I just heard back from Trane about their view, will be reaching out to *************** to seal up the return side conversion panel on the bottom of the air flow path.

  Again, I am perplexed as her home is operating within performance parameters, her unit has a full warranty and is also operating as designed.  She is noticing some condensation on the exterior of the hood and side panels, but nothing that would indicate anything outside of normal operation.  The issue of warranty and lifespan are based on feelings, but her actual warranty and lifespan issues are all covered by a written warranty.  I am afraid that is this situation, we will not ever be able to agree 100% on the solution as the unit performance has been verified as acceptable and tested as such.

  Customer response

  11/18/2022

   
  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

  10/03/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I purchased my home in September 2021 it is a brand new construction home everything in my home is brand new mainstream Heating and Cooling was responsible for installing my HVAC system. My issues begin April 2022 my air conditioning went out mainstream came out and said they fixed the issue however throughout the entire summer again beginning in April 2022 up until the current date mainstream Heating and Cooling has been in my home approximately six or seven times to fix a leak that has clearly never been fixed because approximately every 4 to 6 weeks there's another leak and my AC goes out yet again. Every time my AC goes out the technician comes back and tells me there's oil and freon everywhere the issue was never fixed so yet again I'm sitting here with no air conditioning. This last time approximately a week and a half ago I was told yet again the leak was not fixed and that there was yet again oil and freon leaking all over my backyard. Now I'm being told that they do not have the parts to do the repairs and at this point I do not trust them to touch anything in my home because they have made me feel like they have no idea what they are doing and I've had a miserable summer. Just today I contacted them to let them know I needed my freon refilled because my house yet again will not cool down and I need the freon to be topped off whenever I needed to be because they don't have the supplies to fix this leak. I was told someone would get back to me to see what they could do to help me until the supplies come in I've yet to hear from someone I'm ****** I'm tired of talking to them at this point I want another company to come and I want the entire unit replaced because I am not comfortable nor am I confident with the work that they do or lack thereof.

  

  Business response

  10/10/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/10/05) */ Contact Name and Title: ***** ***** Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX Contact Email: **********@mainstreamac.com Thank you for reaching out to us to resolve this and I am sorry that this summer was so uncomfortable. Your circumstances have been a serious challenge for us to resolve due to damage outside of our actual installation and I will explain that in more detail. First, I need to unpack the 2 sections of your complaint and respond to each individually. Your concern that the unit is having a problem is unfounded. You have a split system heat pump which has a unit in the attic and another in the yard. These 2 parts are connected by copper tubing, called a line set, that transfers refrigerant between the unit in the yard (condenser) and the unit that blows air in the home (air handler). During the multiple visits we made, we spent considerable time trying to determine if there were any issues with either of these 2 parts of the heat pump/AC unit. We searched for leaks in both coils and the internal piping. As the leak was small, we were unable to find any issues in either of them. When we returned on September 21st, we were finally able to identify a leak in the copper line set that goes up the wall between the units. The leak had gotten large enough for us to be able to identify it hidden in the wall just above the location where the copper exits your wall outside. Leaks like this in the wall are usually caused during construction by another company nailing into the space that has the copper and puncturing the copper tubing. On rare occasions, the nail only nicks/indents the line set and the leak appears later after the unit has run under pressure for some time. What delayed our ability to diagnose your problem earlier was the size and time delay of the leak causing us to be unable to initially identify its location. It is not usual for a leak in the line set to appear 6 months after the unit is operating (September 2021 to April 2022). This normally indicates a nail has not punctured the line set but instead is rubbing it or just nicked it. We have been trying to contact you to arrange this repair since September 28th by phone and by email since September 29th. At this point, you do have some options, and they are: 1) You can schedule us to come and fix the copper line set in your wall. I am willing to do this at no cost under your new home warranty despite the reality that the damage was not caused by my team's actions and despite the warranty having already expired. We would remove the siding on your wall, find the exact leak location, cut the damaged line set section out and replace it with undamaged copper. Then pressure test and recharge your system. 2) You can hire any company to make this repair. The repair is not related to the installed equipment and not technically a parts warranty issue. I would not reimburse you for this repair as I do not think the issue was caused by my actions but instead a byproduct of the construction process and either the siding installer or the drywall installer hitting the line set with a nail. I do have my team ready to handle this issue now if you wish to take advantage of option 1). Thank you for responding to us by email or phone to set up the repair if you wish to resolve this this week. Consumer Response /* (2000, 7, 2022/10/06) */ (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.) I stand by what I previously stated as I have every invoice from every service completed on my unit since April. To include the statement made just by the last technician that stated the current welding job looks horrible. The welding completed by your company. Just Aug 10th the invoice states that the Schrader valve on the suction line king valve was severely leaking and the Schrader core needs to be replaced.each invoice states an issue that was noted and an issue that was resolved yet the issue persist so I'm not sure how my complaint is unfounded. My warranty may be expired however I've been calling about the same issue since before expiration of the warranty. This is going to be my last time contacting your company for this issue. If it happens again then I'll take my business elsewhere this had been an ongoing and huge inconvenience

• Initial Complaint

  04/30/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I bought a new HVAC system last summer and paid with a credit card. I've had nothing but problems with it since I used the heat. Mainstream has come to try a fix this unit many many times. On one occasion they sent a supervisor that passed *** in the middle of the road in front of my house. When I went to check on him he woke up said he was asleep. He then looked at my system but came without any tools. He didn't fix it. He came back the next day again without any tools. This has been going on for months without any resolution. I've done everything they requested me to do but it's still not working. Every time they come they find something else wrong and usually blame the previous tech for something. Last night it got 80 degrees in my house. And the AC wouldn't cool it down. I called for assistance. I was told someone would call me. No one did. I called again. Same thing. I texted the owner ***** ***** then a tech called me. He said a supervisor would call me Monday. He was too busy in Clarksville to come to Cadiz. In their on words they have made multiple mistakes in this installation including wiring it up wrong, setting the unit up wrong etc.... I've lost confidence in them to fix this problem. Now they're refusing to come fix my unit still under warranty. It's 80 degrees in my house and I can't get it to cool down.

  

  Business response

  05/05/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/05/03) */ We have worked with Mr ****** to resolve his complaint. Specifically I trace his issues to a communication breakdown between him and our company. Mr ****** opted to purchase the less expensive option we recommended to solve his heating and Cooling needs. He chose to expand his existing zone system instead of purchasing new individual units to add coverage to areas of his home. When we expanded his zone system, we made an assumption that Mr ******* was familiar with how his zone system operates since it was an expansion to his existing zone system and not a new zone system. In reality, between the new zones added and the new thermostats installed, we did have some issues getting the system to operate correctly. These issues were a result of these problems: 1) turning the unit off for long periods, 2) Not setting the thermostats correctly, 3) A wring issue with the main board, 4) My not realizing that we had not done adequate training with him about how to set and operate his unit and zones. Due to these communications breakdowns his problem seemed to multiply and he is understandably frustrated. With his permission, I have been remote monitoring his unit operation and we spoke on May 2nd going over the details on how to set and operate his thermostats. As of today, everything is operating correctly, his thermostats are set on the ranges he prefers and his system is operating correctly and without any errors. We've agreed to watch it daily for the rest of this week and I have assured him that I will remain involved through next winter to confirm correct operation going forward. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/05/03) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) This is a complete lie. I paid extra to get everything new and not use existing parts. I was talked into buying a zoned system. I wanted a simple non zoned system with mini splits added. The salesman told me the technology with todays zoning systems were way better than what I was replacing and I was get the top of the line system. Our conversations were recorded. For them to say I went with less expensive than what they advised infuriates me. It's just not true. In fact I originally purchased the clean air affects but the installation crew didn't know how to install it and we took It off after they messed up the initial installation. I also purchased what it was told top If the line thermostats which I think I was told cost around $800.00 each. I cannot believe they said it implied I went cheap. Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2022/05/04) */ I understand his concerns about my language regarding his purchasing the less expensive of the 2 options we discussed with him over a 14 month period. To clarify, his system is a state of the art multi-Zone system with Wi-Fi internet connected thermostats that allow us to review remote operation and diagnose issues. It was not inexpensive. Space limitations and design of his system made it interesting to upgrade. He purchased all new replacement dampers for his supply and we added - at no cost -additional bypass ******* to make sure it is working correctly. Today is the 2nd day with the thermostats set to the correct boundaries and the home is operating within the design parameters and conditions set by him on his new thermostats. At this point our agreement is to monitor his system daily all week to make sure that everything is operating as designed in both heating and cooling modes. If by Friday all is still on track, I plan to connect with him in October/November 2022 to make sure all heating is working as designed. Assuming it is still working as it has these past few days, we would then consider his situation 100% resolved. I have informed him that we will back our warranty to make sure his installation is correct as proposed and installed for the full 5 year period included in his purchase Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2022/05/04) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I spoke to the owner Mr ***** ***** last night. I'm agreeable right now. Although my system is working good right now I don't agree it's working as it should. Mr ***** told me to try something his techs said wasn't necessary or "right" it works that way but it's supposed to work the other way as well and it doesn't. I've spoken to other hvac companies and they all say my unit should work on auto as Mr ***** advised me but it should work if I have it set on cool or heat. And it doesn't. I disagree with the assertion that my turning the system off caused any problems. I had to turn it off because it got over 10 degrees above the set temperature. I've maintained from almost the start that heat is coming from the system when it shouldn't be. Twice I've been proven right. This last time I was told it was the control board "loose wire". I think the control board needs replaced but that's just a guess on my part. I am satisfied that Mr ***** has personally reached out and is involved. I did take issue with him saying I went with the mess expensive option and against their recommendation. The fact was I went with exactly what they recommended against what I wanted and paid more. I think we came to an agreement to that last night. But I will not speak for Mr *****. Bottom line it appears to be working now but not as it is supposed to. I have to have it on auto. I can't just turn on the AC or Heat and it keep the temp. If I have it just on heat it gets up to and over 10 degrees hotter than set temp.

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