Door-to-Door HVAC Scams Are Still a Threat in Ontario and Across Canada
In the beginning of October, CTV’s W5 published a look into the lives of victims of door-to-door HVAC scams. These companies have been an ongoing and very real threat in Ontario and all across Canada that every homeowner needs to be aware of and avoid being trapped in a contract with.
W5’s Kevin Newman visited several homeowners who have been affected by HVAC scams, namely organizations who claim to be “energy inspectors” and convince unsuspecting Canadians that they need to buy a new furnace or air conditioner in order to comply with government guidelines. The companies that seek to trap homeowners in their contend to target areas with older houses or older residents or even residents who may be new to Canada. They then use an extremely organized and well-thought-out sales pitch that leaves owners trusting their fake expertise.
The salesperson will throw around overwhelming language about your system having high motor usage, or tell you that they’re here to perform a safety check. They’ll tell you about government energy incentives or big rebates and discounts that would make you think they are a government-affiliated organization. When asked direct questions about their work for the government, the salesperson will ignore the question or deviate the conversation, because they are not affiliated in any way to the Canadian government and cannot risk telling you that they are.
Victims of these scams are trapped in paying $158 per month for the useful life of the furnace or air conditioner, which is about 15 years. And in the scam contract, the company reserves the right to increase the monthly charges by 3.8% per year, even with the depreciation of the unit.
A new furnace that would have regularly cost a victimized homeowner around $2,000 will end up costing them upwards of $30,000 thanks to this unwittingly signed contract.
These HVAC scams and tactics are destroying the reputation of licensed and reputable HVAC dealers across the country. A1 Air Conditioning & Heating has been in the HVAC home comfort system business for decades and works to provide the very best service for all of our customers.
Click here to watch W5’s investigation in HVAC scams and learn more about how to protect yourself from falling in the trap.
