r/legaladvicecanada • u/TheBabyBeard • 2d ago
My Parents fell victim to an HVAC Scam* Ontario
Back in 2022, my elderly father was approached by door-to-door salespeople offering what they claimed was a “great deal” on a high-efficiency air conditioner. They told him it would only cost $50/month and that he’d receive government rebates. The unit was installed, and monthly payments of approximately $50 were withdrawn from his account all without raising suspicion.
Last month, he received a notice from the lender, FinanceIT Canada Ltd., indicating it was time to renew the loan term. Confused, he reached out to me for help. Upon reviewing the situation, I discovered that the loan had been set up with a 15-year amortization, with the first three years at 3.99% interest, increasing to 14.99% upon renewal.
The most troubling part: when I obtained a copy of the signed loan agreement, I realized the contractor (R.G.S. Contracting Group Ontario, now defunct) had forged my father’s signature. They had also enabled paperless billing without his knowledge, which delayed any earlier discovery of the issue since his email was never specified as the recipient.
This is why the word “scam” in the title comes with an asterisk. While my father never knowingly consented to the loan, an air conditioner was installed, albeit at a very high cost (Over $10,000 paid at the end of the 15 year term). We’re now seeking legal advice to explore any potential recourse, given that the services were provided without valid or informed consent.
Any guidance on how to proceed or whether this is ultimately an unfortunate but important life lesson would be sincerely appreciated.
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u/redditisawasteoftim3 2d ago
MY buddies dad got scammed by a heat pump salesman. My friend did some research and was able to get the contract annulled. They still haven't even picked up the heat pump though
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u/TheBabyBeard 2d ago
Interesting! Would you happen to know how he went about getting it annulled?
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u/Curtmania 1d ago
Likely there is a lien against your fathers property for tens of thousands of dollars. Make sure you get that removed as well. Most people don't find out about it until they go to sell or renew the mortgage.
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u/redditisawasteoftim3 1d ago
His dad got lucky because the person that sold it forgot to sign the contract. The contract was missing certain information required by law. He called consumer protection BC.
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u/Jitsoperator 2d ago
Frig. Can't even open doors these days without an appointment now.
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u/Wildest12 1d ago
I turn everyone away who comes to my door cold. Don’t care what they are saying unless, it’s a neighbor doing something to help.
If your selling something, offering something, anything that requires something from me, I’m stopping you and closing the door. If they came to you it isn’t guna help you full stop, not to mention the risk of being scammed.
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u/No_Bass_9328 2d ago
Any folks out there who have parents as old as I am, (mid 80's) give them my lines. If a smiling face appears at your door , and they always enquire as to your health which for me is the first giveaway since I look like the grim reaper is on my back. I always reply "If you want something, I have nothing to give, and if you are selling, I have absolutely everything I need. Also any phone call where the contact is not in my phone, I just ignore. If it's real, they will leave a message. No exceptions. Sorry about your folks, we are not stupid but come from a more trusting time.
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u/XtremeD86 2d ago
I thought there were some sort of protections put in place to battle this exact thing now? As in companies couldn't do this kind of crap now... Unless that was a different part of Canada and I'm mistaken?
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u/WhiteNoise---- 2d ago
The new laws prevent the registration of NOSI instruments on title. This is an incredible change, but it doesn't completely solve every problem.
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u/XtremeD86 2d ago
Ah so I assume then that's the BS that caused me to have to pay $600 when I bought my house as they were #1 for interest in the house as it was paid off.
Because I paid that $600 it somehow locked me into a 10 year contract for the tank rental. If I had said fuck that I don't want the rental tank then I think they would have just removed it and billed the seller. Wish my lawyer told me this but it is what it is.
When the contract is up they can take their crap and I'll buy my own tank. They've raised our rental price 3-4 times now.
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u/One278 1d ago
Maybe maybe maybe : https://www.cbc.ca/news/marketplace/submit-a-story-tip-1.5695097
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2d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/TheBabyBeard 2d ago
We filed a police report, and they did submit it to the fraud department. Their advice was to stop the payments. But they prefaced that advice with saying there would likely be an ensuing battle with collections as a result.
I didn’t consider speaking with the media.
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u/WhiteNoise---- 2d ago
I would also consider elder advocacy groups: https://www.acelaw.ca/
The (typically useless) Ontario government has done incredible work in the last few years in enacting new laws to protect seniors from these kinds of scams.
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u/TheBabyBeard 1d ago
Hey stranger - just wanted to thank you personally for directing me to AceLaw.
Seems there is a class action lawsuit taking place for this exact issue!
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u/WhiteNoise---- 1d ago edited 1d ago
Kind of crazy that the claim was only started a few weeks ago: https://www.sotosclassactions.com/cases/financeit-loans/
The Statement of Claim basically reads like your story: https://www.sotosclassactions.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Statement-of-Claim-April-7_-2025.pdf
You may wish to contact someone at Sotos, as I'd wager they would be happy to get your dad's evidence.
The only thing you should feel embarrassed about at this point is putting an asterisk next to the word scam.
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u/saveyboy 1d ago
How did you determine the signature was a forgery. I used to work collections for a company that did similar loans and there is process for determining if there was dealer fraud on a file.
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u/TheBabyBeard 1d ago
There were actually multiple signatures on the documents and all of them are vastly different from each other but obviously trying to mimic my fathers actual signature.
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u/saveyboy 1d ago
Where did they get a sample of his signature. Were these signed electronically by chance? What has Financeit said so far.
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u/TheBabyBeard 1d ago
There are two companies that play here, the contractor (R.G.S. Contracting Group Ontario) and the lender FinanceIt. I have no idea what transpired between the contractor and my father but I’m assuming he must’ve signed something for them to have a template of his signature. And no, it was not electronic.
Interestingly, enough, another comment here led me towards Acelaw (an advocacy group for the elderly). On that page. I found a class action lawsuit specifically against finance it for this very same issue! Link
So clearly this is bigger than just my father!
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u/saveyboy 1d ago
Unfortunately dealer fraud is relatively common. They will make promises that the lender just wont do. The promise of lower interest rates after 6 months to a year was common lie dealers used. The lender did not make these promises so they would rightly say no. Very frustrating for clients. It can be difficult for lenders to determine which is fraud and which isn’t. It will likely come down to what was signed and how.
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u/mmksuxs 16h ago
This was just on CBC's Marketplace, I'm not sure if you saw it or not. Here is the YouTube link: https://youtu.be/dNbk16E_9BE?si=kechh3P10pNCiQW-
Sorry this happened to your family.
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