Door-to-door energy scams

(This post has nothing to do with photography).

If you received an e-mail saying you just won a million dollars, would you believe it? If an e-mail said your bank account or credit card was compromised and you needed to “click here” to verify your information, would you do it?

Someone came to my front door today saying he was with the “Ontario Energy Safety Board”. He was here to do a furnace safety inspection. Of course, he was lying. There’s no such thing as the Ontario Energy Safety Board. The company name he used was meant to be confused with real Ontario Energy Board.

Now that warmer weather has begun, many homeowners will be receiving similar knocks on their front door. This will go on for many months. Sadly, all levels of Canadian government have refused to fix the problem of door-to-door scams. We have Do Not Call and CASL but we don’t have “Do not knock” like Australia.

Several days ago, someone arrived on my doorstep claiming to be with the “Ontario Power Company (OPC)” and she even had an OPC logo on her shirt. Of course, “OPC” was meant to be confused with the real “OPG” (Ontario Power Generation Inc). This person wanted to make sure I qualified for the new “provincial energy rebate.” When asked about this rebate, she had no further information except that I had to get my furnace inspected right away, before the end of February, in order to qualify for the “rebate”.

A person from the “Toronto Energy Board” (which doesn’t exist) said their records showed my gas furnace still had the “old, dangerous valve which could leak gas at any time.” He needed to inspect my gas furnace and make sure the new valve was installed for free. I don’t have a gas furnace and no such valve ever existed.

It’s also common to get impostors, claiming to be from Direct Energy or Enbridge, both real companies, ask to see my recent energy bill to make sure I wasn’t overcharged or that I qualified for some sort of discount or rebate.

Folks, all door-to-door furnace and water heater inspections are scams. All of them. Anyone asking to see your energy bill is a scammer. Every single one of these people is lying to you.

Don’t be fooled by a clipboard, a laminated ID badge, an official-sounding name, an orange reflective vest, a logo on a T-shirt, or the phrase “government approved”. All of these people are scammers.

If you’re not fooled by an e-mail scam then don’t be fooled by a front-door scam.

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Added: There’a another door-to-door scam involving water filters. In this case, the scammer will imply they’re working for the city or other public utility and that all the homes in your area “must” have their water quality tested.

If you fall for this scam then: your tap water will *always* fail the (fake) test and the scammer will try to sell you a near-useless filtration system that comes with a monthly service fee.

This week, the first week of May, I had two people come to the door offering to do a free safety inspection of my water pipes. They even had clipboards and plastic-laminated badges. Apparently, this “government approved” inspection was required for the safety of my family. They said everyone else in my neighbourhood had already done the inspection.

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Added May 20, 2015: There’a yet another door-to-door scam involving a company called “OEG”. Of course, OEG (Ontario Energy Group) is meant to be confused with the real OEB (Ontario Energy Board). Today, two OEG people came to my door saying that “the regulations for air conditioners and furnaces have changed” and they “were sent around to do visual inspections.” Total crap. When asked, they had no information about which regulations were involved or what changed, and yet they needed to do an “inspection”.

OEG has been fined for violating the Do Not Call List and is the cause of many consumer complaints and news articles ( also here, here, here, here and here.) Even the Ontario government and a police force have warned about this company.

Added April 2016: Ontario Energy Group facing 142 charges under the Consumer Protection Act.

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It never ends. Today, May 22, a guy came to the door saying he wasn’t selling anything but was just making sure that all the homes in my neighbourhood met the requirements of the new Bill 150, The Green Energy Act. He also wanted to make sure I had received the $650 government rebate. He had a clipboard and a low-quality plastic-laminated badge.

The guy said he had to inspect my water system, air conditioner and furnace. I asked what qualifications he had to inspect any of these and what exactly was he looking for. He said he was “specially trained” to look for “certain technical issues.”

Passed six years ago, Bill 150 has nothing to do with home water systems and has little to do directly with homeowners. The unrelated $650 rebate, which ends this year, is only for homeowners who install both a new central air conditioning system and a new furnace. Ironically, this rebate program actually warns homeowners about door-to-door salespeople and door-to-door inspections.

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They’re back, just in time for the winter heating season. Today, October 5, two guys from Ontario Energy Group came a-knockin’ saying, “As you know, the energy standards have just changed and we’re here to make sure your home meets the new standards.”

When I asked what the new standards were, the guy replied, “The standards deal with the recent switch from ‘freons to purons’,” and he wanted to inspect my furnace and water heater. Yeah right.

Ontario’s Environmental Protection Act is 25 years old and has had several updates over the past decade. This law deals with phasing out refrigerants like Freon, (which is a brand name), in favour of something like Puron, (also a brand name), which are used in air conditioners. If you have a freon-charged air conditioner, you can keep using it until it dies. Most home air conditioners manufactured in the past 10-15(?) years use Puron. The law doesn’t affect consumer use of Freon but only the manufacture, transport, sale and commercial storage of it.

Remember: good, ethical businesses don’t have to go door to door.

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Added May 2, 2016: After several Ontario cities passed motions asking the provincial government to ban these door-to-door scams, the province seems to be taking action. A private member’s bill was introduced to ban this type of door-to-door sales. If you live in Ontario, contact your local MPP and let them know what you think.

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Added May 17, 2023: The door-to-door energy scams seem to have subsided thanks to a 2018 Ontario law. But they have been replaced by door-to-door nuisance from Bell and Telus. I’ve had four front-door visits from these two telecoms in the past week. All between 5:00PM and 7:00PM. They were selling home security, satellite TV, and/or home internet. Apparently they just installed new technology in my neighbourhood and I should really get in on it.

Note that provincial laws do not apply to telecoms because telecoms are under federal jurisdiction. Contact your federal MP and let them know you want this stopped.

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Added February 12, 2024: Telus is now the worst door-to-door nuisance. Three times in the past four days, I’ve been bothered by Telus door knockers. Each had the same lie. They all said my neighbours, “just around the corner”, got a special deal and I should sign up for it as well. When I asked for the names of these people, they mumbled that they couldn’t give out that information. They also refused to say who they were employed by and refused any contact information for their employer. Contrary to what they say, contrary to the logos on their clothing, and contrary to any laminated badge they may have, they are *not* employed by Telus.

Remember that reputable companies will always identify themselves and won’t try to fool you.