A door-to-door furnace company and its installer are facing charges following complaints from a local man.
In early January, Larry Gadal contacted a local company to come and rip out his furnace, which was installed in October by a man working for Green Planet Home Services.
Gadal and his wife were appalled at the work, and the resulting cost of the furnace. He said the Green Planet installers performed a hatchet job, even doing damage to his house, when they put the high-efficiency furnace into the home.
“They did a horrible job. They drilled five holes through the wall before they got it where they wanted it,” Gadal told The Voice in January. “If they didn’t hit the right spot, they’d just move over.”
The furnace vented out the front of Gadal’s home, and the venting was located midway up the wall.
“When they left, they didn’t even fill the holes. There was about a two-inch gap beside one of the pipes,” he said. “They came back with a caulking gun.”
As a result, plainly visible on the front of the house was a gap in the home’s vinyl siding. That gap was filled with uneven silicon caulking.
Moreover, Green Planet signed Gadal up to a commitment to lease the furnace for $158 a month for 15 years, a price tag of nearly $30,000 for a home furnace and air conditioner.
Furthermore, Gadal said the furnace wasn’t even sufficient to properly heat his home. When the weather turned cold, he had to use space heaters in various parts of his home to get the temperature to 18C.
According to the Ontario College of Trades (OCT), Green Planet is facing two charges under the Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act. Both relate to: “No person shall employ or otherwise engage an individual to perform work or engage in a practice that constitutes engaging in the practice of a compulsory trade unless the individual holds a certificate of qualification in that trade that is not suspended or unless the individual is an apprentice in that trade and is working pursuant to a registered training agreement that is not suspended.”
As well, the installer also faces a similar charge, according to OCT personnel. They said Cong Minh Bui is facing charges related to: “No individual shall engage in the practice of a compulsory trade or hold himself or herself out as able to do so unless the individual holds a certificate of qualification in that trade that is not suspended or unless the individual is an apprentice in that trade and is working pursuant to a registered training agreement that is not suspended.”
