Ontario homeowners left with expensive contracts after company appears to go out of business

Several homeowners in Ontario signed contracts with Provincial Smart Home Services promising rebates for their energy efficient upgrades, but now won't receive them as the company appears to have gone out of business.

Last January, Uzair Shahid, of Kingston, said he was on Instagram when he saw an ad for a government rebate program through that company.

Shahid said he filled out a form online and was contacted by someone the next day.

"The person said he was from the Provincial Smart Home company so because he said 'Provincial Smart Home' I thought it was a provincial program," said Shahid.

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Shahid said he signed a contract with them to get a heat pump, water heater and smart thermostat for $25,000. In return, he said he was promised $200 in gift cards, a $7,300 government rebate, zero per cent financing and a 10-year protection plan.

For months, Shahid called the company and he says he was constantly told the rebate was in the processing stage. Yet it never arrived and now, the company appears to be out of business.

"The rebate never came in, the gift cards never came in and the protection plan is almost impossible to get it," Shahid.

John Pinto and Roberta Stirling of Cambridge signed a similar contract with Provincial Smart Home Services, also for $25,000 for the same equipment.

They said they also never received their rebate and the zero per cent financing offer has now risen to 14.99 per cent, meaning they owe more money than they thought.

"We don't have the rebate from the government and we don't have the 10-year protection plan," said Pinto.

Stirling added, "With the increase in the interest rate, we will now owe them almost $40,000."

Brampton resident Gary Gill said he signed a contract with Provincial Smart Homes Services and was promised $10,000 in rebates that he never received.

"I was told it will be zero per cent for the entire loan period of 20 years and now Provincial Smart Home Services has vanished. We don’t know where they are. There is no phone number, there is no physical location, there is no e-mail," said Gill.

Attempts by CTV News to contact Provincial Smart Home Services by phone and email were not successful.

"Consumers are trying to get service from them and want to question their contracts and they are unable to and we are unable to locate them as well," said Angela Dennis, President of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Central Ontario.

The BBB says Provincial Smart Home Services appears to have gone out of business, but their contracts now belong to a financing company, which still wants to get paid.

"These businesses will sell the finance piece to another party, a finance company and the consumers are obligated to that party to make those payments," said Dennis.

The contracts are held by Financeit, who tells CTV News in a statement their loan products are created with flexibility and transparency in mind, allowing customers to pay off their balances whenever without penalties.

"We also want to emphasize that Financeit operates independently as the lender and is not directly involved in the services or products provided by any merchant partner. Please note that Provincial Smart Home Services is no longer an active merchant partner of Financeit. We always encourage customers with concerns to reach out to our customer support team, and we will do our utmost to assist them," the statement reads.

For customers of Provincial Smart Home Services, they say they have been left with more questions than answers.

"It's too much you know, it's stressful. I can't pay it. I recently bought a house so it's too much expense for me," said Shahid.

The new rebate program being offered by the Ontario government goes into effect Jan. 28. If you decide to take part, make sure you're dealing with a reputable company and that you understand the program as there are rules you'll need to follow.