I had a very interesting experience yesterday. Know that I am a very cautious person when it comes to answering my door to strangers.
Two men, with official looking tags rang the bell. My son answered through the window. He thought I should speak to these people because they seemed to be dealing with one of the services connected to our home.
I looked at their tags and felt that this was safe-it was-but in fact they were scammers. We have Enbridge gas as our supplier and Direct Energy for our hot water tank rental. (Ontario Consumers Home Services is an approved hot water tank supllier to Enbridge). No one really takes the two as separate because the bill comes in together-gas charge and rental so it is just Enbridge that we think of as our provider.
One of the men explained to me that I might be eligible for an upgrade to an energy efficient water heater at no extra charge to what I was already paying. Well that sounds great to me. He gave me a pamphlet. He asked if he could see me current water heater and he assess it that because I had it installed in January 2010 I was eligible to get a newer one, energy efficient at not extra cost. He said that the piping was good and no replacement was needed.
He took all the information from me, explained that the water heater rental agreement would be for 120 months, he specifically did not say 10 years-that would have sounded too long. He also said that if I sold the home it would transfer to the new owners. I told him that was not my problem and that they were not involved in the deal.
We agreed to have the new heater put in Saturday. He phoned it in to his dispatch and then handed the phone to me so the dispatcher could verify I was the home owner and that the rental was going to be for 120 months. A "bell went off" in my head. Why were they emphasizing this 120 months. I looked at the guy standing next to me and said “You aren't my provider right now, are you"? He answered no. I was infuriated. I told him he should have said at the very outset that his company was not my provider and this is what they would like to offer me. His answer “I gave you a pamphlet" My answer "I was talking with you-I have not had a chance to read it" He shrugged his shoulders.
I took the water heater contract agreement from him and ripped it up. When he left I called Direct Energy to ask if my water heater was energy efficient. It turns out that all water heaters from 2009 are.
So beware Torontonians, Ontarians, Canadians, when Ontario Consumers Home Service Inc comes knocking at your door beware of the scam-almost bait and switch.
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