Woman saved from paying $8K for unwanted water softener, judge kills door-to-door contract

https://ottawasun.com/opinion/columnists/egan-judge-kills-door-to-door-contract-saves-woman-8k-for-unwanted-water-softener/wcm/4bf91cf3-38d0-4101-82d0-f33297b3aea4

In February 2017, a door-to-door company called Ontario Safety Standards sold Carol Baas a water softener she didn’t need, at $59 a month for 10 years, an agreement that looked both bad and iron-clad.

Only 41 days later, before she received her first bill, a lien was slapped on her east-end property for any future unpaid amounts, potentially in excess of $8,000.

First Baas got mad — “kicked myself in the pants” — then Baas went about getting even.

On June 22 — after months of stress — she won a court case that nullified the agreement, a decision that she says holds out hope for anyone in a similar position.

“I’m hoping to help others get out of their mess,” she said Monday. “I’ve kicked myself in the pants for you don’t want to know how long for signing this.”

Without using a lawyer, Baas convinced small claims court Deputy Judge Hank Witteveen she was deceived about the merits of a water softener that was installed the day after three salesmen showed up, unannounced, at her door. Among their claims was that Ottawa had substandard municipal water that was a health risk, she says.

“I am satisfied that the defendant, Ontario Safety Standards, is in breach of its obligations under the Consumer Protection Act and, as a result, the contract is of no force or effect,” wrote Witteveen.

With tax included, Baas was looking at paying a total of $8,135 over 120 months — tacked onto her Enbridge bill — when Ottawa already has some of the softest, safest water in any municipal system.

Baas says before she received her first Enbridge bill with the $59 tacked on, a lien was slapped on her property by an entity called Eco Energy Home Services.

With the court judgment, Baas says she’s managed to get the lien removed.

Dozens of local residents have contacted this newspaper with stories of long-term contracts signed at the door for products of dubious value, such as water softeners or air cleaners.

The problem has been so widespread, for so long, the Ontario government in March actually banned the door-to-door sales of a whole basket of household items: air cleaners, air conditioners, air purifiers, duct-cleaning services, furnaces, water filters, water heaters, water purifiers, water softeners, water-treatment devices and any combination thereof.

Baas’s case is typical of consumer complaints.

She says she was told, for instance, that the softener would save her money monthly — on soap, shampoo and “food products” — and extend the life of appliances like washing machines and dishwashers. Being on a fixed income, the savings appealed to her.

But she is not like many people who make such purchases — elderly, maybe a little senile and unable to advocate for themselves. Only 57 and not long retired from the Canada Revenue Agency, Baas went after the companies with vigour, keeping meticulous notes.

First, she notified Enbridge, which is required by law to engage in third-party billing, but without endorsing the companies or vouching for their performance. So she only paid $79 in rental fees and the billing stopped.

With the help of her friend, Bernie Mason, she began researching consumer sites, the appliance she was renting, all the while complaining to Ontario Safety Standards, and taking calls back from entities with different corporate names. (It was her bank, in fact, that informed her about the lien, not Eco Energy.)

This paper has discovered that, often in trouble cases, the company selling the appliance has a different name than the installer, the biller and sometimes the lien-placer or service-repair company.

So Baas served all three with a legal notice (the third was Greensaving Home Services). None attended the hearing, though two of the firms were represented in writing by a paralegal. She arrived with a raft of yellow-tabbed notes, every step and call documented.

Not only did the judge invalidate the contract, but he ordered costs of $750 to Baas, in part to cover the $674 she spent pursuing the case.

An email reply from Ontario Safety Standards said Canadian Safety Standards, is still operational and claimed the company was not properly served notice of the lawsuit and thus couldn’t defend itself.

Baas doesn’t hold out much hope of ever seeing the money — and has invited the company to take its device back.

“But I’ll get someone to do it. They’re not coming back into my house.”

Before the ban was instituted, the provincial consumer ministry was bombarded with complaints and enquiries about door-to-door sales tactics, in excess of 2,400 in 2016.

To contact Kelly Egan, please call 613-726-5896 or email kegan@postmedia.com