The fallout of Ontario Energy Group’s sales sweep through the area continues to emerge with a Pain Court area woman facing a lien on her home and a bill for a furnace she said was never ordered or installed.
Eva Devine, who was trying to sell her West Elgin home, was approached by OEG representatives and initially agreed to purchase a hot water heater and air conditioner.
“They showed me a picture of how bad my water heater actually looked on the inside,” she said. “They made it sound like they were official and from the government and it was almost mandatory.”
Two weeks ago the Voice published a story concerning OEG’s business operations that included concerns about high pressure tactics and overly expensive units. Local heating and cooling firms said customers were being told they had to replace perfectly good units.
Devine, a senior citizen who is legally blind, said she should never have signed the agreement and called back the next day to tell them she didn’t want the equipment.
“They said I didn’t have a choice and talked me into not cancelling; I told them I wasn’t going to have the installation done because they weren’t with the Better Business Bureau. They said they were and I just didn’t know where to look,” Devine said.
The equipment was installed right after.
“I checked and found out I was going to have to pay more than $4,000. I knew it wasn’t an up and up deal. “ she said. “I called and told them they could have their equipment back.”
Devine called Reliance Home Comfort and had the OEG equipment removed. “I told OEG to come and get their stuff, it was beside the road.”
Devine said her home had been on the market but when an offer was made and a title search done, she found there was a lien on the property for a water heater, air conditioner and furnace.
“There was a lien which included a furnace,” she said. “It was put on some finance company I’ve never heard of.”
Refusing to pay the lien meant the sale didn’t go through.
“I lost the sale of my house, the renter I had living there moved out and now I have an empty house because of this,” she said.
Devine hired Chatham lawyer Brad Langford who said he’s attempting to settle the dispute in a timely fashion.
“Usually when I’m involved with a situation like this I first deal with the customer service people in a company,” he said. “This time, the response was a legal one.”
Langford said it appears at present that OEG may be selling the equipment contracts to a finance firm who then places the lien on the title.
“We’d like to get this resolved as quickly as possible,” he said.
“We’re going to ensure the rights of the client are maintained.”
OEG’s Mississauga office didn’t respond to requests for comment.
