Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/20/2024

  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.

  Lampkin's Comfort LLC installed a brand new Rheem Split System in a commercial space rented by Tenant in September 2020. In May of 2022, the unit leaked causing water damage, and Lampkin diagnosed the issue as a bad motor blower and replaced it. The unit leaked again, causing water damage, in July/Aug 2023. Lampkin again diagnosed the issue as bad motor blower but 2 other independent companies came out and diagnosed the problem as the unit "not properly installed, supply plenum and return plenum not sealed properly, and some runs not sealed properly, unit is condensation from plenum…the plenum have to be removed completely off unit to be properly sealed.”
  
  Lampkin was provided with written reports of the findings from both companies, along with pictures. Lampkin took the position that the unit was properly installed when Lampkin installed the unit in 2020. Landlord pointed out to Lampkin that no one else worked on the unit since the installation, and even sent him pictures, taken by the technicians from both companies, showing the way the unit was installed and the issues with the plenum. Lampkin tried to figure out the issue independently (because apparently he didn't believe the reports from the other technicians) and was unsuccessful. Landlord ultimately had to pay to have the unit replaced, and all associated costs therewith.
  
  Once the technician came back (off-season) to properly repair the unit (he had temporarily fixed it in Aug 2023 with the understanding that additional work would need to be done off-season), the technician found that the damage was worse than he had originally thought. The unit was irreparable. It had to be replaced. A 3 yr old unit had to be totally replaced! Apparently, Lampkin was not professionally equipped to handle the original job of replacing the unit in 2020, and his workmanship showed as much. His amateur work has caused a lot of money and time to be expended and Lampkin needs to be held accountable.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/20/2024

  The unit was installed September 1rst of 2020. Yes two years later water did leake onto ceiling, the issue was a bad blower and a really dirty cap coil,and the filter was dirty as well causing excessive water to leake into unit and into duct work, we fixed that issue and it ran for another year with any issues….. last year it did the same thing, this time the motor did go out due to a surge I believe…. So as the unit ran with out the moter running the evaporator coil iced up and when the ice melted the water came out and started leaking.I replaced moter and didn’t charge her anything,but I told her the duct work needs to be reinsulated.the only problem that I had was it is a tight spot and I had to come back with someone else that could fit in the space I said it would have been about 2 days until I could get back over, then when I did come back they said someone came yesterday and fixed it,the water stoped .. and now this company is trying to get a new system out of the customer(happens all the time/everyday)…. If it was unporperly installed then it would have never worked for the time it did…. All is needed is a new plenumum (duct connection from unit to ductwork…. I also told customer that if it’s still an on going problem I’ll take a look at it, but again the( “other company took care of it”) last I heard and now I’m just hearing about this issue in the new year of 2024. I feel like we installed the equipment correctly, the duct work is needed if anything! 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/20/2024

   
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Two independent HVAC companies assessed the problem and diagnosed the issue and came back with the same response (along with several pictures of the unit as it was originally installed in the "tight" attic space). That is, the unit was poorly installed they were amazed that it even worked at all let alone as long as it did. The first HVAC company refused to work on the unit (even though I agreed to pay the (initial) quoted price of min. $10k for them to re-install the unit correctly) because they didn't want the liability, that's how bad they said the workmanship was . 
  Notwithstanding, I am not going to go back and forth. I was giving Lampkin the opportunity to take responsibility and reimburse all costs expended to date.  

  A reputable business would have prioritized customer satisfaction even if it was a busy season as opposed to leaving the customer to figure it out with limited options. 
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Heather C*********

  Business Response

  Date: 03/21/2024

  I said in the beginning I didn’t mind taking a loss by correcting the issue that you are having just for you to be satisfied, which we did not cause. I’ve gone behind plenty of the big name companies just trying to do a job to cover there overhead, the hvac equipment does not need to be changed. Even though another hvac company TOUCHED the system and corrected the issue (leake) at that time,I was still willing to correct issue. I charged 4,500 for equipment and labor,and I agreed to even go lower for the carpenter to cut a bigger access for the unit to get into attic.it was my fault for doing it that cheap, lesson learned….listen i don’t want any problems between us but again you do not need to replace your system. But you do need to replace ductwork going to unit that is causing the issues