Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/14/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 12/1/22, Brothers Electro Mechanical employees (**** & his assistant) arrived. My kitchen mini split was working & producing heated air. But made loud high pitched sounds as a bad motor, which **** agreed with. They replaced the fan motor & it worked great. No more high pitch sounds. **** put it thru different modes to ensure it worked. Then I paid him $670.64 (receipt 40243 on 12/1/22).
  
  Afterward, I saw the plastic cover wasn’t attached & ask him to reattach it. After trying for a few minutes, he turned it off & had it half off the wall. He proceeded to hit the cover quite hard, & spent at least 10 mins banging on it & swinging it around. He broke all the tabs that held it on, & stated he would get a new cover as he knew someone. He turned the unit on & left.
  
  Minutes after he left the unit displayed error E1 (communication error). I had never seen this error on my units before, only fan motor and coolant leaks, but no comm errors. As this occurred the very first time it was turned on after **** was hitting, it is clear that he damaged something. I immediately tried contacting **** & his employer. The unit is now incapable of producing heated or cooled air unlike when he arrived.
  
  I have cycled the power & turned it on numerous times. Every time it seems normal, but after 6-9 minutes stops & displays error E1. It must be then that it fails to communicate with the outdoor compressor.
  
  I finally got **** back to my house on 12/20/22 (after 3-4 attempts). He tried & failed to fix it. He stated that my unit was junk, but admitted that his banging on it did not help. I talked to his boss ****** ********, but he will not fix the unit that **** broke. I sent him an email that evening.
  
  I asked if he still intended to not repair the unit that was working when **** arrived. That **** did fix, but then broke. I also described everything I have here.
  
  I simply want them to repair the unit they broke. To date I have had no response from them.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/24/2023

  Re ***** *******
  
  Mr ******* Initially made contact with us because he wanted
  a quote to replace the bargain minisplit system he has in his home with a
  quality Mitsubishi. He was unhappy with their performance and having to repair
  them repeatedly. He could not get the multiple other contractors he had used to
  service them anymore.  After some
  conversation about the investment required for a properly sized, properly
  installed, Permitted and Inspected system, he wanted to try to get the bargain
  units repaired. We warned him that this direct to consumer brand, Senville, was
  cheaply made and can be problematic but he said he would procure his own parts
  and asked us to put them in.
  On our first visit it was determined that he had an irreparable
  leak in his evaporator coil on one of the bedroom minisplit heads. In order to
  give him heat/cooling in the remaining zones we isolated the problem for future
  repair. Mr. ******* gave us the impression he wanted to get what he could out
  of the parts that were working and plan for a new system in the near future.
  (as he stated when he first contacted us)
  On the kitchen unit Mr. ******* ordered a blower motor
  evaporator coil and blower wheel because he had problems with the machine. We
  were not asked nor allowed to diagnose the machine.” Just put in these parts”. After
  installing the coil, blower motor and wheel the machine was working at test
  point despite the technician noting there was a wiring connection that had be
  changed from OEM and it did not inspire high confidence of good contact. The
  machine cooled and heated as expected when tested.  Mr. ******* contends that the “violent”
  snapping of the cover on has created a new problem with this machine. After
  carefully disassembling and reassembling this finicky cheap air conditioner, did
  the tech decide to destroy it with banging? No, this is just Mr. ******* looking for a scapegoat for his poor decision installing this unreliable junk
  in his home.
  The truth is this system is a very poorly made and improperly
  installed HVAC system. Neither his AC system nor his Boiler were permitted nor
  inspected. The Senville system is of cheap construction and sloppily installed and
  serviced by some obviously inept HVAC techs before we ever set foot in the
  home. It is not surprising it has found a new problem. What is surprising is
  that this machine limped along as far as it did before this time.  Mr. ******* is unhappy that we cannot
  guarantee the life of his 4 year old poor quality direct to consumer equipment.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/25/2023

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

  Mr Brothers ignores the fact that **** also diagnosis the problems with both the master bedroom unit and the kitchen unit. Their repairs were not based only upon my diagnosis.   He found the fan on both needed to be repaired and that there was a leak in the bedroom unit.  He did not preform any repairs on the bedroom unit so I did NOT say just install my parts. I said, I thought it was the fan.  I also procured the fans as I live in a remote area so if it was the fans they would not have to make two trips.  He also ignored the fact that the kitchen unit was working after the fan was installed and only quit working after **** banged on it.  If this unit was so bad, then why did **** bang on it so hard for so long if he knew it was substandard.  All he had to do was attach the cover.  
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ***** *******
  

   

  
  

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, the consumer must give a reason why they are rejecting the response. If the consumer does not provide a reason the complaint will be closed Answered]

  Business Response

  Date: 02/01/2023

  We will be sending Mr. ******* a refund.  Thank you for your part in this "mediation". 
  
  ******* ********
  ******** ******* **********
  ************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/04/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  
  
  Better Business Bureau®:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution of refunding my money of $670.64 from 1 Dec 2022 is satisfactory to me.
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ***** *******

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/06/2023

  Received email from consumer on 2/6/23:

  Dear BBB,
  
  After I saw your email about my complaint (ID# ********) and that I had a message, I went to your website. I read the business response through your website saying "We will be sending Mr. ******* a refund."  They did not say anything else about the amount.  I accepted that and put in the acceptance the money I actually spent the day they came over to work on my minisplit, which cost $670.64 as noted on the receipt I sent you.  
  
  I then saw that Brothers Mech emailed me directly.  I am forwarding you that email.  In it they state that they will refund $370.66.  This is not acceptable to me.  
  
  They are not even listing their hours below honestly.  The hours listed on the receipt i sent you has 3.5 hours of mech labor and 2.5 hours of helper labor.  The only other thing they did was check for leaks on another unit in my master bedroom and that took them less than 5 minutes.  The minute we walked into the bedroom the leak detector went off.  I want a full refund 0f $670.64 for that day.  It will cost me more than that to replace the control board that **** broke.  It certainly did not cost $300 for 5 minutes of labor to check for leaks on the master bedroom unit.  
  
  I was surprised that emailed me directly since this is in dispute.  
  
  Thanks you,
  ***** *******