Despite hundreds of calls and complaints — and millions of dollars in contracts disputed by homeowners — an Ontario heating and cooling equipment company continues to operate even with dozens of charges alleging violations of the province’s Consumer Protection Act, a CBC Marketplace investigation reveals.

The Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery is responsible for consumer protection, and states on its website that it handles complaints and enforces consumer protection laws. 

Through a Freedom of Information request — a process that allows the public, including journalists, to access government records —  Marketplace found that there have been more than 400 incidents, inquiries and complaints since January 2019 made to Consumer Protection Ontario, a program within the ministry, involving Ontario Green Savings. 

In those complaints, homeowners have described feeling “lied to,” “cheated” and “scammed.”  And many shared detailed descriptions of how they were led to believe that Ontario Green Savings sales people were government employees offering savings and energy rebates that would show up on a utility bill. 

But the Ontario government doesn’t offer such rebates through private HVAC companies.

Records obtained by Marketplace show that since 2019, homeowners have contacted the ministry to dispute more than $2.2 million in HVAC contracts with Ontario Green Savings. 

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