Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  23/03/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Hi, this **** and refrigeration company serviced/repaired our split AC unit and air handler in July 8 2021 - July 16 2021 I texted the owner that the AC unit was stopping on it's own, blowing warm air when it was working, and not reducing temperature properly. There was a 30 day warranty so I did report on time. July 17th I got a response to monitor it which I did. August 14th I texted the owner again to say that the problem reported was still occurring and asked what could be done. I received 0 reply. I was too unwell to chase the company further and just went without the AC working properly. Next summer, I sent an urgent email 7/8/2022 to the owner to report that the AC was improperly functioning still - now it was affecting the humidity levels in the house raising them to 72 percent which is unhealthy, and also after running a few hours it would change temperature to 21 degrees on it's own even though we set it lower - the high humidity was creating wetness which is bad for your health, causing coughing, headaches, and there was smell and dust, so it was putting dust and wetness back in the air. I asked the company how to fix as I was at the doctor's because of the ongoing cough. Again, no reply. The company is called Knowledge **** & Refrigeration LTD. I paid $978.08 to have a system that doesn't work properly and is causing health issues. They should have their license suspended because they didn't honor their warranty and while they got the system to work, it isn't working as it should and they created problems we didn't have before. I am on disability my parents are seniors and this is difficult to deal with. They won't answer calls either. To go to small claims court would be extremely hard on my health and this company knows this and figure they can get away with ripping us off. What can we do, can you help as this is a safety issue. I'd like them to return to our house and repair at no cost our AC so that it works properly. Thank you.

  

  Business response

  04/04/2023

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

  
  Dear Mrs. ******* *********
  Thank you for contacting Knowledge **** & Refrigeration. We always strive to provide the
  highest quality work and the most attentive customer service; your message helps us in working
  towards that goal.
  Firstly we would like to apologize for not getting back to you when you had initially contacted us.
  In 2021 the heat dome we experienced applied unprecedented demand to our workforce and
  infrastructure. Our dispatch was receiving hundreds of calls an hour, and unfortunately our
  messages system was filled to capacity. This led to us missing many of our client’s messages,
  including yours. For your email we looked back in our records and found your message still
  marked as unread. Our hope is to respond to every inquiry we receive, but we are not perfect.
  Again, you have our sincerest apologies, and we hope this response will help prove our
  authentic desire to address this.
  To help give you an accurate response we have spoken to the owner, service manager, and the
  technicians who were involved with your job to get an accurate picture of the circumstances
  surrounding this repair. We also looked at the notes on the invoice that were written for you.
  To summarize, the initial visit we performed was due to a split AC system not working properly
  and weak airflow through one of the vents. We were informed that previous companies had
  attempted to repair the system but failed.
  Due to the increased airflow in one room we were told that the airflow in all rooms was lower.
  This was expected as a fixed volume of air is distributed to all rooms, and if one room was
  allowed to have more air again, then less air would flow into other rooms. However we decided
  to dig deeper and found the installers had miswired the system. This was rectified during a
  return visit that was recorded as free of charge. Thankfully after we tested the unit operation the
  cooling and airflow were to your satisfaction.
  The issues you are having with your health are deeply concerning to us as many staff here have
  first hand experience with ailments impairing their ability to live the way they want. We always
  ensure nothing we work on creates hazards and even train our technicians to observe potential
  hazards in their work area even if it is not relevant to the service they are performing. We are
  more than willing to make a return visit to your property, however we don’t believe that potential
  corrective action done to repairs we made previously will have any effect on the comfort of your
  home. This includes the dust, humidity, temperature differences between rooms, thermostat
  
  function, and everything else you mentioned. To explain why we first need to explain how your
  equipment works.
  Humidity
  According to our records your home is equipped with a Goodman GSX130361EC condenser
  connected to an attic mounted air handler using electric heat. Your system is a base model
  which only has two states: on and off. The primary function of an air conditioner is to cool the air,
  and once the thermostat senses the air is cold enough it shuts it off. Whenever the air
  conditioner is running, a secondary process is taking place; dehumidification. This occurs due to
  the air conditioner coils reducing the air temperature below its dew point (temperature at which
  air becomes completely full with moisture) causing condensation to be released from the air and
  form on the coil. As dehumidification is only a side effect of operation air conditioners should not
  be relied upon to maintain a home’s humidity.
  It is a common misconception that air conditioners introduce moisture to a space. This is in large
  part due to the way that humidistats (humidity sensors) read humidity levels relative to their
  environment, which can easily be misinterpreted. The way most humidistats work is by reporting
  how much moisture the air is holding before the air is full, rather than how much moisture is
  present. It’s akin to the difference between how full a bucket of water is versus how many liters
  are in the bucket. This is the difference between relative humidity and absolute humidity. The
  reason why humidistats report increased humidity during air conditioning operation is because
  they are reading relative humidity, not absolute humidity.
  Hotter air can hold more moisture and colder air holds less. Air being blown into your room has
  been cooled down by the air conditioner, reducing its capacity to hold moisture. In fact, the air’s
  capacity has dropped so much that it's now carrying more moisture than it can hold, which is
  why water condenses on the coil like moisture on a cold drink during the summer. This air is
  now at 100% humidity relative to the capacity of moisture it can hold at a given temperature, but
  the absolute humidity has been reduced. The humidistat will now display a higher relative
  humidity simply because the air is closer to being saturated with moisture despite it containing
  less than it did before. It is essentially impossible for an air conditioner that is properly cooling
  the air to introduce moisture into the space. Some people who have their blower constantly
  running may feel extra humid air coming out of their ducts when the air conditioning turns off.
  This is because the remaining moisture on the evaporator coil is being dried up and absorbed
  by the warm air blowing over it. It happens for a very short time and will never introduce more
  moisture than was taken out. Any excess moisture in a system can only come from external
  sources such as broken pipes or leaking roofs.
  ********************** ***** ** ****
  
  Dust and Mold
  Airborne particulate is an unavoidable part of any forced air system. Different homes will have
  different amounts of particulates, all of which come from (but are not limited to) cooking, the
  outdoors, human activity, and building wear. Excessive dust can result from poor installation or
  lack of maintenance.
  A poor installation in this context means the return ducting was not sealed properly such that it
  sucks dust into the system, the wrong filter type/size was installed, and the filter cabinet was not
  fitted properly. These problems are most obvious in older buildings or buildings with newer types
  of materials that are very dusty, such as modern drywall and insulation. Installation is the least
  common way excessive dust can be introduced.
  The more common reason for excess dust is lack of maintenance. Not changing filters monthly
  reduces airflow through the system. Lower airflow means higher static pressure which allows
  more dust to bypass gaps in the filter seal. Lower air velocity also lets dust settle in ducting
  where it collects. This can cause excessive dust when the filters do get changed as the
  increased airflow from a clean filter will “scrub” the ducting of the dust that has settled on the
  walls and blow it throughout the house.
  When systems are restricted to an extreme degree or for a prolonged time (most commonly
  from dirty filters) they can become excellent areas for mold and mildew to propagate. Lack of
  airflow can make air passing over the evaporator cool down too much. This deposits
  condensation inside ducting and insulation where it accumulates. If this process goes on without
  notice then colonies of mold and mildew begin to form which greatly impacts the quality of air. In
  the worst cases mold can spread throughout the whole system and require very special duct
  disinfection work or duct replacement to fully rectify. We almost never see this occur in a
  properly installed and maintained system, however it is not uncommon among neglected units.
  Thermostat
  The issues you were having with your thermostat may be due to how it operates
  (hidden/complex features that need to be disabled) or it may have gone bad. The issue you
  described where it would automatically go to 21C and stop on its own seems like a factory set
  schedule was overriding your temporary hold whenever the day and time for a setting change
  was reached. These are included with most thermostats and they work by having preset
  temperature settings that change with the time and date.
  ********************** ***** ** ****
  
  The unit blowing warm air and not reducing temperature as stated in both your 2022 email and
  complaint filed with the BBB very well may be caused by the thermostat. Thermostats have
  safeties built in to protect any systems that use a compressor. They do this by limiting how often
  a system can run in an hour and setting a time delay between system operation cycles. For
  example, common system safeties are set to a maximum of 6 cycles of operation an hour and a
  5 minute delay before the system is allowed to operate again. This would explain the issues
  aforementioned. When there is a call for operation while a protective delay is active the blower
  will turn on but the condenser will not. This means your air handler will be blowing ambient
  temperature air which may feel warm until the thermostat finishes its protective delay and
  powers the condenser on.
  Differences in Room Temperature
  All single zone controlled **** systems (that is to say, systems with 1 thermostat controlling
  many rooms) will have temperature differences across all the areas they serve. This is because
  rooms have varying amounts of heat ingress and differences in ducting to each room make how
  much air they receive different. Because these systems are controlled via a single thermostat
  the system only turns on and off based on the condition of the space the thermostat is in. If you
  have a thermostat set to 19.5C it will turn on or off only based on the temperature of the room
  the thermostat is in. The temperature of other rooms has no bearing on the thermostat’s
  operation because it has no way of telling how warm or cold those rooms are. This is why when
  some rooms reach 19.5C they continue to be cooled below that temperature; the thermostat is
  still reading a temperature above 19.5C simply because it's warmer where it is located. A
  properly designed ducting system will try to even the temperature across the whole house as
  much as possible by sizing ducts and vents based on the distance from the air handler in the
  attic and the amount of heat ingress in each room. An improperly installed/designed system will
  create obvious warm and cold spots. This is likely the case with your house. Our technician
  recalled the far room (*******’s room if he remembers correctly) had a small and unsecured
  run of flexible duct running to it despite being one of the furthest rooms from the attic air handler.
  If he recalls correctly it also lacked a return air duct This means the will probably receive less air
  and have less circulation than other rooms. If the ducting was designed with your house
  configuration in mind the distance from the air handler would be compensated by a larger duct
  and a more straight run. It is likely the rest of the ducting was designed/installed incorrectly
  based on the conversation our technician had with you during our visit. This unfortunate
  problem was introduced by the installing company.
  We hope our technical explanations above help you better understand your equipment and
  demonstrate why a warranty repair may not resolve your issue to your satisfaction. There may
  be other underlying problems with your system which have developed over time due to various
  ********************** ***** ** ****
  
  factors that are causing the issues you described to us; it is also very likely that the concerns
  you brought to light are from a source completely separate from the **** system.
  We would again like to extend our apologies to you for our failure to communicate and want to
  help you resolve this issue with authentic care in mind. At no time during any interaction with
  you or your household were we made aware of the full severity of the health issues being faced
  and want to make it clear that the ailments experienced by your family were never even
  considered as a factor for your treatment as a customer. We value relationships with customers
  above all else and would never take advantage of them for monetary gain. We strive for quality
  customer service, and we demonstrate this by having no sales commission in place to
  discourage upselling unneeded equipment or parts. This is just one of the ways that we try to
  maintain a company culture which strives to provide service based on customer relationships
  and authentic reviews. We hope this expels any thoughts that we singled you out based on your
  circumstances in order to take advantage of you financially. The failure to communicate was a
  mistake made by our staff and administration, and we want to admit that.
  Thank you again for bringing your concerns to our attention. We hope this response provides
  you with the information and detail necessary to help you address whatever issues you may be
  having in your home. We also encourage you to contact us regarding any concerns you have
  with your equipment so that we can help resolve them or direct you to others who are better
  suited to help you.
  

  Sincerely,
  Administration
  Knowledge **** & Refrigeration
  ********************** ***** ** ****

  Customer response

  05/04/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because while I appreciate your very technically written response, and admittance of failure to communicate, I feel like blame is being put on us the homeowner that we didn't maintain the system which is inaccurate because we've had annual maintenance done, we've changed filters regularly, and this house isn't old it's 6.5 years young. While the builder may not have used the most best **** system in the market, it wouldn't have passed inspection and worked well for years. When yourself and the other tech were here I did tell you of my health issues and that of my family, I didn't feel I had to go into intricate details. I did tell you how important it is for the **** to work efficiently. Yes you did fix the outside unit which had stopped working but that wasn't a complete resolution. I asked you to come in the house and look at the main system in the attic, and the thermostat. I explained the uneven air blowing from vents in different rooms. At first, something was done on the duct where it greatly reduced the air flow in the master bedroom and my bedroom, and I had you go back in the attic to correct it as the problem was made worse. You moved the duct a bit and did other stuff you mentioned but if it was done properly why after 1 week only did I text you to advise the outside unit was stopping on it's own, warmer air was blowing, less air was blowing from the vents, almost nothing in my room, and it wasn't cooling like before. Your response was to monitor it. I did that, for a month, nothing changed, the outside unit kept stopping after 7 hours while inside the fan kept blowing. I reported this by text to you and received no response. So text communication cannot slip between the cracks, you simply did not honor your warranty. It is very easy to blame everyone else but the fact is I know how our system worked for years and I know how your fix did not resolve the problem as paid for. The following summer more problems ensued and I don't accept your answer about the humidity issue because I wasn't gauging levels just by the wall thermostat but by independent thermostat that you can place in any room. I saw that when the AC ran the humidity levels were above the top end of normal of 60 but hitting 70, and when it was off the levels were reflective of what they should be taking all factors into account. So to not have high humidity which is unhealthy at those levels producing too much moisture in the air and thus affecting potentially mold growth, I had to have my AC turned off in the summer. So no my thermostat isn't broken or factory settings incorrect or any other deficiency. To be very upfront while you did fix the outside unit, going into the attic and letting your tech play around was the problem. A number of times he had to ask you questions and you had to go into the attic. It was like he was in training mode. You didn't do a good job or what you were paid otherwise we wouldn't have had the reported problems a week later. You didn't come to resolve those warrantied problems so yes the next summer when the AC was turned on again the problems were still there and the humidity problem then developed. All you needed to do was return as I asked within the warranty period and thoroughly go over the job you did and find and fix the mistakes that were made. 2 summers my AC doesn't work properly. That's also why there's increased dust blowing around. We didn't have these problems before. And now you're suggesting you can come by but probably the issues aren't under warranty and the suggestions you're making sounds like an entire duct replacement or new **** system yet you say you're this and that and you're not trying to take advantage financially? I'm sorry but with all due respect you're like a good talking car salesman with no after support. It's a shame that people with disabilities and seniors get ignored and taken advantage of. You can spill your fancy technical words but I have experience and education enough to know you're trying to cover up your ineptitude and blame anyone and anything. You're taking 0 responsibility and it's deplorable your excuses for not responding in 2 years. Unfortunately I can see you are not going to come to our house and fix your original mistake and what that mistake has caused further. I have filed a formal complaint with the ***** ********** ********, my claim will be reviewed shortly. I appreciate the BBB trying to assist but unfortunately you're going to make this harder than necessary. I paid $75 to file the formal complaint and unless you're going to take responsibility and come fix our AC so it works properly then I'll be asking the tribunal for a full refund of $900+ that I paid you in 2021 so that I could use the money to hire a responsible ethical experienced **** company to fix our AC. And thank you for 'caring' by letting the stress of a poorly working AC continue and to have to fight 2 years to try and remedy the issue that shouldn't even exist. 

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

  

  Business response

  21/04/2023

  Hi *******,
  Thank you for responding. We maintain that we care and would like to resolve this issue and hope the following response supports that claim. This letter will be more conversational than technical as there are fewer things that we feel need clarification regarding the operation of your unit.

  Regarding your humidity, again, this is not a variable we can change as it is physically impossible for us to do so. We would either have to pipe a water supply into your ducting to add water into the air, plug your drain, or adjust the number of return ducts in your home. Unfortunately, we do not know where the humidity you are experiencing is coming from.

  We are more than willing to come on a warranty visit, and if a technician finds a minor issue that is not covered by our warranty policy we are open to completing the repair out of goodwill. Note that there will be charges if the issues are completely unrelated to our work.

  Please be reminded of our original visit: the unit was not working. 
  

  Solution: 

  Whole system leak checked using electronic detector. 
  A leak was found at the condenser and was rectified.
  System correctly charged as per factory specifications.
  Technician left system achieving temps below 72 degrees F (~95F ambient).
  Asked if any other problems.

  Our team returned due to reported lack of airflow by client. Problem unrelated to the first visit.

  Adjusted wiring on attic blower (issue was caused by original installer).
  Had customer test air temperature and volume at each vent, was satisfactory.
  Produced signed invoice stating airflow and cooling were satisfactory.
  Advised customer that their ducting system was not properly designed.
  

  Note: The average home using a central AC system will have their home temperature set around 72-74F. Therefore, having your system getting down below 72F is a great indication of a perfectly fine system (we recall you mentioning your system reaching 69F and below). Again, if you would like us to come to take a look at your equipment we have no problem doing so.
  

  We believe that the problem we are having here is the humidity and not so much of the system not cooling. Please be aware that the air conditioning system is not a dehumidifier and is not designed to dehumidify. It will dehumidify as a side effect but should not be relied on to do so. This is how your system operates. This was explained in a previous email and we are explaining it again. We take your health EXTREMELY seriously. The symptoms you describe mean something else is happening and the AC can't be the cause. If you had said that the house was 95F, we could understand the system is not working.
  

  Also, because your focus is to lower humidity you're running the unit at too low of a temperature which can create other problems. You had mentioned it was achieving 63F to 65F but then going up to 69F. This means your evaporator is frozen, which means not enough airflow going through the coil due to ice. This causes warm air to blow and the condenser to shut down. NOTE: As soon as the system is allowed to sit and the ice melts the system would cool perfectly fine. Ensure you maintain 72F to 74F.
  

  We went ahead and fixed your airflow to the highest speed, consulted the manufacturer, looked into the duct system and explained that you only had one return and needed more. Your duct system is not adequately designed. All that was done on our return trip to go above and beyond (we rely heavily on word of mouth) to ensure your satisfaction.
  

  We strongly condemn any accusation of taking advantage of the vulnerable. Our company has a number of examples of work done for those with disabilities, in hospice care, and the elderly (many of whom live independently without an advocate) at discounted pricing or at no charge. We are the sole ****R contractor for a seniors home because of the trust we have built up with them. In fact, my (the author of this response) entire immediate family is either being affected or recovering from different ailments. One member is recovering from chemotherapy and suffering an autoimmune disease, another member had experienced a heart attack with a +90% arterial blockage, yet another medicated for debilitating mental illness, and myself medicated for various ailments. We have lived through a single income supporting 4 people, living conditions plagued with smoke and black mould, and walked the long road of trauma recovery. Our comments on caring stem from authentic empathy and shared experiences. It is both our written and cultural policy to be as charitable as possible as long as we do not affect the livelihoods of the people we employ. We simply do not tolerate taking advantage of people. Nobody who does that is allowed in our company.
  
  
  
  
  
  Thank you
  Administration
  Knowledge **** & Refrigeration Ltd.

  
  

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