ComplaintsforMint Tiny House Company

• Initial Complaint

  12/06/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  On May 20, 2024, I entered into a retainer agreement with MTHC **************** for the purchase of a Mint Tiny House RV. This agreement specified that the deposit was non-refundable and non-transferable. However, the agreement clearly states that these terms apply to factory orders placed by the dealer upon receipt of the retainer fee.Contrary to the terms specified in the retainer agreement, my deposit was made for an existing model that had already been built and was available for immediate purchase. This purchase did not involve placing a factory order, which is the specific context under which the non-refundable clause is enforceable according to the retainer agreement.I have communicated with MTHC **************** regarding this discrepancy and requested a full refund of my deposit. Unfortunately, my request has been denied, citing the non-refundable clause of the retainer agreement. I believe this is a misapplication of the agreements terms, as they do not pertain to the purchase of an existing model.I am requesting the BBB's assistance in resolving this matter. I seek a full refund of the $25,000 CAD deposit based on the following points:The retainer agreements non-refundable clause explicitly applies to factory orders, not existing inventory.My deposit was for an existing model, which does not align with the conditions under which the retainer fee is considered non-refundable.I have attached copies of the retainer agreement for your review. I appreciate your assistance in this matter and look forward to a fair resolution.

• Initial Complaint

  04/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We had purchased a tiny home from Mint Tiny Home which was fully paid/delivered in June 2022. Since then we have been having constant quality control issues with the home. The company started off by working with us and promising to replace certain things. They did replace some of the items but now have begun completely ignoring us regarding warranty related issues. They’ve ignored us for so long that we’ve just gotten past the warranty period. All of these issues were brought up to them well before the end of the warranty. We’ve had over a dozen issues regarding quality control to date. These are the outstanding issues that are ignoring us on: 1. mini split releases a foul smell every time you run the heat & When running the AC it just frosts up quickly and starts to drip water everywhere. The manufacturer said it’s an install issue. Mint has stopped responding about this. 2. The leaking mini split has resulted in curling laminate underneath the mini split. Also curling laminate next to front door due to build up of condensation from the door (due to air leakage from a poor door install). Mint agreed to replace the floors but since have ceased to respond about when they will be coming to do this. Other issues we’ve also expressed that we are experiencing that have not been resolved: 1. Dining table not installed level. It is visually significantly off level and a different slope than the kitchen table slab that surrounds the kitchen sink. 2. bedroom closet rods had to be reinstalled as they were installed crooked. This resulted in damage to the walls that now require repair. 3. dishwasher not properly secured and moving around significantly. We’ve spent hours of our time attempting to resolve many issues not included in this email. We paid a significant amount for the home but simply feel that we received a product of poor quality. Electrical issues seem to be a common occurrence and we’re concerned that it will just get worse past the warranty period.

  Business response

  08/08/2023

  Hello, 

  Our client has been in direct contact with us via email at all times. We even received an email from him yesterday which we have responded to. We are unsure how to proceed here and whether this should be dealt with via email or through BBB? In response to the claims that we were ignoring him, we would be happy to provide evidence of all our conversations. If a warranty item has been brought to our attention prior to the expiration of their warranty we will stand over it of course.

  Thank you, 

  Mint Support team 

  Customer response

  13/09/2023

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

  Hello your claims that you have been in direct contact with us and responding to our emails is completely *****. I have all email chains showing that we were ignored from June 21 until your response following our BBB complaint on August 10. A total of just over 7 weeks before a reply despite sending you and your team several emails in that period. ********* ***** *********** ***** **** *********** **** **** ******* ** * ****** ***** **** *** ** ********* *************** You claim to have the emails providing evidence of all our conversations, please provide me with all the email correspondence that came from Mint to me between June 21 - August 10, I certainly dont have any in my inbox. 
  
  Also, can you please address the content of our complaint, such as addressing the issues we have brought up here on the BBB platform. I would like you to address each warranty issue that weve brought up and how Mint plans to address it. To date we have counted a total of 16 issues (mostly quality control issues related to plumbing, electrical, and mechanical) some of which have been resolved by your team, some have been resolved by myself at my own expense, and 6 of those issues remain unresolved. These are the issues that I have been bringing to your attention through the BBB due to your team ignoring us about them for 7 weeks (as we approached the end of my warranty period). 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Business response

  14/09/2023

  Hi ******, 

  Apologies, after consulting with our support team it appears the response was not sent to you until the day after you posted your first BBB complaint. We acknowledge the fact that there were some issues with your tiny house which were discovered shortly after arrival, we resolved these issues and paid third party contractors to carry out the work which you were satisfied with. We responded to the original complaint immediately. You did not, and it went so long that BBB rejected the complaint. This has been the case during many of our conversations, we reply to you and get no response for several weeks. 

  Of the issues you have reported to us, some we have accepted as being our responsibility, and have resolved,  but others we do not accept and we put them down to user error / lack of maintenance.  Please send us your list, and we can go through it and both parties can explain our reasoning.

  Our end goal is always to ensure that our clients are satisfied with our product, but both parties need to be reasonable and take responsibility for their own actions. BBB platform allows both sides to share their side of the story, so as long as we are all prepared for that then we should be able to get this resolved. 

  Customer response

  15/09/2023

  Complaint: ********
  

  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  
  Firstly, in response to your claim that "we [Mint Tiny Homes] reply to you and get no response for several weeks" please provide me with one example other than our initial response to this BBB complaint (which we created) where we had a delayed response in line with your TYPICAL response time of several weeks? Feel free to attach the email thread to your response and I'll follow up the same. 

  
  In response to our delay in responding to your initial/previous response for this BBB complaint, as you are well aware (as I had emailed you directly explaining this), we were away on ******** for the last month with limited access to WIFI. I would like to clarify that as your client, whom is unsatisfied due to a poor quality service/product YOU have provided, I am under no obligation to **** **** **** ** ******** *******. We decided to pick this matter up upon our return, which we have. We felt this was warranted given the amount of stress and personal time we have had to spend dealing with all the quality control issues that came with this home. Time WE spent having to find third party contractors (because your team ******** *** ***** *** send your own workers/sub-contractors), scheduling time for them to perform the work, being present during the work, and time spent corresponding with all parties regarding these repairs (which were several). Each one of these repairs were very disruptive, as you can imagine, not much room to go when contractors are in your 400 sq ft home taking things apart. Not to mention, all the time we were inconvenienced leading up to repairs, this includes time we (including *** *** ***** ********) spent taking cold showers because the hot water tank didn't work, sitting outdoors in the snow at night because the CO alarm would randomly go off due to electrical issues resulting from your ******** (at the time we were concerned that it wasn't a ***** alarm so wed evacuate the home when this occurred), not being able to use the heating system because of strong smells coming from it, time I spent fixing crooked closet rods, defective table legs, an improperly installed dishwasher, wiping down puddles of condensation from a poor quality front door to avoid mold growth and damage to the flooring (which ended up occurring anyways-laminate floors are damaged now). There is also quite a bit of stress associated with being told by a third party electrician that *** ******* ** *** ********** **** ** *** **** ** **** **** *** ******* ******* An electrical fire has become something we've begun to fear based on all the poor quality electrical work and loose connections that have been found in this home. The list goes on but I will get into more detail below. My point here is, we've been more than patient with your company, this is not the experience anyone should have with their new home. On top of everything, once we had enough after being ignored for nearly 2 months and felt that we had no other choice but to file a complaint on BBB, your company *** *** ******** ** *** *** ***** ** **** ***** *********** **** ** ***** ******* *** ******* ****** ***** ** **** That being said, we are not surprised as ***** ****** ** **** ** **** ***** ******* ****** **** ********* **** *** **** ** ******* ***** **** ****** ******* ** **** ********* ******* ** **** ** ******* ** ****** So please, provide evidence of your claims here on your reply. 
  

  You are running a business with staff M-F and so someone should be able to respond to concerns in a shorter time span than 7 weeks. Even being on ******** we were able to respond sooner than your typical response times when we present you with warranty issues. * ***** ********** **** *** *** ********** ** ***** ***** ******* ***** ************ *** *** *** **** *** ***** * ***** ** ***** ******** ******** which was spurred by the fact that you had ignored our multiple emails (prior to the ending of our warranty period) discussing issues with the tiny home. This went on for 7 weeks and finally heard back after this complaint was launched, as you have just confirmed in your last response. Emails were sent to several members of your staff, nobody responded for 7 weeks. This complaint is being filed due to your lack of responsiveness, not the other way around. I would appreciate if moving forward we could proceed by acknowledging that your company's quality control issues and lack of responsiveness is how we got here in the first place. 
  

  ***** **** *** ******* ** ******* ****** ******* ** * **** ** ************ **** *** **** ** **** ***** **** ** *** ***** On the contrary, you've received correspondence confirming that maintenance has been performed. This is not my first time dealing with regular maintenance associated with home or mechanical equipment, I have extensive experience with what simple maintenance is required in a new home during the first year of it being built and operated. As an engineer and building scientist, Ive been responsible for developing maintenance plans for homes and large complexes, ** ****** ***** ** *** ***** ****. Can you please provide any evidence that any of the issues I presented to you are due to my lack of maintenance? Please provide that evidence on your next reply.

  
  Once again, let's start by taking ownership over the fact that there were several quality control issues with the home you built for us. To be specific here is what we experienced with your company:
  Shortly after receiving our tiny home, we found the following issues:

  
  1. In-floor heating system in the bathroom was not working. You sent us a new thermostat and we had helped you find a local electrician to replace it. The new thermostat did not resolve the issue, the electrician tested the heating matt and determined that the matt was faulty or it wasn't connected properly. The issue was deemed unrepairable by your team, you refunded us for the in-floor heating. A feature we had really looked forward to but due to quality issues on your end, we can not enjoy. At the time when we were designing the home, due to budget constraints, we had to choose between tiling the bathroom tub/or floor or going with the in-floor heating. Had we known that the in-floor heating wouldn't work, we would have chosen to upgrade to tile in the bathroom. We ended up with neither. 

  
  2. The bathroom exhaust fan did not turn on. We called the same local electrician after telling Mint about the issue. When he opened things up he found loose connections/wires and poor quality electrical work. ** *** ******* ** *** ******* ** *** ********** **** ** *** ** **** ***** This is where our safety concerns around the electrical work began. The work was covered under warranty by Mint. 

  
  3. We had several months with problems with the water heater not keeping up with regular demand, eventually it stopped working completely. We had several weeks of correspondence with Mint trying to trouble shoot the issue. At this point your team was very responsive and helpful. Based on your teams recommendations, we had gone as far as upgrading our propane system from the stock system delivered with the home to a large 500 gallon tank with a special order regulator as specified by Mint. I am still unsure why you ship your homes with a propane system that you feel doesn't work well with the hot water heater you include in your homes. I would have appreciated knowing when we were designing the home that I would have to pay for a different propane system that would be more compatible with the water heater you provide. That being said, the new propane system didn't resolve the issue. After this, I spent hours on the phone with the ***** **** (manufacturer) trying to diagnose the issue after not being able to figure out the issue with Mint.  After extensive diagnostic work, the ***** **** decided to send me a part that they thought was defective in my unit and would need to be replaced. Shortly after this, the hot water heater stopped working entirely and we went some time with no hot water. The whole family had to endure cold showers for a good while. We worked with Mint to find a plumber, your team said they were having trouble finding anyone to come out and perform the work, we took it upon ourselves to find someone instead of waiting longer. We found a plumber but the wait was long, after discussions with your team, we decided to just replace the entire unit to ensure we wouldn't have any follow up issues. Mint sent me a new water heater and the plumber replaced the entire unit, all of this was covered by Mint.  

  
  4. After a few months with the new water heater, it sprung a leak at one of the connections that the plumber made. It flooded our storage compartment and destroyed a lot of our sentimental belongings. I was unable to get a hold of the plumber to get him to return to fix the work he performed under warranty for Mint. I had to drive 4 hours into town (2 hours there and back) to purchase what I needed to repair the leak. I repaired the unit at my own expense. I reached out to Mint about the issue as it was performed under their warranty. They said that because the repair was performed by a third party contractor and not them, they did not take responsibility for any expenses associated with damages or the repairs I had to perform. They never gave me the option for them to perform this warranty work. I didn't push this issue any further as I also see that the workmanship of the third party plumber was also to blame. However, in hindsight I would have been more adamant in having Mint's team perform warranty repair work, so that the responsibility wouldn't be transferred to me to deal with other third party contractors so that Mint could ******* ********** **** ************** ******

  
  5. Mint did not deliver the home with the surge protector we paid for. Following an electrical storm, there was some concern that there may have been damage to the DC panel or batteries (details in #6). Unsure if this was the case or not, however, we did pay for the surge protector and found it to be odd that our home was delivered without one- was not cheap either. 

  
  6. We began having issues with the CO alarms going off for no reason. At the time we were unaware why this was occurring and would have to evacuate our entire family outdoors at night in the middle of winter until we could assess whether there was a real risk. After followup from mint, we found that the DC panel was not properly charging the onboard batteries which are responsible for running appliances like the CO alarm. We weren't sure if this may have been due to a power surge from a recent electrical storm (due to the surge protector we paid for never having been provided, as previously mentioned in #5) OR if the cause was improper wiring. Mint had us call out the local electrician for warranty service. He determined that the panel was not wired properly, there was wiring that was misplaced during initial install and was blocking the cooling fan from running, which may have also resulted in overheating issues. Mint sent us a new DC panel. The electrician replaced the panel which fixed the issue, Mint covered this under warranty. 

  
  7. The onboard batteries were tested by the electrician and found them to be faulty and had to be replaced. This may have been a result of issue #5/6. Mint refunded me the cost of the current batteries and paid for the electrician to replace them under warranty. This resulted in another separate visit from the electrician. 

  
  8. The heat pump system was having issues where it would begin beeping and would stop working at random times. I reached out to Mint about this issue, they reached out to the manufacturer, ********. ********, determined it was a faulty WIFI controller and has sent me a new one. We recently received the WIFI controller and therefore are unsure if this will resolve the issue or not. 

  
  9. The mini split releases a strong sweet smell when the heat is turned on. Ive been told this is the smell of anti-freeze. Ive reached out to ********. They've gone through all troubleshooting with me, *** walked them through all regular maintenance I have performed (ie. filter cleaning). After several calls with ******** and much troubleshooting, they have deemed that the issue is install related. They've advised me to contact the installer. *** reached out to Mint about this issue for multiple months now, other than being ignored, the only response I initially received is that it must be that I am not performing the maintenance on the unit. This issue is still not resolved and we are relying on the backup propane heating system for now. Mint has ceased any further communication on this point as we approached the warranty period.

  
  10. The heat pump mini split ices up on hot days when running the *** Ive ensured that the filter is being cleaned as per manufacturer specifications, however, it seems like the unit is not sized large enough to handle the cooling load on hot days. This issue was brought up to ******** and remains unresolved. 

  
  11. The kitchen table leg is defective resulting in a kitchen table that is crooked. Ive tried to repair the **** leg but the adjustable leg is either broken or not long enough to hold up the table so that its level. At this point, following the issues with the heat pump, and being ignored for such a long period, Ive decided to live with it or fix the issue myself one day. 

  
  12. The bedroom closet rods were installed crooked. Ive decided to remove, patch, repaint, and reinstall them properly myself, once again, to avoid having to deal with Mint's unresponsiveness.

  
  13. The dishwasher unit was never properly secured and moves around everytime you open it. I reached out to Mint about this issue early on but they told me that there wasn't anything they could do about it because the particle board cabinets that surround the dishwasher are too thin to properly fasten the dishwasher to. This issue remains unresolved, which is quite annoying because the dishwasher just moves in and out of the cabinet that it's in every time you open and close it. 

  
  14. The entrance doors are of very poor quality. They seem to be one of the only surfaces that we get severe condensation on during winter days, even when the interior relative humidity is below 40%. To resolve this issue, we've decided to build a mudroom outside of the doors to keep them warmer and reduce condensation issues. An expensive solution as a result of a poor quality door, but we preferred to spend the money on building a mud room then dealing with tearing out the existing door and replacing it with a better one. This issue was brought up to mint, no solution for the door was ever presented. 

  
  15. We've been very attentive to dry up the puddles of condensation that would form at the base of the front door, but were unable to do so when we **** ** ******** ****** *** ********* ******** last year. When we returned we found the laminate floors near the door to be curled and damaged. When we reached out the Mint about the issue, they agreed to send out their own technician this past spring to replace the flooring. This never occurred. When I recently reached out about the issue, they ignored us for several weeks. When they finally responded after this BBB complaint, they said they are now only willing to send us a box of flooring.  

  
  16. The flooring in the bathroom is also laminate and is now curling and damaged. This is simply a result of poor/cheap material choice. Laminate choices should be waterproof. When we were designing the home, Mint provided us with very limited colour options for the vinyl flooring due to supply chain issues, we asked for a waterproof laminate options we were familiar with, they refused to look at other options. This (inflexibility) seemed to be a common occurrence after we placed our deposit.  We ended up having to pick the laminate, which now needs to be pulled out and replaced. Mint claims they don't depart from the small number of choices they provide to their clients as they are tested and trusted by mint for quality yet here we are now.

  As previously mentioned in #1, had we known that we wouldn't have ended up paying for a working in floor heating system, we would have installed tile floors in the bathroom. The concerns regarding the bathroom floors was raised when discussing the damage to the floors at the front door.
  
  As you can see from the issues above, we have been extremely patient with dealing with all the issues that came with this home. We've spent countless hours as a result of quality related issues with the home you have sold us. This should not be what people experience when purchasing a new home. Your warranty team started off as being responsive and attentive to our issues, however, at a certain point that changed drastically and ironically right before the warranty period was up. Response times from your warranty team became longer and longer as we approached the end of our first year, until it seemed that your team was outright ignoring our emails. Ive provided a full history of all our issues to provide a clear picture of what we've had to deal with up to this point. 
  

  I would like to know what your team plans to do about each of the unresolved issues above, and overall, what are you willing to do to compensate for all of the stress/inconvenience that we've had to endure as a result of your companies mistakes and poor quality work. Please also provide me with evidence of your previous claims that:  

  1. We typically don't respond to you for "several weeks", as you claimed in your previous response. Beyond us being away ** ******** and having a delayed response on BBB (as previously explained), this claim is ******. 
  2. The issues we are dealing with are due to lack of maintenance, despite us confirming we've performed all necessary maintenance.  

  It has been one year- and having this many problems with a home is unusual especially when its a mere 400 square feet- it would appear that MINT has expanded to a company that cares more about profit and pumping out homes at record pace than actually putting heart and soul into their product. Your building homes for families not toy houses, so you should take that seriously.

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

  Business response

  29/09/2023

  We have never tried to avoid taking responsibility for any warranty items. If a warranty claim is reported prior to the expiry it will still be covered even if we do not get to resolve it before the expiry. 

  From what we can see here, the active concerns right now are: 

  -Mini split having a sweet smell coming from it. We are unclear as to whether this still functions or not?

  -Kitchen leg crooked / not straight.

  -Dishwasher moves around. 

  -Bathroom floor curling 

  -Floor by entry door curling

  We are reaching out to ****** now to come up with a solution to address these concerns. As he mentioned, he is 2 hours away from the nearest town, making addressing these issues extremely challenging. 

   

  Customer response

  17/10/2023

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

  As I mentioned in my last message. Your team was initially very responsive and cooperative with warranty related issues. This responsiveness and cooperation seemed to dwindle as we approached later into the warranty period. This peaked just prior to submitting this complaint when no matter how many emails I sent to multiple members of your team, I continued to be ignored for 7 weeks. My natural reaction to this is that you no longer wanted to take responsibility for the warranty repairs that were required, of which some that you had already agreed to. This is why I submitted my complaint in the first place. 

  
  

  I do appreciate that your tone has changed from ********** ********* *** ***** **** ***** ************ back to cooperative. Moving forward, as it seems youre willing to take responsibility over current warranty issues, lets continue to direct all communication through the BBB platform. 

  
  

  I confirm that the issues you have listed are current issues and I will elaborate more to assist in getting them resolved:

  
  

  -Mini split having a sweet smell coming from it: This issue comes and goes sporadically. It also ices ** in the summer frequently. 

  -Kitchen leg crooked / not straight: This is still an issue. 

  -Dishwasher moves around: This is still an issue. 

  -Bathroom floor ******: Still an issue. 

  -Floor by entry door curling: Still an issue. 

  
  

  Also:

  
  

  • Im having to patch and repair the rods in the closets 
  • We have general concerns regarding the poor workmanship around the electrical work and what future issues we may have as a result. 

  
  

  
  

  Please let me know how you would like to proceed with rectifying each of these issues. 

  
  

  Also, I do think its fair that Mint provides some sort of compensation for all the inconvenience associated with the time and energy I have personally spent dealing with the multitude of issues related to poor quality work or defective appliances. As my previous message outlines, this has caused a lot of stress in our family, so much so that weve decided to move out of the tiny home and build a house. We simply feel that this home is better suited for part time living, possibly as a guesthouse, as we cannot rely on this home for full time living (winter living in the home has been particularly challenging) due to all the quality related issues and defects that have continued to arise since weve moved in. Can you please speak to how Mint plans to make things right on this end. 

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Thank you,

  
  

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

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

  Business response

  18/10/2023

  Hi ******, 

  Sure, we can keep all communication on this platform. 

  Due to the remoteness of your location, we will need your tiny house to be brought back to our production facility to carry out this work. 

  All mini split work needs to be carried out by a licensed technician of which there are none in your area. 

  Please let us know when is a good time to collect it. Please allow approx 7 days from point of collection.

  Thank you. 

  Customer response

  18/10/2023

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

  We live full time in the tiny home, where exactly should we move to in the meantime and who will compensate us for that? Where would we put all our belongings? And heavy duty transport isnt easy from where we are past October. Nor is it cheap. 

  Also, weve built a mudroom, deck, and a skirting wall around the tiny home (which your team recommended and stated that they recommend all their clients do). The effort and cost required to remove, move, and reinstall this tiny home now would be immense. And is not feasible in the winter;  Who will take care of this?

  Who will transport the tiny home there and back and pay for all fees associated with storage of our belongings? How about Hotel fees, boarding fees for our pets and also having our children miss school as accommodations arent abundant where we are? 

  We have heard from others with similar warranty/quality issues with MINT that this seems to be the way your company attempts to absolve themselves of acting on their promises/warranty, by putting onus on tiny home owners to remove all their belongings, move out and become homeless and then ship the tiny home from remote locations back to the city and then back out remotely. Which by the way, we are sure your company is aware that most tiny home purchasers live in very remote, rural communities considering municipalities and cities dont typically allow tiny homes.

  We asked MINT how they are going to correct all the issues that came with the home plus compensate us for the inconvenience of all these issues - and the companys response is to provide a solution they know is not realistic nor feasible. You said its too difficult for MINT to send a contractor out this far, in a regular vehicle- but you expect a family to vacate there home, uproot themselves, disassemble skirting etc and then transport a 41ft tiny home which requires special transport back and forth for issues that were related to your poor construction.

  Let me know how you find this to be a fair and feasible solution.  
  

  We need a REALISTIC solution to our problems.

  Id also like to add that in addition to all the electrical problems weve already mentioned previously the baseboard electric baseboard heater in the master bedroom is now beginning to have power cut out intermittently. When investigated we are being told that it is a faulty contact/open circuit issue. My electrician let me know that he would be concerned about an electrical fire given all that he has already seen as far as the quality of your electrical work. These issues are becoming more than just an inconvenience, they are becoming a major safety concern. I suggest that your company gets it together and deals with these issues as soon as possible before these safety concerns can become larger issues. 

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

  Business response

  01/11/2023

  If ****** can assist us with finding a licensed HVAC technician in his local area we will gladly coordinate with them and pay for any repair that is required on the mini split unit. 

  The flooring and other minor issues are not very difficult to repair,  and a crew can be sent to carry out these repairs. It is the mini split repair that is the issue. In a typical scenario we would have a local HVAC technician carry out the repair, the client's location makes this extremely challenging. We will require their assistance with this if they are objecting to having us bring the tiny house back to our production facility.  

  Customer response

  03/11/2023

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

  In regards to an HVAC technician, any HVAC technician in the ****** (west kootenays) area will likely service my area also. My concern with finding a technician for MINT is that last time I did this in good faith, they told me that I was responsible for a poor repair job that the particular contractor I found had performed, and that I had to repair their work at my expense (not to mention absorb the losses associated with a flooded storage compartment and damaged personal items). Im sure you should have no problem getting a hold of an HVAC technician in the area I have outlined above. I have found several from a quick ****** search.  

  In regards to all to all the other repair work, let's coordinate to have the other repairs scheduled right away. I have been waiting for some of these repairs (like the floors) since last winter. 

  That being said, how will the electrical repairs be performed? As mentioned in one of my previous replies, Ive already had several electrical issues repaired and issues continue to arise, the scope of the electrical issues in this home seems to increase with time. We are beginning to have safety concerns surrounding the electrical work that was completed by your company. How will this be addressed?

  Lastly, we have been having issues with the urine diverter in the Separett toilet back-drafting ammoniacal odours from the urine drain line into the tiny home (particularly when the bathroom or kitchen exhaust fans are turned on). I contacted ******** about this issue and they told me that this should not be occurring if the toilet was installed properly with a P-trap as per the installation instructions. Upon visual review it does not appear that a P-trap was installed unless it was installed in the floor. I wanted to confirm whether ************* the Separett with a P-trap as advised by the manufacturer, and if not, what is MINT doing to rectify this issue, as I see that this is not an uncommon installation issue. 

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

  Business response

  08/12/2023

  We have called multiple companies, and none are willing to travel to this location at this time. We have reached the conclusion that the only option is to bring the unit back to our production facility to have the repairs carried out by our team. We will cover the collection and re-delivery costs. 

  Customer response

  17/01/2024

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

  In regards to not being able to find a HVAC technician in my area, as I previously mentioned, lets get all the other repairs done first that you said your crew can do. You mentioned you were going to send someone up to repair the flooring (Nov 1 2023- The flooring and other minor issues are not very difficult to repair,  and a crew can be sent to carry out these repairs.) I subsequently asked to proceed with booking that work but then did not hear back from you for a month. At which point you continued to push us to bring the tiny house back (because you cant find an HVAC tech). Weve previously already said that bringing in the unit is not feasible for us. I will put together a list of HVAC contractors that will service my area (there are several) and send it to mint so you can deal directly with them and take responsibility for their work.  
  
  In addition to the flooring repair, some of the other current issues weve been discussing are:
  
  -electrical repair work: the electric heater in the master bedroom randomly shuts off and gives an error indicating that there is a contact issue somewhere in the wiring. We are concerned this can result in an electrical fire. This is a general concern as weve had many issues with the electrical work. We would like a thorough review of the electrical work and for a repair to be completed with the master bedroom heater. 
  
  -seperatt urine diverter issues: the urine diverter is back drafting into the home due to a P trap not being installed or not being installed properly as per seperatts installation specifications (as Ive been told by their staff). 
  
  -Ill also take this opportunity to mention that the tiny house does not appear to be designed/built for ******** *******. Below -20C the ***** water heater must be winterized and the water pipes inside the home freeze (we had water freely flowing up to the tiny house water connection through a heated hose but no water to the taps inside the home). despite regular use and the home being heated to 24C we had no water for several days due to frozen pipes. We had to rent an airbnb during the cold spell as we had no water. We believe the pipes are freezing were they run near the gooseneck portion under the steps from the bathroom to the master bedroom and the pipes in the in-floor storage compartments under the closets. I have already insulated the underside of the gooseneck with R20 insulation from the exterior, but thats hasnt been sufficient. Heat trace wire on the water lines close to poorly insulated exterior wall (or thermal bridges), pipe insulation, more exterior wall insulation near water lines, or relocating the plumbing further from the exterior wall under the gooseneck could have all been possible solutions to avoid these issues. Im reading online that this is a common issue with Mint tiny homes (along with condensation and mold formation-which weve also been battling with). 
  
  How would you like to handle these issues? Will your crew handle this when they ************** the flooring or do you need to find other specialized contractors for this work? Lets get your crew scheduled in to perform **************** they can do asap. I will assist in providing you with contractors as needed but will not take responsibility for their work as that is warranty repair work covered by Mint. 
  
  As previously mentioned, we have built a mudroom addition and a deck off the side of the tiny house which makes bringing the unit to you not feasible. It simply is not an option for us so I prefer to not waste anymore time discussing it. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Business response

  30/01/2024

  We can have the floor repair carried out once the snow has melted and the roads are in a suitable condition for travelling. 

  Customer response

  01/02/2024

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

  I was told this exact thing by your staff last winter and we are still waiting on the your tech a year later. I have several questions Id like answered:

  1. Can you please provide me with a tentative date we can plan for your tech to come and complete these repairs by.

  2. Can your tech also take care of some of the other issues that weve mentioned while theyre here:

  -kitchen table not installed level. It is visually  significantly off level. Most likely due to kitchen table leg being defective and requiring replacement. 
  -dishwasher not properly secured and moving significantly. 
  

  3. How would you like to proceed with the electrical repair work associated with the master bedroom heater and the sporadic contact issue were experiencing with it? As well as our general safety concerns surrounding poor quality of electrical work? 
  

  4. How are you advising your clients who are experiencing freezing pipes or no hot water in winter weather? According to *****, The hot water tank must also be winterized past -20C, to prevent damage from freezing. These temperatures are not uncommon in ******** ******* and having to rent accommodations because we dont have water or hot water during portions of the winter was never something we signed up for. How is Mint handling these issues? Who will reimburse us for the accommodations weve had to pay for during times our pipes are frozen? 

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

  Business response

  15/02/2024

  We can have 2 team members there the first or second week of March. One is a qualified electrician. 

  To clarify: 

  -We will be replacing the floor in the bathroom & entry way to the house. The bathroom will have the same floor type installed. 

  -For the entry way, what were you hoping to see done here? 

  -The electrician will do a full electrical check. 

  -We need pictures of the counter to determine what is required here. 

  -We need a detailed walkthrough video emailed to us, so our team can be prepared. (we will not be going there until we get this, and we need it 1 week prior to departure) 

  -Regarding your water heater. Is there an issue with it right now? 

  Customer response

  15/02/2024

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

  Hi,

  First week of March sounds good. Where would you like us to send the videos regarding the issue with the dishwasher not being fastened and the table?

  will you require us to relocate while the repairs/flooring are being done? If so, who will be responsible for paying for accommodations? Which flooring product will be used? 

  the water heater only works if the water flow is greatly reduced. Otherwise the water heater isnt powerful enough to keep up with regular water flow in the tiny house  also it must be winterized in -20C temperatures  which isnt uncommon. Can this be resolved somehow?
  

  also is there something that can be done about the freezing pipes?

  lastly the black kitchen faucet stopped working  we were trying to figure out who the manufacturer was so we could make a warranty claim but ************** supply shop mentioned that it appeared to be a cheap no name faucet from Asia  we ended up having to purchase a new kitchen faucet  seems like many of these fixtures were fairly cheap and not meant to last long  

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

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