Hidden cameras capture deceptive tactics used to sell overpriced HVAC contracts
CBC
A joint CBC Marketplace/Go Public investigation using hidden cameras is exposing the deceitful tactics being used to trick consumers into overpriced long-term rental contracts for new heating and cooling equipment — and more.
A Marketplace producer went undercover, posing as a homeowner, to test what is behind the flood of complaints coming in from across the country, despite government attempts to fix the problem.
Legal experts say what was uncovered is typical of the way some HVAC rental companies work, costing homeowners far more than the equipment is worth and leaving many with liens against their properties they know nothing about.
"It is a scam. The entire business model is predicated on deception," said Dennis Crawford, a lawyer in Stratford, Ont., who has dozens of clients fighting to get out of these contracts.
"Over and over, I see homeowners who … pay $10,000 or $20,000 to buy out a water softener that they could have bought at a hardware store for $2,500."
Alberta and Ontario banned door-to-door sales of HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) products in 2017 and 2018 respectively, but complaints and consumer protection charges continue to pile up.
Many complaints come from Ontario, where the province's ban seemingly did not stop homeowners from getting sucked in.
A name that repeatedly comes up in complaints to the government-run Consumer Protection Ontario, Marketplace and Go Public is Ontario Green Savings.
The company and its CEO Saeed Torbati are facing dozens of charges under Ontario's Consumer Protection Act, including for false and misleading practices, failure to refund and failure to deliver a valid contract.
Karen Norgaard, of Cornwall, Ont., signed two rental contracts with Ontario Green Savings — one for an air conditioner and another for a furnace — after a free assessment turned out to be what she calls a misleading, high-pressure sales pitch.
"They just kept talking about it, saving me money.… That was the bottom line and that's how they got me," she said, adding that the company and its name made it sound like it was associated with government programs.
Norgaard said she signed up after being told her air conditioner used Freon and should be replaced, as well as being promised big savings on her energy bills with a new furnace.
In its advertising, Ontario Green Savings promises middle- and low-income families a good deal. "We believe in making high-efficiency upgrades affordable for middle- to low-income families while helping consumers have a positive impact on our community and environment," the brochure reads.
The claim about Freon wasn't true, Norgaard said, and those promised savings never materialized.
